Istanbul-Tourism.net

Istanbul is bundle of energy everywhere. It is a hot tourist spot loaded with plenty of tourist attractions. You can get confused if you do not plan your agenda well in advance. Before making on your trip to Istanbul, it is necessary to do some planning. List out major tourist attraction and classify them on the basis of priority and your interest. You cannot cover even half the places if you do not plan your schedule before starting.

The Blue Mosque:
Originally called the Sultanahmet Mosque and is one of the finest historical monuments in the world of Islam. It has the pride of housing six minarets and very few mosques in the world have six minarets in them. It was commissioned by Sultanahmet with the intention of having a better place of worship for Muslims than Hagia Sophia. Work was started in 1609 and it took 7 years to complete the construction of Blue Mosque. It attracts lot of tourists due to its rich architectural work and the reputation of six minarets. Another unique feature of this mosque is the arrangement of cascade of domes. The cascades seem to fall out of the mighty central dome. The mosque originally has 20000 blue tiles in the ceiling and you can never see any blue color in the exterior of the mosque. Earlier the complex had a hospital, a primary school, an imaret and a madrasa inside but during the second half of 19th century most of the portions of this complex was destroyed.

Hagia Sophia:
The church of the holy wisdom was given the name Hagia Sophia (in Greek) is a Byzantine church in Istanbul. The original church was built by Constantine in 4th century which was destroyed by attack and the present building was built in 535 AD by Emperor Justinian I. The Basilicas church was indeed a great surviving example of Byzantine architecture and excellent piece of antiquity. Though it was primarily founded as a Basilicas church now it is regarded as a place for Islamic worship. Thus Hagia Sophia was used both by Christians and by Muslims as a sacred destination. You will be fascinated to see the excellent marvels of Byzantine Mosaics throughout the place. You can find three mausoleums of Sultans, the physical remains of Theodosius Hagia Sophia and a Christian Baptistery outside the palace.

Topkapi Palace:
Being the oldest palace in the world, Topkapi was the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans for over 400 years. It houses the most holy cloak and the sword of Prophet Mohammed and is popularly visited by many Muslims all over the world. It boasts the pride of being placed in the World Heritage Site from 1985. Though the palace has hundreds of rooms and halls, only few important chambers are accessible to the public. The entire palace is guarded by Turkish Military due to its rich heritage and treasure and historical importance, and it contains porcelains, weapons, robes, armor, and Islamic manuscripts. It remains closed on Tuesday.

Grand Bazaar:
It is one of the world’s largest shopping complex housing more than 4000 shops and a visit to Istanbul is never complete without shopping for jewelry, pottery, leather, ceramics and spices at this Bazaar.

All the above spots can be covered in one day by hiring a local taxi. If you are in budget then take a package tour to visit all the places mentioned above.