Galata Tower has dominated Beyoğlu’s skyline since 1348 and still offers the best panoramic views of the city. Above, the Golden Horn, Seraglio Point and Old Istanbul as seen from Galata Tower (looking south). Originally named the Tower of Christ, it was the high point in the city walls of the Genoese colony called Galata. […]
Maiden’s Tower was first built by the ancient Athenian general Alcibiades in 408 BC to control the movements of the Persian ships in the Bosphorus strait. Back then the tower was located between the ancient cities of Byzantion and Chrysopolis. The tower was later enlarged and rebuilt as a fortress by the Byzantine emperor Alexius […]
Beylerleyi Palace was commissioned by Sultan Abdülaziz (1830–1876) and built between 1861 and 1865 as a summer residence anda place to entertain visiting heads of state. Empress Eugénie of France visited Beylerbeyi on her way to the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and had her face slapped by the sultan’s mother for daring […]
The Dolmabahçe Palace was home to six sultans from 1856, when it was first inhabited, up until the abolition of the Caliphate in1924: The last royal to live here was Caliph Abdülmecid Efendi. Alaw that went into effect on March 3, 1924 transferred the ownership of the palace to the national heritage of the new […]
The Chora Church is considered to be one of the most beautiful examples of a Byzantine church. The church is situated in the western, Edirnekapı district of Istanbul. In the 16th century, the church was converted into a mosque by the Ottoman rulers, and it became a secularised museum in 1948. The interior of the […]