Istanbul’s old city centre – Sultanahmet Fatih – is home to many of the city’s most famous buildings. It’s a definite must visit area when you are in Istanbul.

Hagia Sophia.

Once a church, then a mosque, and now a museum, the Hagia Sophia displays Byzantine mosaics. Hagia Sophia, or Ayasofya in Turkish, is the former Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal cathedral, later an Ottoman imperial mosque and now a museum that is protected under UNESCO World Heritage.

Sultan Ahmed Mosque

Six minarets mark the Blue Mosque or Sultan Ahmed Mosque. It remains a functioning mosque, while also attracting large numbers of tourist visitors. The Blue Mosque was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains Ahmed’s tomb, a madrasah and a hospice. The hand-painted blue tiles adorn the mosque’s interior walls and give it is name – the Blue Mosque. At night the mosque is bathed in blue as lights frame the mosque’s five main domes, six minarets and eight secondary domes. It’s a site to behold indeed.

Basilica Cistern

The largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul, Basilica Cistern was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. Today it is kept with little water, for public access inside the space. It once supplied water to lavish Topkapı Palace nearby.

Tokapi Palace

Construction of Topkapi Palace, ordered by the Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, began in 1459, six years after the conquest of Constantinople, now known as Istanbul.

After the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, Topkapı was turned into a museum. The palace complex has hundreds of rooms and chambers, but only the most important are accessible to the public as of 2020, including the Ottoman Imperial Harem and the treasury, called hazine. The museum collection also includes Ottoman clothing, weapons, armor, miniatures, religious relics, and illuminated manuscripts.

It is absolutely stunning and has amazing views of the great Bosporus Sea and the Golden Horn.

Gülhane Park

I happened upon this park for the first time in 2013 in autumn and then again in winter in 2017. I hope to get to it in late spring/early summer now that I live closer!

Bosporus

The Bosporus Sea separates the Europe side of the city and the Asian side of the city. It also goes all the way north to the Black Sea and can lead all the way southwest to the Aegean.

A tour of the straight is a must-do for sure when you are in Istanbul. Seeing the city from the sea is breathtaking and you can take so much in at once.