Join the new world

Located on the northern west of Turkey, Istanbul has a mild climate. It is possible to live all four seasons.In april and may, a short and cool spring is experienced in Istanbul. In june, you feel both summer and spring. In july and august, it is a moist summer with 30 degrees on average.

From september till december, a long fall is awaiting for you... In fact the weather doesn’t get cooler, and in this season when it often rains, it is possible to swim almost until september. But it also rains frequently.

From december till march, especially nights are cold, but you face a soft winter. Rarely there are snowy and freezing winter days.









Saint Antoine Church

Saint Antoine Church is in Beyoglu, on Istiklal Street, on the left hand side from Galatasaray to Tunel.

The construction began in 1906 and it was completed and opened to service in 1912. Its architect is Giulio Mongeri, who was born in Istanbul. The church which was governed by Italian priests is the greatest Catholic Church in Istanbul with the biggest number of congregation.

Saint Antoine Church which is located in the center of a courtyard is entered through the gate on the roadside between two apartment buildings which were built to provide funding for the church. The church was built by concrete, and has neogothic style.





Chora Church



Pertevniyal Valide Sultan Mosque



Saint Antoine Gate





Maiden Tower

Previous names of the Maiden’s Tower were Damalis and Leandros. Damalis is the name of the wife of the king of Athens,Kharis. When Damalis died, she was buried on the shore, and the name Damalis was given to the Tower. It was also known during Byzantine times as “arcla” which means “a little castle.”

After the conquest of Istanbul by the Ottoman Turks, the tower was pulled down and a wooden tower was constructed in its place. The wooden tower was destroyed by a fire in 1719. It was rebuilt from stone once again by the head architect of the city, Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Paşa. The cone-capped part of the tower was taken away and a kiosk fitted with glass replaced it. A lead-covered dome was later added to the kiosk. Rakım Efendi, a famous calligrapher, added an inscription with Sultan Mahmut II’s signature on marble and placed it above tower’s door. A lantern was added to the tower in 1857, and in 1920, the tower’s light was a converted into an automatic lighting system.

The Maiden’s Tower has been used for many different purposes over time, such as a tax collection area from merchantman, a defense tower, and a lighthouse. During the cholera epidemic in 1830, it was used as a quarantine hospital and radio station. During the Republic Period, it was again used as a light house for a little while. The tower was handed over to the Ministry of Defence in 1964 and then to Maritime Enterprises in 1982. It has undergone renovations and presently functions as a restaurant open to the public owned by a private company.

The legends of the Maiden’s Tower

The Legend of Leandros

According to this legend, a young man named Leandros falls in love with a nun named Hero who is faithful to Afrodit. However, as a nun, falling in love with someone is taboo for Hero. Hero lives in the Maiden’s Tower. Every night, Hero builds a fire in the tower so that Leandros may find his way to her by swimming to the tower. Thus, they meet every night. One night, however,the bonfire started by Hero is put out by a storm, That very night, Leandros loses his own way in the cold waters of the Bosphorus and dies. When Hero hears of what happened to Leandros, she cannot endure the pain and commits suicide.

The Princess Legend

Once upon a time, a soothsayer makes the prediction to the King that his daughter will die as a result of a snakebite. Thereupon, the King has a castle built in the sea in order to protect his daughter. Time passes and the girl grows up in the castle. However, the prediction made by the soothsayer was inevitably comes true as a snake hiding a fruit basket carried to the princess bites and kills her.

The Battalgazi Legend

A man named Battalgazi falls in love with the daughter of the tekfur, a Christian ruler of a town or a locality. However, he does not bestow his daughter to Battalgazi, and to protect her, places her in the tower. Battalgazi attacks the tower and abducts the girl. He mounts his horse with the tekfur’s dauhgter and rides away very quickly. There is an expression, “he who takes the horse got by Üsküdar” which comes from this legend.





Bulgarian St Stephan Church



Bulgarian St Stephan Church Interior



Blue Mosque

Istanbul's imperial Mosque of Sultan Ahmet I (Sultan Ahmet Camii) is called the Blue Mosque because of its interior tiles, mostly on the upper level and difficult to see unless you're right up there with them.

