Discover Istanbul

Places to visit in Istanbul

Discover local landmarks and their stories. Open a place guide to plan your visit, or explore the city with a self-guided quest.

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Places worth exploring

Istanbul

The Column of Constantine

The Column of Constantine, known in Turkish as Çemberlitaş, is a Roman monument in the Fatih district of Istanbul, raised to mark the dedication of Constantinople in 330 AD. It is the oldest Constantinian monument still …

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Istanbul

The German Fountain

The German Fountain is an octagonal, gazebo-style fountain at the northern end of the old Hippodrome in Sultanahmet Square, Istanbul. Built in Germany and shipped to the city as a gift tied to Kaiser Wilhelm II's 1898 vi…

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Istanbul

The Basilica Cistern

The Basilica Cistern is the largest of the several hundred ancient cisterns beneath Istanbul, Turkey. Built in the 6th century under the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, this vast underground water reservoir sits a short w…

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Istanbul

The Holy Church of the Wisdom

Hagia Sophia, known in its time as the Church of the Holy Wisdom, is a great domed building in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, Turkey. Built for the Byzantine emperor Justinian I between 532 and 537, it has served …

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Istanbul

Süleymaniye Camii

Süleymaniye Camii is the great Ottoman mosque on the Third Hill of Istanbul, built for Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent by the architect Mimar Sinan. It is among the most admired works of classical Ottoman architecture, a…

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Istanbul

The Historical Gate of Istanbul University

The Historical Gate of Istanbul University is the monumental entrance to the university's main campus on Beyazıt Square, in Istanbul's Fatih district. It stands between the Grand Bazaar, Beyazıt Mosque and the Süleymaniy…

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Istanbul

Topkapı Palace

Topkapı Palace in Istanbul was the main residence and seat of government of the Ottoman sultans for about four centuries. It stands on the headland where the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara meet, and to…

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Istanbul

The Obelisk of Theodosius

The Obelisk of Theodosius stands in the old Hippodrome in Istanbul, an Egyptian granite obelisk far older than the city around it, brought here and set on a carved Roman base. The carvings on the base show the emperor wa…

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Istanbul

Arasta Bazaar

The Arasta Bazaar is a small covered run of shops behind the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, quieter and more manageable than the Grand Bazaar. The Mosaic Museum is entered from the same lane.

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