Marmara Guesthouse

Top choice in Sultanahmet

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Few of Sultanahmet's family-run pensions can compete with the Marmara's cleanliness, comfort and thoughtful details. Owner Elif and team go out of their way to welcome guests, offering advice aplenty and serving a delicious breakfast on the sea-facing roof terrace. The 15 rooms have comfortable beds, good bathrooms (small in some cases), satellite TVs and double-glazed windows. Expect lots of stairs.

Members of the same family operate the similarly impressive Saruhan Hotel in the predominantly residential pocket of Kadırga.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul, Türkiye. Built between 532 and 537AD by Roman Emperor Justinian I as the Christian Cathedral of Constantinople.

    Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

    0.18 MILES

    Right in the heart of İstanbul’s historic center, this sacred Byzantine building remains an important symbol of power.

  • Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Turkey

    Topkapı Palace

    0.45 MILES

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  • Suleymaniye Mosque

    Süleymaniye Mosque

    1.15 MILES

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  • Basilica Cistern

    Basilica Cistern

    0.23 MILES

    This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was…

  • Blue Mosque.

    Blue Mosque

    0.24 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…

  • Entrance To Bazaar

    Grand Bazaar

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  • Pera Museum

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Nearby Sultanahmet attractions

1. Sultanahmet Archaeological Park

0.12 MILES

Excavations here have uncovered parts of the Great Palace of Byzantium. The park has been closed for restoration for almost a decade, with no signs of it…

2. Aya Sofya Tombs

0.15 MILES

Part of the Aya Sofya complex but entered via Babıhümayun Caddesi, these tombs are the final resting places of five 16th- and 17th-century sultans –…

3. Fountain of Sultan Ahmet III

0.17 MILES

This ornate rococo-style fountain outside the Imperial Gate to Topkapı Palace's First Court was built in 1728 by the sultan who so favoured tulips.

4. Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

0.18 MILES

Right in the heart of İstanbul’s historic center, this sacred Byzantine building remains an important symbol of power.

5. Carpet Museum

0.19 MILES

Housed in an imaret (soup kitchen) added to the Aya Sofya complex in the 18th century, this museum is entered through a spectacular baroque gate and gives…

6. Imperial Gate

0.19 MILES

Topkapı Palace's Imperial Gate leads to the palace's First Court, known as the Court of the Janissaries or the Parade Court. You can go through the gate…

7. Arasta Bazaar

0.19 MILES

This historic arcade of shops was once part of the külliye (mosque complex) of the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii). Mosques built by the great and…

8. Tomb of Sultan Ahmet I

0.22 MILES

The türbe (tomb) of Sultan Ahmet I, the Blue Mosque’s great patron, is on the north side of the mosque facing Sultanahmet Park. Ahmet, who had ascended to…