Sultanahmet

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Overview

Many visitors to İstanbul never make it out of Sultanahmet. And while this is a shame, it's hardly surprising. After all, not many cities have such a concentration of historic sights, shopping precincts, hotels and eateries within easy walking distance. Ideally suited to exploration by foot, the neighbourhood is a showcase of the city's glorious past, crammed as it is with mosques, palaces, churches and houses dating from Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

Sultanahmet

Right in the heart of İstanbul’s historic center, this sacred Byzantine building remains an important symbol of power.

Topkapı Palace

Sultanahmet

Topkapı is the subject of more colourful stories than most of the world's museums put together. Libidinous sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful…

İstanbul Archaeology Museums

Sultanahmet

The city's foremost archaeological museum is housed in three buildings close to Topkapı Palace. There are many highlights, but the sarcophagi from the…

Basilica Cistern

Sultanahmet

This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was…

Blue Mosque

Sultanahmet

İstanbul's most photogenic building was the grand project of Sultan Ahmet I (r 1603–17), whose tomb is located on the north side of the site facing…

Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts

Sultanahmet

This Ottoman palace was built in 1524 for İbrahim Paşa, childhood friend, brother-in-law and grand vizier of Süleyman the Magnificent. It now houses a…

Hippodrome

Sultanahmet

The Byzantine emperors loved nothing more than an afternoon at the chariot races, and this rectangular arena alongside Sultanahmet Park was their venue of…