One of the most known palaces is Dolmabahçe Palace which was built in 1856. At that time, Sultan Abdülmecid I and his family lived in Topkapı Palace but later he decided to built a new, luxury and more contemporary palace, because Topkapı was one of the oldest palace with old-fashioned features. The construction of Dolmabahçe Palace cost tonnes of gold, there was a huge burden on the public purse.

Dolmabahçe Palace is located in Beşiktaş, considered as the largest palace in Turkey with its 285 rooms, 6 hamams, 46 halls, 68 toilets located in 45.000 m2 area. Interior and exterior design of the palace represents the combination of Rococo, Baroque, Neoclassical and Ottoman styles of architecture. It was used as a home to 6 sultans and their families. The founder of Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, used the palace as a presidential residence and spent his last days before died on November 10, 1938. Dolmabahçe Palace is today managed by Directorate of National Palaces. You  can check the current opening and closing hours before visit, it is open from Tuesday to Sunday at 9 am and closed at 4 pm, on Mondays the palace is closed to visitors.

Another most known palace is Çırağan Palace (Kempinski), which was built in 1867 during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz. The outer walls of the palace were made of colored marbles, and the inner walls were made of wood. There was a great fire which destroyed the palace in 1910, and only outer walls left. The place served as a football stadium named ‘Şeref Stadı’ for BJK, and it was bought and renovated as a modern hotel complex in 1989. In 2007, it was renovated again with Baroque style features. Today, it serves as a luxurious hotel, ball room, and to many wedding ceremonies and galas.

Beylerbeyi Palace in Asian side of Bosphorus is another great palace. Beylerbeyi means ‘Lord of the Lords’, built in 1865 during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz as a resting place and summer residence. It is as large as Dolmabahçe Palace and hosted royal visitors such as the Duchess and Duke of Windsor and Empress Eugenie of France. The place looks magnificent especially from the Bosphorus. There are a large reception hall, pool, fountain, rooms, furnitures, bath pavilions for men and women. It was served as a place of captivity of Sultan Abdülhamid II till his death in 1918. You can check the current opening and closing hours of the palace from its website, it is closed on Mondays and Thursdays. In summer, Beylerbeyi Palace is open at 9 am and closed at 5 pm. In winter, you can visit the place from 9 am to 4.30 pm.

Beside these magnificent palaces, Istanbul has other great palaces like Tekfur Palace, Adile Sultan Palace, Küçüksu Pavilion, Topkapı Palace, Yıldız Palace, Aynalıkavak Pavilion and many others. You will definitely love and be impressed by their beauty and history!

In the same region, there is also a museum called Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum. It is the last museum that was opened in Ottoman and the most inclusive museum in the field of Turkish and Islamic Arts. If you are interested in knowing a city by examining its history, that’s the best place to visit. To examine further, you should also visit Istanbul Archeology Museum which has many pieces from Hellene, Ancient Rome and Byzantine. This one is also located in Sultanahmet region. This region is also full of tombs which is a different way to know a city. Headstones and epitaphs tell so much about people of a culture.

Lastly, you should certainly visit Miniaturk, “a small model of a great country”. By visiting there, you can get the chance to experience the whole
country just with a half-day tour in a 60.000 sqm area. As they say, it is a “display window for Turkey”. Miniaturk is located on Golden Horn and so easy to transfer.

So, there are many things to discover in this big city, Istanbul. If you would like to learn about a very fascinating history, see some art and culture,
you are in the right place. Let’s plan your day and start to discover this magnificent city!

Istanbul New Airport is a new airport and every time the number of flights is increasing. It is expected to reach at more than 300 different flight points in a very short time. Istanbul Airport is known as the world’s largest airport with more than 70 million square meters and 200 million passengers capacity per year. With Havaist shuttles and buses, passengers can reach the airport easily, there are also new metro lines under construction. You can reach Sultanahmet from the airport by taking Havaist. First you need to reach Taksim, then you can take metro or bus to reach Sultanahmet. If you would like to take IETT bus to reach Sultanahmet from the airport, you can take H-2 bus from the airport bus station to go to Mecidiyeköy (Şişli), then 77A bus from Şişli Merkez station to reach Sultanahmet.

If you need to go somewhere at the Anatolian side first, it might be better to take a flight to Sabiha Gökçen Airport. If you would like to reach Sultanahmet from this airport, you can take Havabus to arrive Taksim, then take metro or bus to reach Sultanahmet. To see the amazing Bosphorus view in this journey, from the airport you may take E11 bus or Havatas shuttle to come to Kadıköy, then take ferry to Eminönü. After that you should take the nostalgic tram from Sirkeci station to go to Sultanahmet.

To conclude, Istanbul is an amazing city that you can easily take a flight to and then travel by shuttles, metro, trams, buses or taxi. There are many alternatives to travel with and you will definitely enjoy your trip to the city!

