61 Sights in İstanbul, Turkey (with Map and Images)
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Guided Free Walking Tours on GuruWalk*Explore interesting sights in İstanbul, Turkey. Click on a marker on the map to view details about it. Underneath is an overview of the sights with images. A total of 61 sights are available in İstanbul, Turkey.
List of cities in Turkey Sightseeing Tours in İstanbul
The Bull Statue is a bronze statue depicting a male cattle in the Altıyol district of the Kadıköy district of Istanbul. Created in 1864 by French sculptor Isidore Jules Bonheur, the work is often described as the symbol of Kadıköy and an important meeting point.
The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops on a total area of 30,700 m2, attracting between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it was listed No.1 among the world's most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors. The Grand Bazaar at Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls of the world.
Ortaköy Mosque or Büyük Mecidiye Camii in Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Turkey, is a mosque situated at the waterside of the Ortaköy pier square, one of the most popular locations on the Bosphorus. It was commissioned by the Ottoman sultan Abdülmecid I and its construction was completed around 1854 or 1856.
Çırağan Palace, a former Ottoman palace, is now a five-star hotel in the Kempinski Hotels chain. It is located on the European shore of the Bosporus, between Beşiktaş and Ortaköy in Istanbul, Turkey.
Hagia Sophia, officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was originally a Greek Orthodox church from 360 AD until the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. It served as a mosque until 1935, when it became a museum. In 2020, the site once again became a mosque.
The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, also known by its official name, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, is an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. A functioning mosque, it also attracts large numbers of tourist visitors. It was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains Ahmed's tomb, a madrasah and a hospice. Hand-painted blue tiles adorn the mosque’s interior walls, and at night the mosque is bathed in blue as lights frame the mosque’s five main domes, six minarets and eight secondary domes. It sits next to the Hagia Sophia, the principal mosque of Istanbul until the Blue Mosque's construction and another popular tourist site. The Blue Mosque was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1985 under the name of "Historic Areas of Istanbul".
The German Fountain is a gazebo styled fountain in the northern end of old hippodrome, Istanbul, Turkey and across from the Mausoleum of Sultan Ahmed I. It was constructed to commemorate the second anniversary of German Emperor Wilhelm II's visit to Istanbul in 1898. It was built in Germany, then transported piece by piece and assembled in its current site in 1900. The neo-Byzantine style fountain's octagonal dome has eight marble columns, and dome's interior is covered with golden mosaics.
8. Süreyya İlmen Heykeli
Far Süreyya Pasha Ilmen is a Turkish soldier, politician and businessman. After graduating from the military academy, he worked in the general staff as chief of staff. He became a general at a very young age. After the announcement of the second constitutional convention, he published an article about the army. He helped introduce aerospace in the army. As a teacher, he established and operated a weaving factory, cinema and opera house in Istanbul after he retired from the army. He is involved in various sports and charity projects. In 1927, he was elected to parliament from Istanbul. In 1930, he ended his active political career. He established the SSK Süreyasasha hospital in Martepe, Istanbul. He died on February 6, 1955.
9. Süreyya Opera
Süreyya Opera House, also called Süreyya Cultural Center, is an opera hall located at Gen. Asım Gündüz Avenue No: 29, in the Bahariye quarter of the Kadıköy district in Istanbul, Turkey. The building was designed by Ottoman Armenian architect Kegham Kavafyan by the order of a Deputy for Istanbul, Süreyya İlmen. It was originally established in 1927 as the first musical theatre on the Anatolian part of Istanbul. However, due to the lack of appropriate facilities and equipment at the theatre, operettas weren't staged until 2007. The venue was rather used as a movie theatre until the building underwent a functional restoration and reopened as an opera house on December 14, 2007.
10. Milion
The Milion was a monument erected in the early 4th century AD in Constantinople. It was the Byzantine zero-mile marker, the starting-place for the measurement of distances for all the roads leading to the cities of the Byzantine Empire. It thus served the same function as the Golden Milestone in Rome's forum. The domed building of the Milion rested on four large arches, and it was expanded and decorated with several statues and paintings. It survived the Fourth Crusade and Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 but had disappeared by the start of the 16th century. During excavations in the 1960s, some partial fragments of it were discovered under houses in the area.
11. Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque
The Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque, also called the Yıldız Mosque, is an Ottoman imperial mosque located in Yıldız neighbourhood of Beşiktaş district in Istanbul, Turkey, on the way to Yıldız Palace. The mosque was commissioned by the Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II, and constructed between 1884 and 1886. The mosque was built on a rectangular plan and has one minaret. The architecture of the mosque is a combination of Neo-Gothic style and classical Ottoman motifs. A bronze colonnade erected by Abdul Hamid II in Marjeh Square of Damascus, Syria bears a replica statue of the Yıldız Mosque on top.
