Istanbul is an 8 thousand years old settlement in which lots of civilizations tried to capture this city. The ships of the seven seas anchored in the ports of Istanbul and many caravans were putting the goods brought from one end of the world for sale in Istanbul markets. Thousands of historical buildings around the city at the present time turn Istanbul into an enormous open-air museum.
An abundance of famous streets, restaurants, cafes, or patisseries that keep social memory vivid is also among the nostalgic places of Istanbul. Briefly, Istanbul tells us, “discover me again and again”.
For exploring Istanbul a few days, weeks or months are not enough. Tourist guides and historical places to visit are abundant for Istanbul. Where everywhere has a history, an especial story emerges from under each stone you remove, every dig you hit.
The historical peninsula, encircled by the waters of the Bosphorus, is dwelling to a series of fascinating monuments that bring glory to the old-walled Byzantine and Constantinople cities. Almost every visit to modern-day Istanbul begins with a stroll in the historic neighborhood, recognized by UNESCO for its stunning architectural masterpieces.
There are amazing historical places to visit in Istanbul. The best historic sites from the neighborhood of Faith and beyond that you may never want to miss visiting these places. Such as Hagia Sophia, Sultan Ahmet Mosque (Historical Blue Mosque), Topkapi Palace, Rumeli Fortress, Galata Tower, Underground Basilica Cistern, Istanbul Archaeology Museum, Grand Bazaar, etc.
The Glory of the Hagia Sophia
The breathtaking Hagia Sophia was as a former church, mosque, and now it is a historical museum in Istanbul. The structural building of the museum represents the passage from Byzantine rule to Ottoman splendor in Constantinople.
Hagia Sophia is one of the most extraordinary monuments of the ancient world, has a particularly large dome, which is considered the essence of Byzantine architectural expertise. For almost a thousand years since it was built by Emperor Justinian in 537, it served as the Greek Orthodox cathedral and the Patriarchate of Constantinople until 1453.
Hagia Sophia, which has been resisting time for centuries with its impressive architecture, rich history, religious and cultural importance and innovative feature it is the largest Eastern Roman church in Istanbul. The oldest and fastest completed cathedral in the world, established three times in the same place. It is one of the masterpieces of architectural history with its dizzy dome that hangs in the air, monolithic marble columns and unique mosaics.
It was converted into a mosque for the next 500 years and was served as a museum under the command of President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1935. At the present time, Hagia Sophia is Turkey's second extremely visited museum after Topkapi Palace. It attracts more than 3 million tourists and visitors annually to its magnificent interiors decorated with golden mosaics, which have emerged after countless restorations.
The exterior of the Hagia Sophia Museum are as popular as the interior. The Sultan's Tombs outside the establishment are among the first historical places to visit in Istanbul. Here in, Sultan II. Selim, Sultan III. Murad, Sultan III. There are Mehmed, Sultan I. Mustafa and Sultan İbrahim tombs and princes Tomb. It is known that Mimar Sinan made the second Hagia Sophia the four minarets, Faculty of Medicine, the fountain of the School of Spaces, the temporary residence, the public buildings, the buttresses, the treasury building and the imaret house. These also increase the magnificence of the building.
While even the view of Hagia Sophia is enough to fall in love with the beautiful city of Istanbul, the Sultan Ahmet Mosque or Blue Mosque, which is situated right next to Hagia Sophia, that everyone has been looking at with respect for centuries and admire every time, is able to bear our love to an absolutely different dimension. Sultan Ahmet Blue Mosque is among the magnificent historical places to visit in Istanbul.
Sultan Ahmet Mosque is one of the extremely visited works of the historical peninsula with its story, architectural design, location and with the challenging to history. Due to the color of the glorious patterns decorated its interior walls, this place is also known as the “Blue Mosque” among foreign tourists and visitors. Let's take a closer look at the magnificent detail of Istanbul, which made a dissimilarity in Turkish Islamic architecture in the previous years and still preserves this difference with its unique features.
Opposed to popular beliefs, the architect of the Sultan Ahmet Mosque is not Mimar Sinan, but it is a truth that he inspired the beauty of the Blue Mosque. The architect of the Sultan Ahmet Mosque is Sedefkar Mehmet Aga, one of the students trained by Mimar Sinan. The mosque, established by Sultan Ahmet I. in the 17th century, between “1609-1616”.
