Istanbul's Environs

Buyukada (Big Island) is the largest of the clustering of island in the Marmara Sea that were once used as places of exile for Byzantine princes. Today these islands are considered excursion points that are welcoming near the city. The other island in this chain are Kinali, Sedef, Burgaz and Heybeli. Twenty-five kilometers distant from the city proper is Kilyos, a European side Black Sea town whose sandy beaches attract visitors throughout the summer.

The Belgrade Forest, Istanbul's largest forest, is inland from the Black Sea. The forest's golf course and equestrian center are popular for those searching these kinds of attractions. The town of Polenezkoy, which is also located twenty-five kilometers from Istanbul on the Asian side was founded by a group of Polish immigrants in the 19th century.

Still maintaining a kind of central European village charm, this is an ideal site for long walks and excursions and for sampling some of the delicious food of the town. Also on the Asian side is the Black Sea town of Sile, a charming resort town with sandy beaches and good hotels and restaurants.

ISTANBUL - Sultanahmet Mosque (The Blue Mosque)

Not only beloved by the people of Istanbul, this mosque is also the delight of all Muslims and tourists alike. The Sultanahmet is the city's largest mosque and claims six minarets. The distinctive color of its tiles gives it its second name, the Blue Mosque. The blue and white of its more than 20,000 original Iznik (Nicean) tiles, the gold embossed calligraphy of passages from Quran, and the deep red of the carpets are all in perfect harmony. The almost 260 windows (almost all of them of colored glass) light up huge (51x53m) interior and also provide a mystic hue to the surroundings.

ISTANBUL - Suleymaniye Mosque

It was during the time of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent that the power of the Ottoman Empire was felt around the world and this reign is rightfully known as the seminal period of the empire. The empire's chief architect, Sinan, built monuments that reflected tihs might. Sinan built the Suleymaniye between the years of 1550-1557 and mosque is today known as his "masterpiece." No other building in the city lends as much beauty to its surroundings as this work of art. The architectural frame of this building is fully exposed and the four weight bearing elements - like those in the Hagia Sophia-are not concealed from view.

ISTANBUL - Ortakoy Mosque

The mosque along the shores of the Bosphorus in Ortakoy was built in the 19th century by Sultan Abdulmecit. Its location, its stance and its elegance all combine to make this one of the pretties mosques of the late period.

ISTANBUL - Hagia Irini Church

Hagia Irini Church is located in the first courtyard of the Topkapi Palace complex. Built in the 4th century, it ranks as the city's oldest extant church. Restored to its present state in 740, it was used in the Ottoman period as an armory and arsenal. Restored again in the 20th century, it is today used for exhbits and other cultural events.

ISTANBUL - Hagia Sophia

Perched on top of a hill in the center of the city of the old city of Byzantium, the Hagia Sophia looks magnificent from the sea below. Shortly after the collapse of the original church on the site in 532, Byzantine Emperor Justine ordered the building of a new cathedral. For the next one thousand years this new cathedral, the Hagia Sophia, represented the most powerful and respected church in all of Christianity and became the very symbol of the merging of Rome's unique conceptualization of empire with that of the Christian conceptualization of God. The interior of the church is richly imbued with marble wall plaques and mosaic adornments but what especially awes the visitor upon entering is the vast expanse of undivided space provided by its huge central dome and side domes. Many have called the Hagia Sophia "the 8th wonder of the world."

ISTANBUL - Museum Of Turkish And Islamic Arts

The museum is located in the restored Ibrahim Pasha Palace that sits opposite the Hippodrome Square. The palace has an absolutely huge salon and ranks as the largest and most magnificent palace built by any of the grand viziers. The museum has a wonderful collection of Seljuk and Ottoman carpets, along with very valuable miniatures, calligraphy, ceramic artifacts, rahle (low reading desk), and an example of an Ottoman style seating group.

ISTANBUL - Tiled Kiosk

Commissioned by Sultan Mehmet II (the conqueror) this kiosk ranks as the oldest structure in the Topkapi Palace complex. The walls of the kiosk are absolutely spell-binding as they have been covered with six-sided colorful tiles with gold embellishments. Besides the personal belongings of the sultans, this kiosk also exhibits extraordinarily beautiful and priceless tiles and ceramic pieces.

ISTANBUL - Archeological Museum

Located in very close proximity to the Topkapi Palace and the Hagia Sophia, Istanbul's Archaeological Museum has a marvelous collection that includes the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great. Actually Alexander was never buried in this tomb, but it received its name from the figures carved into its sides. These reliefs are done with incredible realism and depict Alexander's battles, and the hunt of a lion and a panther. Dating from 310 BC this wonderful artifact has reached us today in an untouched form. We can even still make out many of the colors on its carvings. The museum also contains other sarcophagi and columns dating from the Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods, along with countless busts of Roman emperors, among them Augustus, Tiberius, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, and those of Diocletius, Arcadias and Alexander the Great.

ISTANBUL - Yerebatan (Sunken Palace Cistern)

Diagonally opposite the Hagia Sophia is the Yerebatan, the cistern built in the 6th century. The cistern has twelve, 28 column rows, making this place a veritable forest of columns with Corinthian or early Byzantine style column heads, and giving it its name, the sunken "palace." One of the seventy known cisterns in the city, this cistern, which is open to visitors, ranks as largest and only cistern thus far to have undergone careful restoration. Excavation work revealed two beautiful Medusa heads serving as bases for the columns.

ISTANBUL - German Fountain

The domed German Fountain is accompanied by unroofed columns and is located in the area between the Hippodrome and the Blue Mosque. The fountain was built in honor of Emperor Wilhelm II to mark his journey to the East in 1895.

ISTANBUL - Topkapi Palace

Once the home of the Ottoman sultans and their huge families, the Topkapi Palace ranks as Istanbul's most magnificent monuments and today draws tens of thousands of visitors annually from across the face of the globe. The small kiosks, baths, workshops, mosques, libraries...all seem to have been built in a random and unplanned fashion, disparate elements built side by side, yet somehow the chaos of this construction results in a complex that is remarkably harmonious in an architectural sense. This was not just the home of the Ottoman sultans, but the palace was also the administrative headquarters of the Ottoman Empire; this dichotomy was solved by sharply dividing the palace into distinctively different areas according to use and function. While the entire palace is extremely interesting, the harem quarters and the treasury are even more so.

ISTANBUL - Dolmabahce Palace

In 1855 Sultan Abdulmecit moved the palace entourage from Ottoman's traditional palace, the Topkapi, to the newly completed Dolmabahce Palace. Designed in so called "candy box" style this very grandiose palace was the work of famous Armenian Balyan family. It was in tihs palace that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish Republic, died. The interior plan of the palace stretches for 500 meters parallel to the Bosphorus, marking a harmony within a variety of artistic styles.

ISTANBUL - Beylerbeyi Summer Palace

Gracing the Bosphorus shores on the Asian side of the city and north of the Bosphorus Bridge, the construction of the Beylerbeyi, a summer residence that hosted many emperors and sultans, was completed in 1865. With its marble facade and two small additional structures at the shore, this small palace is a product of 19th century Ottoman Rococo.

ISTANBUL - Galata Tower

Including its unique conical roofline, the 36 meter tall Galata Tower was built in 1349 by the Genovese and used as a fire look­out tower. Visitors to its restaurant and encircling balconies get a clear view over the whole of the old city.

Istanbul's Rich Historical Legacy

The spacious and open area in Sultanahmet is home to the Hippodrome, the space in which the Byzantines held their chariot races and other sports events. Today the remaining monuments that graced the square in those years are the Obelisk of Theodosius, the Serpentine Column, and the Column of Constantine. The 18th century wooden houses in the environs of the Hippodrome -especially those on Sogukcesme (cold well) Street are definitely worth seeing. Now restored, one of these homes is being currently used as a library while the others function as small hotels. The Fountain of Sultan Ahmet HI is located in front of the entrance gate to the Topkapi Palace.

Built in 1828 by Sultan Mahmut II, the Beyazit Tower was built as a fire look-out tower. The Bozdogan-Valens Aqueduct was originally built in 368 by the Byzantines and then augmented in later years by the Ottomans; both empires used these aqueducts as a means of transporting water into the city. Also known as Leander's Tower, the Maiden's Tower is one of the most charming symbols of Istanbul. The subject of numerous legends and myths, the tower was first built in the 12th century. Today's tower dates to the 18th century. The once impregnable city walls are seven kilometers long, stretching from the Marmara Sea to the Golden Horn. These 5th century walls were built by the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II. The walls and their environs are registered on the United Nation's cultural heritage list.

ISTANBUL - The Bosphorus Strait

Visitors to Istanbul must sure board one of the ferry boats for a trip up the Bosphorus Strait. The ferry passes under two suspension bridges and stops at various ferry boat stations of neighborhoods that are usually described as "pretty as a picture". The trip lasts an afternoon, crisscrossing from continent to continent and floating smoothly from shore to shore. After passing under the first (Bosphorus) bridge the landscape along the shores seems to completely change every kilometer or so. In the 17th century Istanbul residents of means began building large wooden mansions along the shore. The most beautiful of these mansions -referred to as yak-are found on the Asian side between Cengelkoy and Kanlica. Almost every one of these mansions has its own dock or boathouse for the owner's rowboats, once an important means of Bosphorus transportation to tie up. Most of the mansions remaining today date from the 19th century. These mansions were designed in a manner that they blended in beautifully with their natural surroundings. Popular Bosphorus villages like Arnavutkoy, Bebek, Yenikoy and Tarabya are located on the European side. On the way back to the central city stop at one of these spots for a fresh fish dinner.

ISTANBUL - Intercontinental Metropolis

Istanbul not only joins continents, it also joins cultures and people. The charm of Istanbul lies in historical fabric and culturel mosaic that meets us at every corner and turn the city.

Istanbul, the capital city of three mighty civilizations and the subject of countless songs, poems and novels, can best be described as a mosaic of cultures. This historical city has embraced the beliefs of three great religions and offers its residents and its guests the finest blending of the old with the new, the east with the west. A city of mosques, palaces, and mansions, Istanbul is also a city of street hawkers, dock workers, street children and tramps. Their presence on street corners only serves to lend even more flavor to this grand and enchanting city.
The list of sights and sites that make up Istanbul's rich and colorful cultural fabric is too long to fit on any number of pages. When we add the city's natural beauties to the historical monuments dating from the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires, we get a breath-taking synthesis. No tour of Istanbul would be complete without experiencing the traditional and unforgettable boat trip up the Bosphorus, the strait that divides the city into European and Asian sides. The shores of the Bosphorus reflect both a majestic and utterly rarified beauty, a blend of the past with today. The old wooden mansions along the shore nestle among modern hotels, ancient stone fortresses, rustic palaces and small fishing villages.
And any trip to Istanbul must also include a trip to the city's nearby Princes' Islands, so named as they were the exile destination for deposed princes during the Byzantine era. Those who have the time may want to venture a bit more away from the city and explore its environs. There seem to be countless alternatives. Trips to Poyrazkoy, Riva, Şile and Ağva will be appreciated by those searching for good beaches, while Kemerburgaz and Durusu offer a glimpse at nature's delights. Those who make the hour drive to Kilyos will discover that this Black Sea town boasts both swimming and sun bathing opportunities.