12. Surp Takavor Armenian Church
Surp Takavor Church is an Armenian church in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. The church, which is known to have existed in 1722 under the name of Surp Asdvadzadzin, was later rebuilt and opened in 1814. The church, which was repaired after the earthquake of 1840, was later burned down and rebuilt as masonry in 1855. The church, which opened in 1858, was named Surp Takavor. The church, which was restored in 2006, was opened to worship by the Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul, Mesrob II, and the bell tower was rebuilt in 2007. The church saw its last restoration in 2011.
13. Church of St. Polyeuktos
The Church of St. Polyeuctus was an ancient Byzantine church in Constantinople built by the noblewoman Anicia Juliana and dedicated to Saint Polyeuctus. Intended as an assertion of Juliana's own imperial lineage, it was a lavishly decorated building, and the largest church of the city before the construction of the Hagia Sophia. It introduced the large-scale use of Sassanid Persian decorative elements, and may have inaugurated the new architectural type of domed basilica, perfected in the later Hagia Sophia.
14. Church of St. George
The Patriarchal Cathedral Church of St. George is the principal Eastern Orthodox cathedral located in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and, as Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire until 1453, and of the Ottoman Empire until 1922. Since about 1600, it has been the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople whose leader is regarded as the primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and as the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide.
15. Tahtakale Hamamı
The Tahtakale Hamam is a historic Ottoman hammam building in Istanbul, Turkey, close to the Rüstem Pasha Mosque in the Tahtakale neighbourhood, between the Grand Bazaar and Eminönü. Built during the reign of Sultan Mehmet II, it is one of the oldest surviving bathhouses in the city. After having suffered significant damage while being used as a storage depot in the 20th century, the building was restored in the late 1980s and now serves as a local shopping centre and cafe.
16. Osman Ağa Mosque
Osmanağa Mosque or Osman Ağa Mosque, when the Kadı Mehmet Efendi Masjid was destroyed, replaced by 1. It was built by Sultan Ahmet's Babussaade Agha Osman Ağa in 1612. When this mosque was ruined over time, in 1811 2. It was renovated by Sultan Mahmut, but this was burned at the end of the fire in Kadıköy in 1878 and the present mosque was built in the same year. The plane tree in the mosque garden was planted in 1880 by the imam of the mosque, Mehmet Asım Efendi.
17. Column of Constantine
The Column of Constantine is a monumental column built for Roman emperor Constantine the Great to commemorate the dedication of Constantinople on 11 May 330 AD. Built c. 328 AD, it is the oldest Constantinian monument to survive in Istanbul and stood in the centre of the Forum of Constantine. It occupies the second-highest hill of the seven hills of Constantine's Nova Roma, the erstwhile Byzantium, and was midway along the Mese odos, the ancient city's main thoroughfare.
18. Surp Hovhannes Kilisesi
Surp Hovhannes Church is an Armenian church in Gedikpasa District, Fatih District, Istanbul, Turkey. After the church, built in 1849, was destroyed by fire, the church in 1876 was restored and reopened in 1895. The church was restored in 1950, again after being affected by a fire in 1972, and restored and opened for worship in 1986 by the Armenian patriarch Shinorhk I of Istanbul. The most recent restoration was in 2006. Opened for worship by Mesrob.
19. Surp Garabed Church
Surp Garabet Church is an Armenian church in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Built before 1593, the church was renovated in 1617 and 1727. The church was restored in 1844 and burned down in a fire in 1887 and rebuilt as masonry in 1888. The church, which was repaired in 2006, was opened to worship by the Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul, Mesrob II. The building was registered as a 1st degree urban protected area on 4 August 1983.
20. Gazi Atik Ali Paşa Camii
The Gazi Atik Ali Pasha Mosque is a 15th-century Ottoman mosque located in the Çemberlitaş neighbourhood of the Fatih district in Istanbul, Turkey. Its construction was started under the orders of the future Grand Vizier Hadım Atik Ali Pasha in 1496 and was completed in 1497, during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II. The mosque is located near the entrance to the Kapalıçarşı, the Column of Constantine, and the historical Nuruosmaniye Mosque.
