Sultanahmet
Occupying a beautifully converted 550-year-old hamam, this cultural centre stages a one-hour whirling dervish performance at 7pm daily (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday only January to March). Note that children under six are not admitted, and it is essential that audience members switch off their phones.
Also on offer are a 1¼-hour Turkish dance show (at 8.30pm on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday).
0.47 MILES
Right in the heart of İstanbul’s historic center, this sacred Byzantine building remains an important symbol of power.
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Topkapı is the subject of more colourful stories than most of the world's museums put together. Libidinous sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful…
2.25 MILES
İstanbul has more than its fair share of Byzantine monuments, but few are as drop-dead gorgeous as this mosaic- and fresco-laden church. Nestled in the…
0.63 MILES
The Süleymaniye crowns one of İstanbul's seven hills and dominates the Golden Horn, providing a landmark for the entire city. Though it's not the largest…
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This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was…
0.62 MILES
İstanbul's most photogenic building was the grand project of Sultan Ahmet I (r 1603–17), whose tomb is located on the north side of the site facing…
0.46 MILES
The colourful and chaotic Grand Bazaar is the heart of İstanbul's Old City and has been so for centuries. Starting as a small vaulted bedesten (warehouse)…
1.24 MILES
There's plenty to see at this impressive museum, but its major draw is undoubtedly the 2nd-floor exhibition of paintings featuring Turkish Orientalist…
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This late 16th-century mosque, rebuilt in the 1860s and renovated in the 1960s, was originally constructed by Hacı Üveys bin Kevser, a governor and…
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Designed by notable architect Kemalettin Bey and built between 1916 and 1926, this Ottoman Revivalist–style building originally functioned as an office…
3. İstanbul Museum of the History of Science & Technology in Islam
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Of interest to science buffs, the didactic exhibition in this museum argues that Islamic advances in science and technology preceded and greatly…
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This outrageously curvaceous rococo gate leads into the precincts of what was once the grand vizierate, or Ottoman prime ministry, known in the West as…
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Built over a grand archway attached to the New Mosque, this small kasrı (pavilion) or mahfili (loge) dates from the same period and functioned as a…
6. Hatice Turhan Valide Sultan Tomb
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Reopened in 2019 after a decade-long restoration, this 17th-century imperial türbe (tomb) with its gorgeous İznik tiles and mother-of-pearl inlaid…
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Gülhane Park was once part of the grounds of Topkapı Palace, accessible only to the royal court. These days crowds of locals come here to picnic under the…
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Only in İstanbul would a 400-year-old mosque be called 'new'. Constructed between 1597 and 1665 and closed at the time of research as it undergoes a long…