Istanbul Trails ~ Your Istanbul Tourist & Expat Travel Guide
Your personal Istanbul city trip & expat guide
From the category archives:
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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Istanbul continuously confirms its status as one of the world’s metropolitans. First there was fierce voting to get Istanbul included in the first Global Monopoly board game. And recently, EarthTV has installed a brand new camera to give you ‘live’ daily impressions of the bridge between Europe and Asia. The Earth television network was founded […]
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The Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) in Sultanahmet (the historical part of Istanbul) is among Istanbul’s most famous and fascinating monuments. 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 movies is the same: 2:33 min. […]
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Below you’ll find a list of the official, national and religious holidays in Turkey for 2009, 2010 and 2011. When you plan a city trip or a cultural excursion, you may want to take a look at these. Museums, monuments and palaces may be closed on official and national holidays, and can have deviating opening […]
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This may seem like a strange restaurant tip. Sultanahmet Köftecisi is a place that doesn’t have a real menu, obviously doesn’t care too much about its interior design, doesn’t serve alcoholic beverages, has no starters and only one dessert, expects you to vacate your table in less than 30 minutes, yet is a must-have-done experience […]
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There has always been some mystique attached around the Harem. Below you’ll find a fair impression of the Harem in Topkapi Palace. There are two versions available: a YouTube version (smaller in size) and a WVM version (bigger in size). The length of both movies is the same: 2:17 min. Enjoy! YouTube Version Local Version
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The word Harem comes from Arabic and originally means forbidden. Contrary to what many (want to) believe, the Harem was not just an erotic hothouse. It was the private area of the sultan and his sons, hence forbidden for all other males, except the black eunuchs guarding the premises. Women on the other hand, had […]
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Topkapi Palace has also been the setting for a few caper movies. Topkapi (1964) is the oldest and won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Peter Ustinov); the second film is a sequel of The Thomas Crown Affair starring Pierce Brosnan and is scheduled to be released in 2009. I’m afraid my movie […]
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