21. Ahırkapı lighthouse
The Ahırkapı Feneri, a historical lighthouse still in use, is located at the southern Seraglio Point on the Rumelian coast of Bosporus' south entrance, in Ahırkapı neighborhood of Istanbul's Fatih district, Turkey. It is across from the Kadıköy İnciburnu Feneri, which is on the Anatolian coast of the strait at a distance of 1.5 nmi (2.8 km). A line connecting the two lighthouses marks the southern boundary of the Port of Istanbul.
22. Aziz Mahmut Hüda-i Camii
Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi Mosque is located in Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi residential area in Uskudar district of Istanbul, and is a historic Ottoman mosque. It was built by Suleiman's grandson, Asiye Hümashah Sultan, in the name of his third wife, Aziz Mahmoud Hüdayi. The mosque began construction in 1589, and after six years of construction, it was opened for worship in 1595. The mosque reflects the flavor of the Ottoman Empire in architecture.
23. Firuz Ağa Mosque
The Firuz Ağa Mosque is a 15th-century Ottoman mosque in the Fatih district of Istanbul, Turkey. It was built by Firuz Ağa, the head treasurer of Sultan Beyazıt II. The marble sarcophagus of Firuz Ağa is located in the mosque complex. The mosque is located in the historical center of the city of Istanbul, on the Divanyolu Street, close to other prominent historical landmarks, Sultanahmet Mosque, Aya Sofya and Basilica Cistern.
24. Çinili Mosque
The Chinili Mosque, the Orta Valide Mosque, or the Mahpeyker Kösem Valide Sultan Mosque, is a historic Ottoman mosque in the Murat Reis neighbourhood of the Uskudar district of Istanbul, Turkey. It was built by Mahpeyker Kösem Valide Sultan, wife of Ahmed I. The mosque was built in 1638 and opened for worship in 1640 after two years of construction. The mosque reflects the flavor of the Ottoman Empire in architecture.
25. Cistern of Philoxenos
The Cistern of Philoxenos, or Binbirdirek Cistern, is a man-made subterranean reservoir in Istanbul, situated between the Forum of Constantine and the Hippodrome of Constantinople in the Sultanahmet district. It has been restored and is now visited as a tourist attraction. The entrance is located at İmran Öktem Sokak 4. Binbirdirek Cistern is the second largest cistern in Istanbul after the Basilica Cistern.
26. Tabaklar Camii
The Tabaklar Mosque, Konyali Biraderer Mosque or Debbaklar Mosque is a historic Ottoman mosque in the residential area of Zeynep Kamil in the Uskudar district of Istanbul, Turkey. It was built by Haci Ferhat Agha and Haci Mehmet Agha. The mosque began construction in 1587 and, after a year of construction, was opened for worship in 1588. The mosque reflects the flavor of the Ottoman Empire in architecture.
27. Valens Aqueduct
The Aqueduct of Valens was a Roman aqueduct system built in the late 4th century AD, to supply Constantinople – the capital of the eastern Roman empire. Construction of the aqueduct began during the reign of the Roman emperor Constantius II and was completed in 373 by the emperor Valens. The aqueduct remained in use for many centuries. It was extended and maintained by the Byzantines and the Ottomans.
28. Selamiçeşme Özgürlük Parkı
Liberty Park is a park located in Selamiçeşme district of Kadıköy district of Istanbul, within the administrative boundaries of Göztepe neighborhood. In the park, there are football and basketball courts, tennis court, walking promenade, playgrounds for children, sports equipment for adults, bicycle path, ornamental pools, amphitheater, special areas for walking animals, picnic area and cafeteria.
29. Theotokos Kyriotissa (Kalenderhane)
Kalenderhane Mosque is a former Eastern Orthodox church in Istanbul, converted into a mosque by the Ottomans. With high probability the church was originally dedicated to the Theotokos Kyriotissa. The building is sometimes referred to as Kalender Haneh Jamissi and St. Mary Diaconissa. This building represents one among the few extant examples of a Byzantine church with domed Greek cross plan.
30. Mihrimah Sultan Camii
The Mihrimah Sultan Mosque is a 16th century Ottoman mosque Overlooking the waterfront in the historic center of the Üsküdar district of Istanbul, Turkey. One of Üsküdar's best-known landmarks, it takes its alternative name from the ferry terminal near which it stands. Before the coast road was built the mosque would have stood right beside the water, accessible by boat.
31. Selman Ağa Mosque
Selman Ağa Mosque is a historical mosque from the Ottoman Period located in the Mimar Sinan Neighborhood of Üsküdar district of Istanbul. It was built by Selman Ağa, the gate lord of Beyazıt II and the Agha of Darüssaade. The mosque, whose construction started in 1506, was opened to worship in the same year. Architecturally, the mosque reflects Ottoman influences.
