Dervishes whirl, muezzins duel from minarets, and continents are crossed multiple times in a day. Home to millennia-old monuments and cutting-edge art galleries (sometimes in the same block), it’s a destination where eating, drinking and dancing are local priorities, and where everyone is welcome to join the party.
Istanbul’s Top Sights
Aya Sofya
There are many important monuments in Istanbul, but this venerable structure – commissioned by Emperor Justinian and consecrated as a church in 537, converted to a mosque by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453 and declared a museum by Ataturk in 1934 – surpasses the rest due to its rich history, religious importance and extraordinary beauty.
Known as Hagia Sophia in Greek, Sancta Sophia in Latin and the Church of the Divine Wisdom in English, it is commonly acknowledged as one of the world’s greatest buildings.
Topkapi Palace
Topkapi is the subject of more colourful stories than most of the world’s museums put together. Libidinous sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful concubines and scheming eunuchs lived and worked here between the 15th and 19th centuries when the palace was the seat of the Ottoman sultanate.
Visiting its opulent pavilions, landscaped courtyards, jewel-filled Treasury and sprawling Harem gives a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the sultans and their families, as well as offering an insight into the history and customs of a once mighty empire.
The Bosphorus
This mighty strait runs from the Galata Bridge all the way to the Black Sea (Karadeniz), 32km north. Over the centuries it has been crossed by conquering armies, intrepid merchants, fishermen and many an adventurous spirit.
To follow in their wake, hop aboard the 90-minute ferry cruise that travels between Eminonu and Anadolu Kavagi, marvelling at the magnifi cent yalis (waterside timber mansions), ornate Ottoman palaces and massive stone fortresses that line the Asian and European shores (to your right and left, respectively, as you sail down the strait).
Grand Bazaar
When Mehmet the Conqueror laid the Kapali Carsi’s foundation stone in 1455, he gave the imperial imprimatur to a local mercantile tradition that has remained strong ever since.
Located in the centre of the Old City, this atmospheric covered market is the heart of Istanbul in much more than a geographic sense – artisans learn their trade here, businessmen negotiate important deals and tourists make a valuable contribution to the local economy (sometimes, it must be said, against their better judgments ).
Kariye Museum (Chora Church)
Istanbul has more than its fair share of Byzantine monuments, but few are as drop-dead gorgeous as this mosaic-laden church. Nestled in the shadow of Theodosius II’s monumental land walls and now a museum overseen by the Aya Sofya curators, it receives a fraction of the visitor numbers that its big sister attracts but offers an equally fascinating insight into Byzantine art. Virtually all of the interior decoration – the famous mosaics and the less renowned but equally striking frescoes – dates from 1312.
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This is an edited extract from Lonely Planet Pocket Istanbul (4th Edition) by Virginia Maxwell, © Lonely Planet 2013. In stores now, RRP: NZ$22.99.
via Travel lonely planet’s istanbul highlights | Stuff.co.nz.