Istanbul

The Hagia Sophia is among Istanbul's most popular and iconic historic sites – and for good reason: its massive, transcendent interior is breathtaking and can easily be gazed at for hours — Time Out

In the harem of Topkapi Palace visitors are plunged into a mythical Orient of a thousand and one treasures and as many fantasies. — Michelin Guide

This highly comprehensive museum is dedicated to Antiquity. — Michelin Guide

Chora Church requires some serious ceiling-gazing, cramp-in-the-neck-calming skills—you’ll find some of the most beautiful surviving Byzantine art on the domes above your head. — Let's Go

Adorned with over 20,000 blue hand-crafted Iznik tiles, stained-glass windows and the golden brushstrokes of a 17th-century calligrapher, the Blue Mosque is the legacy of Sultan Ahmet I (1590-1617). — Afar Magazine

Soon after conquering Constantinople and defeating the Byzantines in 1453, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II commissioned the beginnings of the Grand Bazaar to reinvigorate trade to the city. — Afar Magazine

With the highest dome in the city, this mosque represents Ottoman architecture at its innovative best. — Let's Go

Holds an extensive collection of carpets, calligraphy, woodwork, stonework and ceramic, glass and metal objects. — Time Out

It has 285 rooms, 68 toilets, 44 halls, and six hamams. — Let's Go

The in-house cinema regularly screens independent films programmed around ongoing exhibitions, contemporary directors and stand-alone events. — Time Out

This palace is one of the architectural fantasies of the last sultans. — Michelin Guide

In the stranglehold that eventually throttled Constantinople in 1453, the Rumeli Hisar (castle) served as the lynch pin — Travel + Leisure

Known for its diverse and well-curated temporary exhibitions by artists from all over the world, the Pera Museum is also home to a permanent collection of Orientalist paintings. — Time Out

The enticing Spice Bazaar, also known as the Egyptian Bazaar, is much smaller than the Grand Bazaar but more colorful. — Fodor's

The neighborhood of Galata, located on a steep hump of land north of the Golden Horn and historic peninsula, actually sits on the earliest foundations of the city. — Frommer's

The Fatih was the first great imperial mosque built in İstanbul following the Conquest. — Lonely Planet

What was at the time considered a masterpiece of Ottoman architecture is now merely a footnote to Sinan's subsequent great works. — Frommer's

The 921-meter long Valens Aqueducts - a prominent landmark in Istanbul's Fatih district - played a vital role in supplying water to the people of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires — Afar Magazine

Your child won’t want to leave the Colorful Mathematics World – Learn and Enjoy section, where you can enjoy experiments designed by world-renowned mathematics professor Prof. Dr. Albert Beutelspacher — Time Out

A miniature version of the better-known Hagia Sophia, this church-turned-mosque is located below its larger counterpart close to the Marmara Sea coast — Time Out