32. Taksim Camii
Taksim Mosque is a mosque complex in Taksim Square, Istanbul. It was designed by two Turkish architects in the Art Deco style, and can hold up to 3,000 worshippers at the same time. Construction began on February 17, 2017 and lasted for four years. The mosque was inaugurated with a Friday prayer attended by the President, Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan, on 28 May 2021.
33. Surp Asdvadzadzin Kilisesi
Surp Asdvadzadzin Church is an Armenian church in the Besiktas district of Istanbul, Turkey. Built by Hassa architect Garabed Amira Balyan in 1838, the church was renovated in 1987 under Armenian patriarch Shinorhk I, and bust figures of Garabed and Sarkis Balyan were placed in its courtyard in 1993. Artin Dadyan Pasha is buried in a church renovated in 2013.
34. Arnavutköy
Arnavutköy is a neighbourhood in Istanbul, Turkey renowned for its wooden Ottoman mansions and seafood restaurants, as well as for the campus of the prestigious Robert College with its historic buildings. It is part of the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, and is located between Ortaköy and Bebek on the European shoreline of the Bosphorus strait.
35. Haseki Hürrem Hammam
The Hagia Sophia Hurrem Sultan Bathhouse, is a sixteenth-century Turkish bath (hamam) in Istanbul, Turkey. It was commissioned by Hurrem Sultan, consort and wife of the Ottoman sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. It was designed by Mimar Sinan on the site of the historical Baths of Zeuxippus for the religious community of the nearby Hagia Sophia.
Wikipedia: Hagia Sophia Hurrem Sultan Bathhouse (EN), Website
36. Şakirin Mosque
Şakirin Mosque is a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. The building is located at one of the entrances of the historic Karacaahmet Cemetery in Üsküdar. It was built by the Semiha Şakir Foundation in memory of İbrahim Şakir and Semiha Şakir and opened on 7 May 2009. According to newspaper reports, it is the most carbon-neutral mosque in Turkey.
37. Sultan Ahmed III Fountain
The Fountain of Sultan Ahmed III is a fountain in a Turkish rococo structure in the great square in front of the Imperial Gate of Topkapı Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. It was built under Ottoman sultan Ahmed III in 1728, in the style of the Tulip period. It was a social centre and gathering place during the Ottoman period of Constantinople.
38. Tiled Kiosk
The Tiled Kiosk is a pavilion set within the outer walls of Topkapı Palace and dates from 1472 as shown on the tile inscript above the main entrance. It was built by the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II as a pleasure palace or kiosk. It is located in the most outer parts of the palace, next to Gülhane Park. It was also called Glazed Kiosk.
39. Museum Of Ancient Orient
The Museum of the Ancient Orient is a museum in Istanbul, and part of the group of Istanbul Archaeology Museums, located just in front of the main Archaeology Museum building. The building of the museum is in the ancient College of Fine Arts, commissioned by Osman Hamdi Bey in 1883. The museum itself was established in 1935.
40. Defterdar İbrahim Paşa Cami
Defterdar İbrahim Paşa Mosque is a mosque located in Defterdarburnu, between Ortaköy and Kuruçeşme, Istanbul. Defterdar Ibrahim Pasha Mosque was built by Defterdar Ibrahim Pasha in the second half of the 17th century (1661). The mosque is also known as "Defterdarburnu Mosque" and "İhmal Paşa Mosque".
41. Ertuğrul Tekke Mosque
The Ertuğrul Tekke Mosque,, is an Ottoman imperial mosque located in Yıldız neighbourhood, Serencebey rise of Beşiktaş district in Istanbul, Turkey. A late Ottoman period mosque, it is constructed as a külliye consisting of a tekke, guest house, türbe, fountain, and library in addition to the mosque.
42. Ayazma Cami
The Ayazma Mosque is a mosque in the neighbourhood of Üsküdar in Istanbul, Turkey. It stands on a hillside overlooking the Bosphorus. It was commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III and built between 1757 and 1761. It is an example of the Ottoman Baroque style that was prevalent in the 18th century.
43. Church of the Assumption
Kadıköy French Church or Notre-Dame de L'Assomption Church is a Neoclassical Catholic church located in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul, Turkey. The architect of the building, which was completed in 1865, was Giovanni Battista Barborini. The language of worship in the church is French and Turkish.
44. Gülhane Park
Gülhane Park is a historical urban park in the Eminönü district of Istanbul, Turkey; it is adjacent to and on the grounds of the Topkapı Palace. The south entrance of the park sports one of the larger gates of the palace. It is the oldest and one of the most expansive public parks in Istanbul.