Whether A Church or A Mosque – Discover Hagia Sophia Museum in Istanbul

Are you planning to visit Istanbul? Do you know Hagia Sophia, or so-called ‘eight wonder of the world’ by East Roman Philon, is in Istanbul? Museum is definitely one of the museums that you should add to your to-do list in Istanbul. Looking at its name, Hagia Sophia, also called Ayasofya in Turkish and Santa Sofia in Latin comes from Greek which means ‘Church of the Divine Wisdom’. To whom curious about its history, it was built in 6th century by the order of Emperor Justinianos. Anthemios (Tralles) and Isidoros (Miletus) are the famous architectures of this prominent monument. You may be surprised to hear that, these architectures are said to have 100 architectures working under them, who in turn had 100 workers working with them in building this amazing monument.

Actually, the current Hagia Sophia is the third one built in the same location, with different architectural styles. Previous two Hagia Sophias were built from wood and destroyed by fire and riots.

Although it served as a church for 916 years, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque when Istanbul was conquered by Fatih Sultan Mehmed. Then it continued to serve as a mosque until 1935, when Atatürk and Council of Ministers decided to turn it into a museum. You can visit Hagia Sophia and enjoy Byzantine mosaics, architectural drawings, amazing structural incarnations, such as Mighty Dome (32m in diameter and 55m high), Omphalos (place in which the Byzantine emperors were crowned), Weeping Column, (which is said that if your thumb emerges from the copper-faced hole moist, you will be cured of all your ailments) and etc. If you want to enter the museum, you can buy a museum card at the entrance which will also able you to visit other museums for free. A piece of note for museum fans: You can visit Hagia Sophia in European Night of Museum Week, enjoy the mystic ambience of fascinating

Hagia Sophia Museum under darkness of the night.

Although Grand Bazaar was firstly meant to be market place for Textile and Clothes Bazaar and thus named Cevahir Bedestan (‘Bedesten of Gems’), it became a trade center in Ottoman for various products later. Nowadays, The Grand Bazaar is visited by many visitors coming from different countries such as Qatar, Kuwait, Russia, UAE, Korea, Japan, China, Germany, and France. You can find various traditional and modern products from jewelery, antiques, to weapons, carpets, scarfs, amber beads, food post office and beverage. You can easily identify the streets by their names and learn what kinds of products are sold in the shops by these names.
Of course, you should bear in mind that, bargaining is always suggested in Istanbul as well as in Grand Bazaar.

You can visit the Bazaar every day except for Sunday and official holidays. It is open between 9:00 and 19:00.

Thanks to its location, you can easily find all bank branches around you. Also, health care center, police station, post offices are available in the nearby.
The Bazaar can easily be reached from Sultanahmet and Sirkeci by trams (Beyazit-Kapalicarsi stop). Don’t be afraid, shops usually have someone talking foreign language, or they understand you in somehow and will try to help you friendly.

Topkapi Palace is a mixture of elements including traditional Islamic, Rococo, Neo-classical features.

There are four main courts in Topkapi Palace. First court, also known as Bab-ı Humayun is the service area for the palace. It was open to all, just like today. Second court, known as Bab-as Selam or Gate of Salutations is surrendered by well-worn gardens and tress.

As you pass through third court, you will see Divan, entrance to the Harem, Inner Treasury, and Bab-us Saadet.

Third court was the center where top soldiers, administrators, artisans and scholars were trained or educated. Throne Room and Ahmet III Library are mostly interested parts of the court. Also, many rooms housing Ottoman antiquities such as artifacts, jewels, costumes are within this court.

Fourth court was the private part of Topkapi Palace with its several pavilions with waterfront panorama.

Today you can go and sit in Konyali Café, occupying one of the pavilions, and enjoy the terrace looking across Marmara Sea.

If you have a museum card, you can enter to there for free, but if you would like to see famous Harem section, then you should pay additional fee even if you have a museum card.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Transportation is very easy to Topkapi Palace; you can get the tram from Eminonu and get off in Sultan Ahmed station (Sultan Ahmed Mosque is in the same region).[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The Basilica Cistern was constructed to provide water to Istanbul in 4th century AD by the order of Emperor Constantine. As water of Black Sea and Marmara Sea is not appropriate for drinking, it was a must in that time to build water passage and storage.

Impressive Byzantine aqueducts helped to transport the water through underground cistern. The water was then used for the Great Palace during the Byzantine Empire and the Topkapi Palace during the Ottoman Empire. Some of these aqueducts are still standing today.

Probably, the most amazing feature of The Basilica Cistern is Medusa Heads used for supporting the ceiling. According to Greek mythology; Medusa, with snake hair could turn creatures looking directly to her eyes into stones. Many controversies exist about origin of these stones. It is said that Medusa head were turned upside down to prevent Medusa from turning people into stones or to remove evil powers.

No matter what, you should definitely see the awe – inspiring reflections of the columns on the water in the Cistern and mythical Medusa heads.
Another hidden beauty in Istanbul, just like its sister, Binbirdirek Cistern is near Sultan Ahmed Square. It was constructed to serve as a water reservoir just like Basilica Cistern. The name of the cistern may be coming from “binbir”. It means abundance, or as a claim of somebody maybe the name would come from the word “bindir” as the body of the columns exists one on the top of the other.  It attracts attention that too many Greek letters have performed on the body of the columns.  Stoneworkers who worked and performed for the columns are described in these signed. Although it is close to visiting, special occasions can be celebrated in Binbirdirek Cistern by permission.