Going to Istanbul for the first time?

Istanbul is a time machine where the hyper modern meets with the timeless. You can go several hundred years back in time just by turning a corner in the street. Here are palaces, history and unbelievable shopping opportunities!

The Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii)
is Turkeys only mosque with as much a six minarets, high pointy towers where the muezzin used to stand and call for prayer. The name “Blue Mosque” comes from the famous blue Iznik tiles which can be seen on the outside near the top of the minarets and inside the mosque.



The Hagia Sofia church (Aya Sofya) (photo)
Across from the Blue Mosque the Hagia Sofia church is situated, a large red church with and enormous dome and four minarets, built by emperor Justitian in the year 543. It was the main cathedral of Constantinople for more than 900 years, until it was converted into a mosque and later a museum. Around year 1000, the Vikings visited Constantinople. Some became mercenaries in the emperor’s army. In the balustrade on the upper South gallery of Hagia Sofia you can find rune inscriptions, it says “ Halfdan carved these runes”.

Topkapi Palace (Topkapi sarayi)
Just around the corner from Hagia Sofia you find the Topkapi Palace, the Sultans palace from the 15th century. The Topkapi Palace has three gardens; the outer garden for guests, the mid-garden for trusted employees and government members, and the inner garden only for the Sultan and his Harem.

In Topkapi you can see the treasury of the Sultan, large amounts of diamonds, emeralds, gold and silver, an impressing collection of Ming and other valuable china, the clothing of the Sultan, gold thrones covered with emeralds, and the Palace kitchens enormous casseroles which they used to feed 4000 people in the Palace every day.

The most exciting place in the Topkapi palace (except from the Harems section) must be the room of relics. Here you can see hairs from the Prophet Muhammeds beard and a piece of the Black stone of Mecca.Many Muslims come to this place as a Pilgrimage.

The Harem where the Sultans wives, concubines and children were served by eunuchs is the only part of Topkapi where you are obliged to follow a guided tour – in the other areas you can walk freely around.

The Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan sarayi)
Byzantium’s emperors palace and gardens got their waters from a large, underground water cistern called the Basilica Cistern, dated 532 A.D. You find it across the road from Hagia Sofia. The cistern is also called “The Sunken Palace” because that is just what it looks like with all its beautiful marble columns. From time to time, due to the marvellous acoustic the cistern is used for classical music performances.

The Grand Bazaar (Kapali Carsi)
The Grand Bazar or Kapali Carsi, "the closed bazaar") with its 4000 small shops underneath ancient rose painted arcades is a must to visit when you are in Istanbul. It was built in 1461 and is both the oldest and the largest closed bazaar in the world. Today the Grand Bazaar is mostly serving the tourists and souvenirs, carpets, gold and copied products are sold.

Remember: Turkish sellers are a bit pushy. Even in the most modern fashion shops in new shopping malls in Turkey the shop salesperson might follow you around like a shadow. This is because the Turkish customers are used to a demand “full service”. For some foreigners this “service” can be a bit too much. I recommend that you just try to laugh about it, enjoy a cup of tea in the carpet shop, and remember: you do not have to buy anything. Bargaining is a must in the bazaars, and if you find a good tone with the seller, the chance of achieving a good price is increasing.

All the sighs mentioned in this post is situated in the area of “Sultanahmet” in Istanbul, also often called “The Old Town”.