ISTANBUL HISTORICAL BACKGROUND BYZANTINE MONUMENTS The Walls The Palace of Constantine Porphyrogenetos Yedikule Fortress Chora Museum The Hippodrome The Mosaic Museum Haghia Sophia The Basilica Cistern Haghia Irene Byzantine Churches Turned Into Mosques Küçük Ayasofya Camii Molla Zeyrek Camii Fethiye Camii Gül Camii The Valens' Aqueduct MOSQUES Süleymaniye Mosque The Blue Mosque The Prince's Mosque Fatih Mosque Beyazit Mosque Rüstem Pasha Mosque Sokullu Mehmet Pasha Mosque Mihrimah Mosque The New Mosque Eyüp Mosque Yavuz Selim Mosque Nuruosmaniye Mosque OTTOMAN PALACES Topkapi Palace Dolmabahçe Palace Ibrahim Pasha Palace Other Palaces FOUNTAINS OTTOMAN HOUSES OTHER MUSEUMS BAZAARS FORTRESSES THE BOSPHORUS THE GOLDEN HORN THE PRINCES' ISLANDS OTHER STROLLS Galata District Beyoglu District Ortaköy District BEST ADRESSES HAMMAMS PRIVATE HOSPITALS SHOPPING

OTHER MUSEUMS OF GREAT INTEREST The Archaeoligical Museum among the rich collections the museum displays 60,000 Greco-Roman and New Eastern antiquities including a Sarcophagus known as “ the Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great" and a stone tablet carved with the Treaty of Kadesh. The museum is located next to Topkapi Palace. (Open 09.30 - 16. 00 . Closed on mondays). Map 2, E 3 The Ancient Orient Museum is also located next to Topkapi Palace. (Open 09.30 - 16. 00 . Closed on mondays). Map 2, E 3 The Ceramics and Tiles Museum (Çinili Kösk) (closed on mondays) is also located near Topkapi Palace. (Open 09.30 - 16. 00 . Closed on mondays). Map 2, E 3 The Carpets and Kilims Museum is located inside an outbuilding of the Blue Mosque. (Open 09.00 - 12.00 - 13.00 - 16.00. Closed on saturdays and sundays) Map 2, E 3 The Calligraphy Museum is located on Beyazit Square. (Open 09.00 - 16.00. Closed on saturdays and sundays). Map 2, E 3 The Military Museum is located at Harbiye. During the summer time, every day between 15.00 - 16.00 there is a performance of the Mehter Band (Janissary Band). (Open 09.00 - 17.00 . Closed on mondays and tuesdays). Map 3, C 1 The Navy Museum (Deniz Musesi) is located at Be?ikta?. (Open 09.00 - 17.00. Closed on wednesdays and thursdays). Map 3, D/E 1 The Turkish Painting and Sculpture Museum is located at Be?ikta?. (Open 10.00 - 16.00 from wednesdays to sundays). Map 3, D/ E 1 The Sadberk Hanym Museum (Archaeoligical and ethnographical collections) is located in a beautiful wooden mansion facing the Bosphorus at Büyükdere (Sariyer). The Sadberk Hanym Museum is the first museum of the Koç Family. (Open 10.30 - 18.00. Closed on wednesdays). Map 1 Rahmi M. Koç Industrial Museum is located in Haskoy cad.27 on the Golden Horn. The museum gives a glimpse into Ystanbul's industrial past. The Rahmi M. Koç Industrial Museum is the second museum of the Koç Family. (Open 10.00 - 17.00. Closed on Mondays). Map 2, B 1 The Pera Museum : the historical building of the former Bristol hotel built in 1893 at Tepeba?y, following restoration, has been transformed into a modern cultural center. The museum displays various, rich collections from the Suna and Inan Kyraç Foundation who purchased the hotel. The most famous (and also most expensive) piece on display in the museum is "The Tortoise Trainer" by Osman Hamdi Bey exhibited in the Orientalist painting section. The Pera Museum is the third museum of the Koç Family. (Open Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 - 19:00; Sunday: 12:00 - 18:00; closed on Mondays / Mesrutiyet Caddesi 141, Tepeba?y, Beyo?lu) Map 2, B 3 Istanbul Modern is Turkey's first museum of modern art. It is located in a former warehouse built at the end of the 19th century and used by the Istanbul Port Authority. The building features two stories of 4,000 square meters each. On the upper floor, the permanent collection consisting of about 4,000 pieces - all by Turkish artists - is exhibited on a rotational basis. Temporary exhibitions are held on the ground floor. The museum project has been funded by the Eczcyba?y family who is also one of the museum's main doners. (Open 10.00 - 18.00. On Thursdays, remains open until 20.00. Closed on Mondays / Meclis-i Mebusan Caddesi, Antrepo 4 - Karaköy) Map 2, C4 Atatürk Museum is located in the house where Atatürk lived at 250 Halaskargazi Avenue (Halaskargazi caddesi) in ?i?li . On display are photographs of Atatürk from his birth until his death, as well as some of his clothes, personal belongings and paintings. (Open 09.00 - 16.00. Closed on Sundays and Thursdays) Map 3, B 1

BAZAARS The Grand Bazaar (Kapali Çarsi) is a covered trade center (bedesten) that was built between 1455 and 1461 by Mehmet II the Conqueror, and later enlarged with “hans”. Following fires and earthquakes, the bedesten was restored several times. It is a huge labyrinth composed of thousands shops and hundreds workshops. Most of them are grouped according to their speciality: jewels, copper items, carpets, leather, clothing, souvenirs... (Open 09.00 - 19.00. Closed on sundays and bank holidays). Map 2, E 2

The Egyptian Bazaar or Spice Bazaar (Misir Çarsisi) built in 1664, was part of the Yeni Cami complex. Medicinal herbs and spices from the territories of the empire and other countries used to transit through Egypt. The bazaar was the Mecca of oriental Medecine and pharmacopoeia. Nowadays, in addition to herbs and spices, dried fruits, basketwork, materials, household table and bathroom linen, jewels can be found. (Open 09.00 - 19.00. Closed on sundays and bank holidays). Map 2, E 2

The Old Books and Post Cards Bazaar (Sahaflar Çarsisi) is located near Beyazit Mosque. Map 2, E 2

FORTRESSES Rumeli Hisari is located on the European side near the second Bosphorus Bridge called Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü. In 1452, Sultan Mehmet II the Conqueror, who was preparing the siege of Constantinople, built a fortress facing the Anatolian Fortress of Anadolu Hisari. This beautiful example of military architecture was completed in record time of four months. The sultan's aim was to prevent any military help from the fleets allied to the Byzantines, and also to prevent resupplying the city from the Black Sea. The fortress, restored in 1953, has become an open-air museum and amphitheater where concerts, theatre and folkloric shows are held. (Open every day 09.00-16.30 except Wednesdays).

Anadolu Hisari, the Anatolian Fortress opposite Rumeli Hisari, was built on the Asian side of the Bosphorus by Bayezit I in 1390-91, for a better control of the strait. Both fortresses are located at the narrowest point of the Bosphorus.