Istanbul Trails ~ Your Istanbul Tourist & Expat Travel Guide
Your personal Istanbul city trip & expat guide
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In order to visit the Dolmabahçe Palace (Dolmabahçe Sarayı) you must take one or both of the guided tours. The Selamlık tour takes you through the quarters reserved for men, while the Harem tour shows you the apartments of the sultan’s family. Only a limited amount of people are allowed into each section per day, […]
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Dolmabahçe Palace (Dolmabahçe Sarayı), Turkey’s largest mono-block palace, was commissioned by Sultan Abdül Mecit in 1843. Built to belie the military and financial decline of the Ottoman Empire, Istanbul’s first European-style palace was an opulent one, excessive in size and filled with gold and crystal. Dolmabahçe Palace (Dolmabahçe Sarayı) Location Dolmabahçe Caddesi, Beşiktaş (opposite the […]
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There are hundreds of ancient cisterns hidden underneath the streets and houses of Istanbul. Of the two that are open to the public, the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı) is the largest and Istanbul’s most unusual tourist attraction. Contrary to James Bond, who had to row his way through Istanbul underground cistern in From Russia with […]
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The Egyptian or Spice Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı) in Eminönü in the historical part of Istanbul is without a doubt the nicest place in town to stock up on exotic edibles. Below you’ll find a fair impression of it. There are two versions available: a YouTube version (smaller in size) and a WVM version (bigger in […]
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The Egyptian Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı), otherwise known as the Spice Bazaar, is the place to be to lay in a fresh supply of spices, nuts, honeycomb, Turkish delight, dried figs, caviar and mature hard Turkish cheese. You can even find natural Turkish Viagra or herbal love potions on sale, although I wouldn’t expect miracles from […]
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The Süleymaniye Mosque (Süleymaniye Camii) in the historical part of Istanbul is a grand mosque and very capable of rivalling with the Blue Mosque, if not beating it. Below you’ll find a fair impression of it. There are two versions available: a YouTube version (smaller in size) and a WVM version (bigger in size). The […]
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The Süleymaniye Mosque (Süleymaniye Camii) is not only stunning; in my opinion it is also the masterpiece of the famous architect Sinan (Mimar Sinan). Sure, the Blue Mosque is the most famous one and therefore better known among the tourists, which is also its drawback. The Süleymaniye Mosque, crowning Istanbul’s highest hill, doesn’t suffer from […]
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The Hippodrome (At Meydanı) was a of course a horse-racing track, what’s in the name. But during the Byzantine Empire, the hippodrome was not only used for chariot races. Court ceremonies, coronations and parades also took place at the hippodrome, making it the sporting and social center of Byzantine life for over 1000 years. The […]
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The Blue Mosque or Sultanahmet Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii) in the historical part of Istanbul is one of the most famous religious monuments in the world. Below you’ll find a fair impression of it. There are two versions available: a YouTube version (smaller in size) and a WVM version (bigger in size). The length of both […]
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The Sultanahmet Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii) was built between 1609 and 1617 and is also known as the Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles used to decorate the walls of its interior. The construction was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet I. The idea was to build a monument that would not only rival with the magnificent […]
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