45. Sadberk Hanım Museum
The Sadberk Hanım Museum is a private museum on the shores of the Bosphorus in the Büyükdere neighbourhood of Sarıyer district in Istanbul, Turkey. It was established by the Vehbi Koç Foundation in memory of Vehbi Koç’s deceased wife Sadberk. The museum is open every day except Wednesdays.
46. Topkapı Palace
The Topkapı Palace, or the Seraglio, is a large museum in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire, and was the main residence of its sultans.
47. Haldun Taner Stage
Kadıköy Haldun Taner Stage is a theatre venue located in Kadıköy district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is owned by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and operated by its City Theatres division. The theatre is named in honor of the Turkish playwright Haldun Taner (1915-1986).
48. Tevfikiye Cami
Tevfikiye Mosque is a historical mosque from the Ottoman Period, located on the coastal road of Arnavutköy district, Beşiktaş district of Istanbul. It is also known as "Arnavutköy Mosque" and "Akım Burnu Mosque". Its ownership belongs to the Foundations Administration.
49. Yoğurçu Park
Yogurt ç u Park is a park in Moda District, Kad í köy District, Istanbul, Turkey. It is located in the Osmanana residential area and extends from the end of the Moda coast to the Frog Gallerdale Bridge, parallel to Frog Gallerdale Street and Yogku Park Street.
50. Sepetçiler Pavilion
The Basketmakers' Kiosk, also known as Sepetçiler Palace, named after the Sepetçiler Roma (basketmakers), is a former Ottoman pleasure palace located on the southern shore of Golden Horn's mouth at Sarayburnu in the neighborhood of Sirkeci in Istanbul, Turkey.
51. Mesih Ali Paşa Camii
Mesih Mehmed Pasha Mosque is a 16th-century Ottoman mosque in the Fatih district of Istanbul. It was commissioned by one of Murad III's grand viziers, Mesih Mehmed Pasha, and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. The mosque was completed in 1585–86.
52. Fenerbahçe Parkı
Fenerbahçe is a park located in Kadıköy. In the park, which constitutes the majority of Fenerbahçe Island, there are picnic areas, cafes and stairs leading to the sea. The park was taken over by Çelik Gülersoy in 1990 and brought to its current form.
53. Saint Leon
Surp Andon Church is an Armenian Catholic Church in the Kad í köy district of Istanbul, Turkey. The church was built in 1890 as a wooden chapel, but due to lack of time, it was demolished on May 14, 1905 and opened in 1911 to build a wooden chapel.
54. Fikret Mualla
Fikret Muallâ Saygı was a 20th-century avant-garde painter of Turkish descent. His work reflects influences from Expressionism and Fauvism, with subject matter focusing on Paris street life, social gatherings such as cafés and circuses.
55. Sultan Mustafa İskele Mosque
The temple, also called İskele Mosque, was built by Mustafa III in 1760. Years later, it was ruined, and in 1858, Abdülmecid had it rebuilt as masonry. Although it is known that there is a Sibyan school next to it, it no longer exists.
56. Hemdat Israel Sinagogu
Hemdat Israel Synagogue is a synagogue founded in 1899 and located in the quarter of Haydarpaşa in Kadıköy, on the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey. Visits and participation to prayers are possible after contacting the Chief Rabbinate.
57. Moda Sahnesi
Fashion stage is a stage in Istanbul Fashion District, Turkey. In October 2013, the theatre and troupe of Istanbul Fashion District performed there, transforming the theater formerly known as "Fashion Cinema" into a cultural center.
58. Nuruosmaniye Mosque
The Nuruosmaniye Mosque is an 18th-century Ottoman mosque located in the Çemberlitaş neighbourhood of Fatih district in Istanbul, Turkey, which was inscribed in the Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey in 2016.
59. Great Palace Mosaic Museum
The Great Palace Mosaic Museum, is located close to Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul, Turkey, at Arasta Bazaar. The museum houses mosaics from the Byzantine period, unearthed at the site of the Great Palace of Constantinople.
60. III.Ahmet Çeşmesi
The Fountain of Sultan Ahmed III in Üsküdar is an 18th-century public water fountain built by Ottoman sultan Ahmed III in the Ottoman rococo architecture and situated in the grand square of Üsküdar in Istanbul, Turkey.
61. Bebek Parkı
Bebek Park is a public park located in the Bebek district of Besiktas, Istanbul. Following the renovation made by Sabanci Foundation, the name of the park was changed to Turkan Sabanci Baby Park on October 13, 2008.
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