Forget the blue tiles! The mosque (built 1603-17) is the masterwork of Ottoman architect Sedefkâr Mehmet Ağa. It's built on the site of the Great Palace of Byzantium, on the southeastern side of the Hippodrome (map).

With its six minarets and a great cascade of domes, the mosque is a worthy sibling to Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia) just a few minutes' stroll to the north.

The Blue Mosque has fascinating secrets revealed in my travel memoir, Bright Sun, Strong Tea, and on the Magic of the Blue Mosque page.

This is one of Istanbul's premier sights, and you're welcome to visit at most times of day, for free (donations gratefully received).

But it's also a working mosque, so it's closed to non-worshippers for a half hour or so during the five daily prayers (here are the prayer times), and may be closed for a longer time from midday on Friday, the Muslim holy day.

The way to properly appreciate the splendid architecture of the Blue Mosque is to approach it from the Hippodrome (that is, from the west) so you can appreciate the Magic of the Blue Mosque.

If you are a non-Muslim visitor, you must enter by the door on the south side of the mosque (to the right as you enter from the Hippodrome. If you're entering from the Ayasofya side, the tourist entrance is on the opposite side of the mosque.)


European side of Istanbul





Ortaköy Mosque

The Ortakoy Mosque is situated on the waterside of the Ortaköy pier square in the Beşiktaş District, one of the most popular locations on the Bosphorus. The mosque was built on the order of Abdulmecid (1839-1861), the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, and was constructed by the Nigoğos Balyan in 1853. It was during the same century that the mosque rose to a higher level of importance on the European side of Istanbul. It is also known as “Great Mecidiye Mosque” and is one of the most beautiful samples of the Baroque architecture in Istanbul.

Previously, there was a little mosque built by Mahmut Ağa, the son-in law of the Vizier Ibrahim Paşa, on the former site of the mosque. The little mosque built in 1721 but was destroyed during the revolt of Patrona Halil in 1730. The current mosque, which was erected in its place, was greatly damaged during the earthquake of 1894, and the spire of the minaret needed to be rearranged. When it was understood that the building was in danger of collapsing in 1960, ground reinforcement efforts were carried out. After the conflagration in 1984, it was completely restored and reattained its previous magnificence.

It is composed of a Harim (sanctum sanctorum) and a Hünkar Kasrı (sultan’s summer palace). The Harim section is composed of a square-shaped main chamber with an edge length of 12.25m, and the middle chamber which passses through the main chamber. The ceiling of the Harim section consists of a dome construction covered with pink mosaics and the dome was placed on the main wall. The mosque has two minarets with a single sherefe (minaret balcony) each, the niche is made of mosaic and white marble, and the pulpit is a marble craftsmanship covered with porphyry. The two-storey house, with its elliptical stairs at the northern entrance, is called Hunkar Kasrı.



Beyoglu Train



Hagia Irene



Bosphorus





St. Sophia(Hagia Sophia Museum)

Hagia Sophia is a great architectural beauty and an important monument both for Byzantine and for Ottoman Empires. Once a church, later a mosque, and now a museum at the Turkish Republic, Hagia Sophia has always been the precious of its time.

The mystical city Istanbul hosted many civilizations since centuries, of which Byzantium and Ottoman Empires were both the most famous ones. The city today carries the characteristics of these two different cultures and surely Hagia Sophia is a perfect synthesis where one can observe both Ottoman and Byzantium effects under one great dome







Haydarpaşa Train Station

Haydarpaşa Garı, Istanbul's Teutonic pseudo-castle railway station on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus is the terminus for trains to and from Anatolia (Asian Turkey), including the all-important Istanbul-Ankara route, as well as trains to Kayseri, Konya, and points east and south.





