By The cascading domes and four slender minarets of the Imperial Suleymaniye Mosque dominate the skyline on the Golden Horn’s west bank. Considered the most beautiful of all imperial mosques in Istanbul, it was built between 1550 and 1557 by Sinan, the renowned architect of the Ottoman Empire’s golden age.
Topkapi Palace
On a finger of land at the confluence of the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara stands the Topkapi Palace, that maze of buildings that was the focal point of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries. In these opulent surroundings the sultans and their court lived and governed.
Dolmabahce Palace
The façade of the Dolmabahce Palace, built in the mid-19th century by Sultan Abdulmecit I, stretches for 600 meters along the European shore of the Bosphorus.
The Bridges Over the Golden Horn
There were no bridges over the Golden Horn in Byzantine times. People traveled from one side to the other in boats. The site of the bridge said to have been built by Justinian in the 6th century is not known with certainty. In fact it is almost certain that this bridge was not over the …
Beylerbeyi Palace
In the 19th century, Sultan Abdulaziz built the Beylerbeyi Palace, a fantasy in white marble set amid magnolia-filled gardens, on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus. Used as the Sultan’s summer residence, it was offered to the most distinguished foreign dignitaries for their visits. Empress Eugenie of France was among its residents. (Open every day …
Ishak Pasha Palace
Ishak Pasha Palace on the Silk Route near the Iranian frontier is situated on a high and vast platform of strategic importance on an area of 7600 metre square.