When giving details about the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, firstly we should have begun by saying that it was the first and only 6 minaret mosque in the Ottoman borders. Because this detail creates the story of the Blue Mosque and one of the most extraordinary features that separate it from other works.
The interior design of the Sultan Ahmet Mosque came to life as a result of great efforts. The decorations of the mosque come off more than 20 thousand tiles with 50 different tulip patterns in Iznik. There are flowers, fruits and cypresses on these magnificent tiles made by the tiles in Iznik. All these tiles create a deep blue, peaceful and magnificent scene.
One of the most important features in the mosque is the mihrab made of carved marble. Besides the glory of the mihrab, which is surrounded by windows, the flawlessness of the interior's acoustics provides that the voice of the imam is easily heard even when the mosque is the most crowded.
Topkapi Place is also one of the important historical places in Istanbul Turkey. Topkapi Palace served as the administration and management, education and art center of the empire for nearly 400 years after the conquest of Istanbul, also used as the home of the dynasty and sultans. The Palace, which composed of Harem and 4 courtyards, started to serve as a museum after the Republic.
After Fatih Sultan Mehmed conquered Istanbul in 1453, the palace started to be established in 1460 and its construction finished in 1478; it was covering an area of 700,000 square meters on the Eastern Roman acropolis in Sarayburnu, at the tip of the historical Istanbul peninsula between the Marmara Sea, the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn.
After the establishment of the Republic of Turkey on 3 April 1924, it became a museum and is the first museum in the Republic period. The Topkapi Palace Museum currently covers an area of about 300,000 square meters.
Topkapi Palace, separated from the city by the East Roman walls on the by sea, is one of the largest palace-museums of the world with its architectural structures, collections and nearly 300,000 archive documents.
Rumeli Fortress was established right before the conquest of Istanbul by Fatih Sultan Mehmet, which takes place in the Sariyer region of European side as one of the stunning historical places to visit in Istanbul, which gave its name to the district in Bosphorus. The fortress was built to prevent attacks from the north of the Bosphorus.
When the young Ottoman Sultan of the period planned to conquest Istanbul, he took some precautions before the siege. As the ships passing through the Bosphorus were taken under control, conquest would abide a difficult matter. For this reason, the idea of establishing a fortress that would take the Bosphorus under control was put forward.
The timber used in the establishment of Rumeli Fortress was obtained from Iznik and Karadeniz Ereglisi, stones and lime from different regions of Anatolia and the ruined Byzantine structures in the surrounding area.
One of the first place that come to mind when talking about the historical places to visit in Istanbul is the Galata Tower. The Tower, which has been watching the city for hundreds of years with its imposing view and telling different stories, gives its visitors the privilege to both learn about the past of Istanbul and watch the unique view of the city.
The tower was built in 528 year by the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius Oilosuz. Of course, at that time, the tower was a little far from its current location. The tower, which is intended to guide sailors as a lighthouse tower, was fully made of wood when it first entered the history scene. Regardless of this, it managed to stand for nearly seven centuries and fulfill his duty properly. The Tower has a height of 69.90 meters with its roof. Unprocessed rubble was used in the construction of the 9-storey tower.
The Basilica Cistern, which fascinates all people who are interested in historical places to visit in Istanbul with its mystical air, is one of the most special places in the city with its extraordinary structure. While touring the cistern, which is one of the oldest and magnificent structures that have survived from the Byzantine period, you can both raise your history accumulation and find peace in its quiet environment.
The Basilica Cistern built on a total area of 9,800 square meters. The cistern, which has a water storage capacity of nearly 100,000 tons, can be descended from a stone ladder with 52 steps. The interior design of the Cistern is supported by 336 columns, each 9 meters high and 4.80 meters section.
There are many historical places to visit in Istanbul that attracts foreigners, tourists and investors all around the world. It is one of the most important factor that adds value to the real estate market and brings investment return. Which encourages real estate investors to buy houses for sale in Istanbul.
MELARES Turkey Properties as an experienced real estate consultant company works with over 350 mega housing projects in Istanbul. If you are planning to buy an apartment in Istanbul reliable way we are here to satisfy you in all purchase process.
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