Istanbul Trails ~ Your Istanbul Tourist & Expat Travel Guide
Your personal Istanbul city trip & expat guide
Posts tagged as:
Rumeli Café and Mozaik are two restaurants in Sultanahmet, located in the historical part of Istanbul, that stand out of the crowd for several reasons. First of all they don’t (falsely) promise you a terrace with a supposedly great view, but instead offer a nice, relaxing atmosphere. And most importantly, they both offer a wide […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
If you’re a carnivore, you should at least eat once in The Hamdi Restaurant (Hamdi Et Lokantası). Located on Eminönü Square, close to the New Mosque (Yeni Camii) and more or less next to the Spice Bazaar, this restaurant has turned grilling meat into an art. Combined with a panoramic view of the Golden Horn, […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The Haghia Eirene or Hagia Irene (Aya İrini Kilisesi) is a former Orthodox church and the first church built in Constantinople. It is also the only church that was not turned into a mosque after the Ottomans conquered Istanbul in 1453. The Haghia Eirene served as the church of the Patriarchate before the Hagia Sophia […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
I’m sure a visit to Istanbul’s Archaeology Museums (Arkeoloji Müzeleri) is not exactly what you have in mind while planning your city trip. But you should definitely consider adding this stunning complex of museums to your to-do list. For two reasons: its overwhelming state of the art antiquities collection spanning over 5000 years, and the […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
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 […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
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 […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
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 […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
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 […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
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 […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
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 […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }