Hagia Sophia, the most magnificent historical structure of Istanbul, has been one of the symbols of the city for centuries.
Having witnessed the history of Istanbul for centuries in the Historic Peninsula, Hagia Sophia took its final form in 537 AD after being burned and destroyed 3 times in its history.
On the day when Emperor Justinian was completed, Hz. Referring to Solomon, “Solomon I beat you!” The building, which is rumored to be called, was opened to worship as a mosque after the Conquest of Istanbul. Hagia Sophia, which enriched day by day with the great treasures brought by the Ottoman sultans from the victorious campaigns, was opened to visitors as a museum in 1935. As of 2020, it was opened to worship as a mosque again.
The Yeni Mosque, also known as the Valide Sultan Mosque, is the last great mosque in Istanbul to be built by the Ottoman family. In addition, the Yeni Mosque is the mosque that took the longest to be built during the Ottoman Period.
Sultan III. The mosque, the foundations of which were laid in 1597 by the order of Murad’s wife Safiye Sultan, only in 1665, IV. It was completed as a result of the great efforts and donations of Turhan Hatice Sultan, the mother of Mehmet.
Eyüp Sultan Mosque, which has great importance in the Turkish and Islamic world, was built in 1458 after the Conquest of Istanbul. Before the mosque was built, it became one of the most important centers of the city due to the fact that there was a tomb of Eyüp Sultan in the region and the sultans were armed with swords in this area. The mosque, which was about to collapse over time, III. Selim had it completely demolished and rebuilt, except for the foundation and the mineral. The works that started in 1798 ended in 1800 and the mosque took its present appearance.
It is a mosque built by Mimar Sinan in Istanbul between 1551 and 1557 in the name of Suleiman the Magnificent. Described as the work of Mimar Sinan’s journeyman era, Süleymaniye Mosque was built as a part of the Süleymaniye Complex, which consists of madrasahs, a library, a hospital, a primary school, a hammam, a soup kitchen, a burial ground and shops. Süleymaniye Mosque is one of the most important examples of Classical Ottoman Architecture. Despite the fact that more than a hundred earthquakes have occurred in Istanbul since its construction, not the slightest crack has occurred on the walls of the mosque.
Opened in 1994 with the support of businessman Rahmi Koç, it is the first important museum dedicated to the history of industry, transportation, industry and communication in Turkey.
The museum often organizes events, concerts and special exhibitions. One of them is the exhibition of machine samples created from Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings called “Leonardo: Universal Genius Exhibition” opened at the end of 2006.
Located in Karaköy Port, between Mimar Sinan University Fine Arts Faculty and Tophane-i Amire, Istanbul T.C. It was brought to life by transforming the warehouse building number 4, which was built as a dry cargo warehouse for Maritime Enterprises, into a museum. The building, which also hosted the 8th International Istanbul Biennial held in 2003, was allocated as a museum by the Prime Ministry. It was put into service on 11 December 2004, upon the request to complete its construction before the date of 17 December, when Turkey will be given a negotiation date for EU membership.
Pera Museum is a private museum located in the Tepebaşı district of Istanbul. It was established in 2005 by the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation to provide large-scale cultural and artistic services.
Pera Museum, Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation’s “Orientalist Painting”, Anatolian Weights and Measures, and Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics aim to share the values represented by these collections with the public through exhibitions, publishing products, oral events, educational events and scientific studies and pass them on to future generations aims.
Galata Mevlevihanesi was established in 1491 on the ridge of Galata. The tower gate was also known as the Mevlevi House and the Galip Dede Lodge. It is known that 1651 Matbah Emini İsmail Efendi repaired the Mevlevi house, regarding the repair of the Mevlevihane structures that were probably damaged by the 1509 Istanbul earthquake, called the “Little Apocalypse”. When it was damaged in the Tophane fire in 1765, Sultan III. Osman Efendi from Yenişehir was appointed as the building trustee by Mustafa and it was repaired.
Topkapi Palace was built by Fatih Sultan Mehmed in 1478. Topkapi Palace, located in Istanbul Sarayburnu, has been the administrative center of the state and the official residence of the Ottoman sultans for about 380 years. Nearly 4,000 people lived in it. The present area of the palace, which was located on an area of approximately 700,000 m² in the years of its establishment, is 80,000 m² until Abdülmecid had the Dolmabahçe Palace built.
Evliya Çelebi writes that Yavuz Sultan Selim had a mansion built on the present site of Dolmabahçe Palace. During the reign of Ahmet I, the space was filled with stones and the pavilion was enlarged. The name of the palace and settlement comes from here. In the 19th century, II. Mahmut has a new palace built in the same place. The current structure was built by Abdulmecit I in 1842 by Karabet Balyan. The palace, whose construction continued until 1853, is the place where Abdülmecit lived, as well as the place where he saw official works. After Abdülmecit, his brother Abdülaziz also lived in this palace. Dolmabahçe Palace, which was the Presidential Residence of Atatürk in Istanbul after the proclamation of the Republic, has a special importance in the history of the Republic as it is the place where Atatürk died on November 10, 1938.
Today, the Ihlamur Pavilion, which protects itself from the noise and chaos of its surroundings with high walls, consists of two structures built inside a resting area known as Ihlamur Recreation since ancient times. This resting area, which consists of three parts: Poollu Ihlamur Mahalli, Muhabbet Bahçesi and Hacı Hüseyin Vineyard, was built by Sultan III. It is known that it was transformed into a “private garden” during the reign of Ahmet III (1703-1730), and after the arrangements during the reigns of Abdulhamid I (1774-1789) and Selim III (1789-1807), it attracted the attention of Sultan Abdulmecit in the first half of the 19th century. He would often come to a simple vineyard house here to rest and meet some of his guests, such as the French poet Lamartine.
The place where the palace is located is a historical place, and its use as a residential area dates back to the Byzantine period. In this region, there was a grove known as the Cross Gardens during the Byzantine period. It is said that during the Byzantine period, this region was named Cross (Stavroz) because of the large cross erected by Constantine II. Eremya Çelebi Kömürcüyan stated that a Byzantine church and a holy spring were still standing in this region in the 17th century.
The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest and oldest covered bazaars in the world, located in the center of Istanbul, in the middle of Beyazıt, Nuruosmaniye and Mercan districts. There are approximately 4,000 shops in the Grand Bazaar. It is a Byzantine building. 1460, the year Fatih Sultan Mehmet started the construction of the Grand Bazaar, was accepted as the foundation year of the Grand Bazaar.
Atlas Passage, one of Beyoğlu’s most popular and colorful passages, built in 1877, bears the traces of Ottoman architecture. When you walk from Istiklal Street in the direction of Tünel, the building number 207 on the left is Atlas Passage. When you first enter the historical passage, there are Safahathane, one of the classics of Beyoğlu nights, and places where theater actors meet. In addition to the cinema with the same name as the passage, there are also two associations and theaters. On the inside, the stores with colorful showcases are almost attractive for shopping. In this cute passage, mainly clothing and jewelry stores draw attention.
Syria Passage, which draws attention with its historical texture, has lost its feature of being a frequently preferred passage in terms of shopping because very few of the shops in the passage are used. But this passage still remains popular for second-hand clothing and accessory enthusiasts. You feel like you are in a fairy tale as soon as you step into the vintage shop on the ground floor. You can find something suitable for yourself in the store, which also provides costumes for many TV series and movies.