Dolmabahce Palace Gate

Dolmabahce Palace built in 19 th century is one of the most glamorous palaces in the world. It was the administrative center of the late Ottoman Empire with the last of Ottoman Sultans was residing there. After the foundation of the Turkish Republic in Ankara, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk transferred all government functions to the youthful capital but on his visits to Istanbul Ataturk occupied only a small room at Dolmabahce Palace as his own. He stayed, welcomed his foreign guests and made a practical center for national, historical and language congress and for international conferences.

Dolmabahce palace has a great meaning for Turkish people since the supreme leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk had used the palace as a residence and spent the most serious period of his illness and he passed away in this palace on 10 th of November 1938 at 9:05 AM, all the clocks in the palace are stopped at this time. Later on it was converted into a museum. It is wandered with a special sense of respect.



Dolmabahce Clock Tower





Grand Bazaar

Istanbul's Grand Bazaar (Kapalı Çarşı, or Covered Market; map) is Turkey's largest covered market offering excellent shopping: beautiful Turkish carpets, glazed tiles and pottery, copper and brassware, apparel made of leather, cotton and wool, meerschaum pipes, alabaster bookends and ashtrays, and all sorts of other things.

Most guidebooks claim that it has 4000 shops. Because of consolidation and replacement of shops by restaurants and other services the number is certainly lower, but you get the idea: it has lots of shops. Not all of them, by the way, are for tourists; locals shop here as well, lending a welcome dose of authenticity.



Balat Historical Street



Topkapi Palace



Topkapi Palace Gate

Topkapý Palace was not only the residence of the Ottoman sultans, but also the administrative and educational center of the state. Initially constructed between 1460 and 1478 by Sultan Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, and expanded upon and altered many times throughout its long history, the palace served as the home of the Ottoman sultans and their court until the middle of the 19th century. In the early 1850s, the palace became inadequate to the requirements of state ceremonies and protocol, and so the sultans moved to Dolmabahçe Palace, located on the Bosphorus. But despite this move, the royal treasure, the Holy Relics of the Prophet Muhammad, and the imperial archives continued to be preserved at Topkapý, and—since the palace was the ancestral residence of the Ottoman dynasty as well as the place where the Holy Relics were preserved—Topkapý continued to play host to certain state ceremonies. Following the abolishment of the Ottoman monarchy in 1922, Topkapý Palace was converted into a museum on 3 April 1924, on the order of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.



Blue Mosque mosaics,ceilings and interior





TIMELINE (326-1453)

326 Constantine chooses Byzantium as the new capital of the Empire and renames it Constantinopolis

395 Death of Theodosius. Permanent split of the empire. Arcadius succeeds to emperor in the east. Honorius emperor of the west.

396 Alaric the Visigoth overruns Balkan peninsula.

408 Arcadius dies, Theodosius II, aged 7, succeeds him.

434 Rugila, King of the Huns, dies. Attila succeds him.

441 Attila crosses Danube and invades Thrace

443 Attila makes terms with Theodosius II

447 Attila's second invasion.

449 Attila's second peace.

450 Theodosius II dies. Marcian succeeds and stops subsidy to Attila.

453 Attila dies. Theodori II king of the Visigoths

454 Overthrow of the Hun power by the subjected barbarians

456 Aspar the Alan is 'power behind the throne' in the east

457 Marcian dies. Aspar the Alan makes Leo emperor

465 Fall of Aspar the Alan

467 Leo appoints Anthemius western Augustus

468 Leo sends great neaval expedition under Basiliscus to crush Geiseric, who destroys it

474 Leo dies, succeeded by infant Leo II. Leo II dies. Zeno the Isaurian acceeds to the throne.

475 Usurpation of Basiliscus. Zeno escapes to Asia.

476 Odoacer conquers Rome and offers to rule as viceroy of the eastern Augustus. End of western empire.

477 Fall of Basiliscus. Restoration of Zeno

478-482 War of Zeno with Ostrogoths, under Kign Theodoric the Amal and Theodoric Strabo

