Hello travelers! As you all know, a good knowledge about the tourist spot you’re going to visit comes out to be of great help. It helps in saving time and in not missing out on the places you must visit there.
This listicle is a must-read for people who are planning to take a trip to Turkey and ones who haven’t, will definitely want to visit this place, which is a home to 10 world heritage sites, after reading this.
'Republic of Turkey' as Turkey is officially called, is a popular tourist destination with the biggest churches, the most glorious mosques and the greatest museums. Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey and the third most populous urban area in Europe, developed as a metropolis due to it’s geopolitical location but is not the capital of Turkey, rather Ankara is!
Istanbul is a transcontinental city and is the only city in the world, which has been established on two continents, which are Europe and Asia. It is established on the both sides of the Bosphorus, which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, and separates Asia and Europe. A 7km long narrow inlet, named as the Golden Horn, divides the European side of the city into two. The European side of the city is a trade and business center, whereas the Asian side is more of a residential area.
Around 2 million tourists visit Istanbul every year and admire the historical and natural beauties of the city, which is a home to a number of fine monuments and museums that can be traveled to, by daily regular passenger trains. The trains are spread all through the network and you may travel using Turkey’s currency, called the Turkish Lira.
Let’s take a look at some of the most magnificent places in Istanbul, which you must visit.
Hagia Sophia:
'Hagia Sophia' is one of the three adjectives dedicated to God in Christianity. The three adjectives are defined as Hagia Sophia (Divine Wisdom), Hagia Irene (Divine Peace) and Hagia Dynamis (Divine Power). Hagia Sophia is a Roman monument, which was accepted, as the greatest and most sacred place of the city during the Byzantine age and is today a museum that the visitors admire as an unrivaled architectural masterpiece.
Yerebatan Cistern:
The entrance of the Underground (Yerebatan) Cistern, which is the biggest of the sixty cisterns built in Istanbul during Byzantine period, is located just across the Hagia Sophia Museum. It was completed in a very short time (only a couple of months) and was the place where the water to the city was delivered through Valens Aqueduct and was stored too.
The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Mosque):
Constructed by the 14th Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I, the Blue Mosque is the greatest and one of the most splendid mosques of Istanbul. It is the last impressive structure of the Ottoman religious architecture. Although many other mosques were built after this one, none of them reached the dimension or elegance of the Blue Mosque.
Mosaic Museum:
It lies inside the Arasta Bazaar, which is at the backside of Sultanahmet Mosque and was built with an aim of covering expenses of the mosque. Here mosaics dating from 4th and 6th centuries are exhibited.
Hippodrome/The Sultan Ahmet Square):
Hippodrome, today named Sultan Ahemt Square, is the heart of the Old Town. The ancient works in the middle of this square and the structures arranged in a line around the square are the most spectacular historical remains of Istanbul. It was one of the biggest hippodromes of the antique world after Cicus Maximus in Rome. The hippodrome, where the sportive activities took place was also the stage for riots, public entertainment and social appearances of the royals, wedding ceremonies and bazaars.
Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts:
The building at the edge of the Hippodrome, just opposite to the Sultanahmet Mosque, is the Ibrahim Pasha Palace, which was the only palace owned by a dignity outside the dynasty in the Ottoman period. Following the death of Pasha, the building was used as new recruits’ barracks, palace of embassy, fiscal office, tailoring workshop and prison, and it remained vacant for quite a long time and fell into ruins. The building was restored in 1970’s and in 1983 the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts was transferred here, from the original location, the Suleymaniye complex.
Sokullu Mosque:
It is a small but delightful Ottoman monument worth seeing with its elevated dome of 22m, 56 windows supplying light for the interior, samples of calligraphy on navy blue and colorful Iznik tiles.
Topkapi Palace:
As the administrative center, for nearly 400 years, for the Ottoman Empire, which was one of the greatest empires of the world, Topkapi Palace is certainly the most important historical site to be visited in Istanbul. That is the reason why Topkapi Palace is one of the most frequently visited museums in Europe, and is the most visited one in Turkey too with more than 2.5 million visitors per year.
St. Irene Church:
St. Irene church, with a cross plan, is the only Byzantine church in Istanbul whose atrium has survived. The mosaics of the church have the influence of Iconoclastic period. The Ottomans from the 15th to 18th centuries used the building as an arsenal. From 1846, it served as an Archeological Museum. Today, St. Irene Church is used for classical music concerts due to its excellent acoustics.
Istanbul Archeological Museums:
It is one of the largest museums of the world. It comprises of the museum of the Ancient Orient, The Tile Museum (Cinili Kiosk) and the Archeological Museum itself.
The Spice Bazaar:
It is located opposite the Galata Bridge in the Eminonu Quay. It was the trading place of spices brought from Egypt, therefore it is also known as the ‘Egyptian Bazaar’. It was constructed with the objective of financing the costs of New Mosque Complex. It has a reverse ‘L’ shape and it is covered with leaded domes. Also it has 6 gates to different directions. Many types of spices and healing herbs can be found in the Spice Bazaar. Besides the spices, Turkish delight, many types of nuts, oriental perfumes, cheese, jam etc. are all among the specialties of the Spice Bazaar.
The markets of Turkey are quite famous and charms and decorations with eye-like symbols known as nazars, which are used to repel the evil eye are a common sight across Turkey.
Istanbul has a lot of beautiful places to visit apart from these 11; like Kumkapi, Along the Sea Walls, The Bosphorus, Yedikule Castle, The Dolmabahce Mosque, The Dolmabahce Clock Tower, The Dolmabahce Palace Museum, Land Walls, The Region of Bazaars and Eminonu, Cembertilas, Nuruosmaniye Mosque, The Covered Bazaar (Kapali Carsi), Bayezid Mosque, University of Istanbul and Bayzid Tower, Laleli-Aksaray, Sileymaniye Mosque (Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent), Sehzade Mosque, Rustem Pasha Mosque, Yeni Cami Mosque, Galata Bridge, The Faith District, Eyup and the Golden Horn, Valens Aqueduct, The Faith Mosque, The Fethiye Mosque or The Pammakaristos Church, The Kariya Museum or the Chora Museum, The Tekfur Palace, Eyup Sultan Mosque, Fener-Balat, The Pantokrator Monastery of the Zeyrek Mosque, Galata and Takism, The Tunnel, The Galata Tower, The Takism Square, Galata to Rumeli Feneri, Besiktas, Ortakoy, Bosphorus Bridge or the Ataturk Bridge, The Rumeli Fortress, The Faith Sultan Mehmed Bridge.
The Asian Side of the Bosphorus has the Kadikoy, Uskudar, The Leandros Tower, The Beylerbeyi Palace, Anadolu Hisari (Fortress), The Camlica Hill, The Kucuksu Summer Palace and The Princes’ Islands.
PS: Learning the language of the place to be visited makes the travel even more interesting and easy. It’s heartwarming when you are able to greet the native people in their language. So, when you visit Turkey don’t forget to greet people with, Merhaba!
Comments
0 comment