Best Things to the in Istanbul

• 2021-01-18 07:01:03
• Selcuk Ince

Istanbul is located between Europe and Asia, and this makes it one of the most important cities in history. We have prepared a list to show how Istanbul can be fun place to visit.

History of Different Civilisations

Istanbul is one of the rare cities that has a diverse list of historical monuments including the ones from Ancient Greek, Byzantium, and Ottoman. If you have a chance to visit Istanbul, you should definitely visit Hagia Sophia Mosque that was previously constructed in 537 as a patriarchal cathedral and then converted into a mosque in 1453. Right after your visit to the Hagia Sophia, after a 5-minute walk, you can have a chance to visit Sultanahmet Mosque that is commonly known as the Blue Mosque due to its outstanding tiles. This is not all. You can visit Ottoman palaces like Topkapı Palace and Dolmabahçe Palace that were made in different centuries. And not to mention the Galata Tower which is another symbol of the city. Other historical artifacts to visit are Maiden’s Tower, Basilica Cistern, Grand Bazaar, and Süleymaniye Mosque.

And listening to the call of prayer between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia is just beautiful. One muezzin says one part of the call of prayer and the second muezzin would respond from another minaret.

Transportation

Do you know that Istanbul has the second oldest underground train in the world: Tünel. Just hop on this historical funicular between Karaköy and Tünel Square that was made for an easier commute from the steep hill. It still operates and it takes around 90 seconds and trains run each 5 minutes. Of course, today’s means of transportation of Istanbul is very advanced, and you can go any place in Istanbul by ferries, metros, metrobus -which is unique to Istanbul-, minibuses -which is also unique to Istanbul-, taxies, buses, etc. There is an underground railway route named Marmaray spanning from one end of the city to the other end. And you can have a 4-minute journey under the Bosporus.

Istanbul has also two airports, one of them on the Anatolian side and the other on the European side. Istanbul’s new airport's name is Istanbul Airport and it was inaugurated in 2018. Once all phases of the airport are operational, the facility is expected to achieve a capacity of 200 million passengers.

Art and Culture

You can visit the Archaeology Museum, Turkey’s first museum to catch up on ancient history. It has a large collection of Ancient Greek, Roman, and Turkish artifacts, and also works of art discovered in the Balkans, Africa, Mesopotamia, and the Middle East.

Don’t miss to visit the Museum of Innocence. It’s inspired by the award-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk. This museum is a must-see for readers of the novel and anyone interested in the cultural and material history of Istanbul.

And also don’t forget to visit Istanbul Modern for contemporary art. This facility is the first museum of modern and contemporary art in Turkey.

Recreational Activities

Istanbul has lots of recreational areas worth visiting. What about starting a historical recreational area: Gülhane Park. It is located on tip of Istanbul’s peninsula right next to the Topkapı Palace. During springtime, thousands of tulips bloom in the park. The view from the tea garden is gorgeous, and you would understand why Topkapı Palace is constructed on the tip of this peninsula.

You can also walk inside Belgrad Forest. It is the greenest space in Istanbul. This place is a popular weekend destination for locals. You can enjoy walking paths and have a picnic lunch.

Have you heard Miniatürk? It’s home to small-scale recreations of structures found in Istanbul, Anatolia, and other Ottoman territories.

Shopping

Apart from modern shopping centres spreading around the city, you should visit Grand Bazaar. It’s 500 years old that is known as the largest covered bazaars in the world. The bazaar has around 5000 shops, and it is famous for its carpets, leather, ceramics, souvenirs, and jewellery. 

Street Food

Istanbul can be named one of the richest cities in terms of street food. Let’s start with Balık-Ekmek namely fish sandwich. It’s the most iconic street food in Istanbul. Actually, the fish doesn’t come from Bosporus, instead, it’s imported from Norway. You can sit down at any restaurant under Galata Bridge to taste one of these sandwiches.

Kumpir is another delicious street food in Istanbul. It’s a jacket potato and Ortaköy is the right place to eat kumpir. You can choose any topping for your baked potato and fill up on cheap.

Don’t forget to eat a sesame seed covered pretzels. It’s called “Simit” in Turkey. You can pick up it at any bakery in the city, but we recommend getting one of them from little red stands in central points of the city.

And Turkish tea! Just grab a small chair from a small tea shop and drink your tea from a tulip-shaped glass. Turkish tea is prepared in a unique way. One pot is used to boil the water, and the other to brew the tea.

And the Turkish delight: Lokum. This dessert is based on gel of starch and sugar. Some varieties have pistachios, hazelnuts, or walnuts in it. Just visit a lokum store and choose any lokum you want after lots of treats offered by the shop owner.

You should try the Turkish ice-cream. It has a sticky texture and a bit resistant to melting.

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