483 Tehodoric recognized as master of the soldiers

484 Revolt of Leontius in Syria

489 Theodoric invades Italy to supplant Odoacer

491 Odoacer, defeated, holds out at Ravenna. Anastasius succeeds Zeno

493 Odoacer capitulates and is murdered. Theodoric King of Italy, nominally viceroy

502 Persian war of Anastasius

518 Justin succeeds Anastasius to the throne

526 Theodoric dies, succeeded by Athalaric.

527 Accession and marriage of Justinian

529 Justinian's code

530 Persian incursions Victory of Belisarius at Daras.

532 Nika Riots, suppressed by Belisarius. Peace with Parthia

533 Belisarius oblitarates the Vandal Kingdom

534 Justinian's revised Code. Athalaric dies, succeeded by Theodahad

535 Belisarius in Sicily

536 Theodahad deposed and killed. Wittiges elected. Belisarius captures and holds Rome.

537 Wittiges besieges Rome, Franks invade northern Italy.

538 Wittiges buys of Franks by ceding to them the Roman Provence

539 Belasarius besieges Wittiges at Ravenna.

540 Fall of Ravenna. Belisarius leaves Italy

541 Chosroes invades Syria and sacks Antioch. Goths, led by Totila, begin reconquest of Italy.

542 General paralysis caused by the great plague

544 Belisarius sent to Italy with feeble force

545 Five years truce with Persia

546 Totila captures and evacuates Rome

547 Belisarius reoccupies Rome

548 Belisarius recalled. Totila dominates Italy

550 Justinian's troops occupy Andalusia. Third Persian War.

552 Narses sent to recover Italy. Fall of Totila at Battle of Taginae.
Introduction of silk-worm from China.

553Last stand and annihilation of the Ostrogoths

554 Narses shattes a Frank invasion

555 narses rules Italy from Ravenna

561 End of Persian war

565 Deaths of Justinian and Belisarius. Justin II emperor.

566 Avars and Lombards on the Danube

568 Lombards under Alboin invade Italy

569 Birth of Mohammed

572 Persian war renewd

573 Lombards masters of northern Italy and of provinces in the south, though without a king.

578 Tiberius succeeds Justin II

582 Maurice succeeds Tiberius

584 Authari elected Lombard King

590 Gregory the Great pope. Agilulf Lombard King.

591 Accession of Chosroes II in Persia by help of Maurice. End of Persian war.

595 Wars of Maurice with Avars and others on the Danube

602 Mutiny and usurpation of Phocas, Maurice killed.

604 Death of Greagory the Great

606 Chosroes II invades Syria as avenger of Maurice. Continuous expansion of Persian power.

609 Revolt of Heraclius the elder in Africa

610 Phocas is overthrown by the Heraclius the younger. Heraclius emperor.

614 Chosroes II completes conquest of Syria by taking Jerusalem, carrying off the true cross

616 Persian conquest of Egypt

620 Persian overrun Asia Minor

621 The eastern empire devotes itself to a holy war against Parthia

622 First Persian campaign of Heraclius who splits Parthian forces of Syria and Asia Minor

623-627 Victorious campaigns of Heraclius in and beyond Mesopotamia

626 Persians and Avars besieging Constantinople are completely repulsed

627 Decisive victory of Heraclius at Nineveh. Mohammed's letter to Heraclius

628 Fall of Chosroes II. End of Persian War, all Roman possessions restored

632 Death of Mohammed. Abu Bekr First Khalif. First Syrian Expedition.

634 Roman defeat on Yermak

635 Fall of Damascus

636 Fall of Antioch. Heraclius evacuates Syria.

637 Fall of Jerusalem.

640 Amru invades Egypt

641 Heraclius dies. Constans II emperor. Amru takes Alexandria

642 Persian Empire ended at battle of Nehavend

646 Alexandira recovered and lost again.

649 Beginning of the Saracen fleet in the Mediterranean.

651 Moawiya begins invasion of Asia Minor

652 Naval victory of Abu Sarh off Alexandria

655 Naval victory of Constans II at Phoenix

658 Constans II campaigns against Slavs

659 Truce between Moawiya and Constans II

662 Constans II invades Italy

663 Constans II retires from Italy to Syracuss

664Constans II organizes campaigns in Africa

668 Constans II killed. Constantine Pogonatus emperor. Renewal of the war with Moawiya. Saracen successes in Asia Minor

673 Second siege of Constantinople. Saracens repulsed

673-677 Defeats of Saracens by Constantine

678 Moawiya forced to make peace with Constantine

681 Council of Constantinople condemns Monothelite heresy. Rome reconciled.

685 Constantine dies. Justinian II emperor.

691 Justinian II's successful campaign in Bulgaria

693 Justinian II's campaign in Cilicia

695 Justinian II deposed and exiled. Leontius emperor.

698 Saracens cinally capture Carthage. Leontius deposed Tiberius III emperor.

705 return and resoriation of Justinian II. Reign of terror to 711.

711 Philippicus kills Justinian II and usurps crown. Saracen fleet takes possession of Sardinia.

711-715 Saracens overrun Asia Minor

713 Fall of Philippicus. Anastasius II emperor.

715 Fall of Anastasius II. Theodosius III emperor.

716 Suleiman prepares grant attack on the empire. Revolt of Leo the Isaurian.

717 Theodosius III abdicates in favour of Leo III. Moslemah besieges Constantinople by sea and land. Leo III defeats fleet.

718 Saracens reinforced. Leo III shatters their fleet, crosses the Bosporus and cuts them off from the east. Bulgarians advance and defeat a Saracen army. Moslemah withdraws. Remnants of Saracen grand fleet destroyed in a storm.

719 Campaigns to expel Saracens from Asia Minor.

726 Leo III prohibits image worship, though cannot enforce edict in Italy. Violent breach with pope Gregory II.

727 Saracen defeat at Nicaea drives them from Asia Minor.

729 Exarch Eutychius marches on Rome.

730 Liutprand imposes pacification of Italy

732 Leo III's fleet for subjugation of Italy destroyed by storms.

741 Emperor Leo III succeeded by Constantine V Copronymus

753 Iconoclast Council of Constantinople

755 First Bulgar War of Consantine V

761 Constantine begins persecution of the monks

764 Second Bulgar War of Constantine

775 Leo IV succeeds Constantine V

780 Constantine VI succeeds Leo IV. Iconodule reaction under regency of Irene

784 Saracens extort tribute from Irene

786 Haround al-Raschid khalif

790 Constanine VI seizes control by coup d'état.

797 Irene deposes and blinds Constantine VI

802 Irene deposed. Nicephorus emperor.

811 Nicephorus killed on Bulgar campaign.

812 Accession of Michael. Recognition of the western Holy Roman Empire.

813 Michael deposed by Leo V the Armenian

820 Leo V assassinated. Accession of Michael II

827 Saracens of Tunis invade Sicily and begin its conquest.

829 Theophilus succeeds Michael II

831 Mamun invades Cappadocia. Beginning of prolonged was between empire and khalifate.

842 Saracens in Sicily capture Messina. Michael III the Drunkard, aged four, succeeds Theophilus. Fourteen year Regency of Theodora.

855 Michael III takes control of Constantinople

857 Michael III deposes Ignatius and makes Photius patriarch, denounced by pope Benedict III.

859 Fall of Enna completes Saracen conquest of Sicily

861 Conversion of Bulgars to Christianity

863 Pope Nicholas I excommunicates Patricarch Photius.

866 Synod at Constantinople condemns hereies of the Latin church. Permanent severance of the Latin and Greek churches.

867 Murder of Michael III. Basil the Macedonian first emperor of the Macedonian dynasty.

876 Basil takes up Saracen war in South Italy

878 Saracens take Syracuse, completing conquest of Italy

886 Leo VI the Wise succeeds Basil

912 Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus succeeds Leo VI

919 Romanus co-emperor with the boy Constantine VII

945 Romanus deposed. Constantine VII sole emperor

959 Constantine VII dies. Romanus II emperor.

961 Crete recovered from the Saracens for the empire. Syrian campaign.

963 Romanus II dies. Nicephorus Phocas emperor, with the children Basil II and Cosntantine VIII

965 Nicephorus recovers Cyprus from Saracens

968 Nicephorus recovers Antioch

969 John Zimisces murders Nicephorus II and becomes co-emperor. Russians under Sviatoslav invade Bulgaria and Thrace.

971 Zimisces defeats Russians. Russian treaty.

975 Syrian campaign of John Zimisces

976 Zimisces dies. Basil II reigns until 1025.

1014 Basil II destroys the Bulgar army

1017 Norman adventurers in Italy take part against the Byzantines in the south.

1018 End of the first Bulgar kingdom

1022 Armenian campaigns of Basil II

1025 Basil II dies. Constantine VIII sole emperor

1028 Constantine VIII dies. Zoe with Romanus II succeeds

1034 Romanus III dies. Zoe with Michael VI

1042 Michael IV dies. Zoe with Constantine IX

1054 Theodora empress at Cosntantinople

1057 Isaac Comnenus emperor

1059 Isaac Comnenus retire. Constantine X Ducas emperor.

1067 Romanus IV co-emperor with Michael VII

1071 Romanus IV defeated at Manzikert by Alp Arslan

1073 Sulayman takes Nicaea

1076 Seljuk Turks seize Jerusalem.

1077 Sultanate of Roum established at Nicaea

1078 Nicephorus II deposes Michael VII Ducas

1081 Alexius Comnenus deposes Nicephorus II Robert Guiscard besieges Durazzo and defeats Byzantines

1095 Alexius appeals to Urban II at Council of Piacenza. The First Crusade proclaimed at Council of Clermont.

1096 Crusade assemble at Constantinople

1097 Crusaders invade Asia Minor, take Nicaea, cross the Taurus, secure Edessa, besiege Antioch

1098 Crusaders take Antioch. Fatimids recapture Jerusalem from the Seljuk Turks.

1099 Crusaders capture Jerusalem. Beginning of the Latin Kingdom.

1119 John II succeeds Alexius

1143 Manuel succeeds John II

1146 Second Crusade

1148 Collapse of the Second Crusade

1180 Death of Manuel. Succession of Alexius II Comnenus

1183 Usupration of Andronicus Comnenus

1185 Andronicus killed. Isaac Angelus emperor.

1187 Saladin captures Jerusalem

1189 Third Crusade

1192 Treaty of Richard and Saladin ends Third Crusade

1195 Alexius Angelus deposes Isaac.

1202 Fourth Crusade assembles at Venice, diverted at Constantinople

1203 First capture of Constantinople. Isaac 'restored'.

1204 Second capture and sack of Constantinople. Crusaders divide the spoils, Venice taking the lion's share. Baldwin of Flanders emperor

1205 Baldwin killed in Bulgarian war. Henry of Flanders succeeds.

1206 Theodore Lascaris Greek emperor at Nicaea

1216 Death of Henry of Flanders. Accession of Peter of Courtenay

1222 John III Ducas emperor at Nicaea

1229 John of Brienne joint emperor with Baldwin II of Courtenay at Constantinople

1237 Advance of John III Ducas in Thrace. Death of John of Brienne

1246 John III Ducas takes Thessalonica

1254 Death of John III Ducas.

1259 Usurpation of the crown by Michael VIII

1261 Michael VIII captures Constantinople, restoring Greek and ending Latin empire.

1282 Andronicus II succeeds Michael VII

1288 Ottoman Turks in Asia Minor under Othman

1303 Andronicus II takes into his service Grand Company of Catalans

1328 Death of Andronicus II. Accession of Andronicus III

1341 Andronicus II dies, succeeded by John V

1347 John Cantacuzenus joint emperor

1354 Cantacuzenus abdicates. John V sole emperor. Turks occupy Gallipoli

1361 Turks capture Adrianople

1391 Accession of Manuel II

1425 Manuel II dies. Accession of John VI

1148 John VI dies. Accession of Constantine XI

1451 Accession of Mohammed the Conqueror in the east

1453 Fall of Constantinople to Mohammed the Conqueror. Death of Constantine XI.




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