Sightseeing

Sightseeing Overview

Although modern Istanbul is huge, most of its key sights are in the compact area of the old city, bounded by the ancient ‘land walls', the waters of the Bosphorus, and the narrow inlet of the Golden Horn, and embellished over centuries by Byzantine Emperors and Ottoman Sultans.

For almost 1,600 years - from the foundation of Constantinople in AD330 to the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923 - this was the heart of the city, and of the vast Ottoman Empire.

Major change began in the late 19th century. The cosmopolitan ‘European quarter' of Pera, across the Golden Horn, became the focus of development, with trams, electric lighting and wide modern avenues. Under the new Republic, modernisation gathered pace, becoming increasingly frenetic in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, when the city grew to become a vast conurbation.

Istanbul has recently been endowed with some outstanding modern museums and art galleries, but many visitors find the Sultanahmet district, with its mosques, bazaar, Roman and Byzantine ruins, and Ottoman palaces fascinating enough to occupy their entire stay.     

Sultanahmet's major landmarks include Aya Sofya (Haghia Sophia), Topkapi Palace, and the Blue Mosque. Northwest of Sultanahmet, in the Beyazit district, is the splendid Kapali Çarsi (Covered or Grand Bazaar).

The Galata Bridge, crossing the Golden Horn, leads to the Karaköy district, overlooked by the landmark Galata Tower. Further uphill, Beyoğlu and Pera were for centuries the designated residence of foreign traders, while Taksim has become the heart of the modern city and the hub of its central business district.

Tourist Information

Turizm Danisma Burosu
Sultanahmet Meydani
Tel: (0212) 518 8754/1802.
Website: www.istanbul.gov.tr  
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1700, Sat 0900-1300.

Passes

There are no tourist passes currently available.