The hotel is an annexe to a 19th-century palace on the Bosphorus built for Sultan Abdülaziz, an ill-fated ruler who killed himself with a pair of scissors in one of its...

Irrefutable evidence of an empire on its last legs, Dolmabahçe Palace was built for Abdül Mecit by Karabet Balyan and his son Nikoĸos. It was completed in 1855, whereupon the...

During the golden age of Turkish cinema, Yeşilçam Sokak was Turkey's answer to Hollywood. No more. But the Emek still stands as a relic of former glories, built in the 1920s...

Walk away. Be prepared to walk away if you want to escape being harangued into a raw deal by whichever of the 5,500-odd vendors in the Grand Bazaar you happen to be dealing...

The third sacred building on the site to bear the name, the existing Haghia Sophia ('Divine Wisdom') was dedicated on 26 December AD 537 by Emperor Justinian. He had come to...

The latest addition to Istanbul's mall society, this is a mall with a difference. Open to, yet sheltered from, the elements, its canyon-inspired design houses 170...

An absolutely magical attraction, which recreates 105 of Turkey's most famous sights in miniature. The models range from a palm-sized Leander's Tower to a Sultanahmet Mosque...

On a hilltop with a stunning vantage point over the Golden Horn, this café is dedicated to French naval officer Pierre Loti, who was so obsessed with Istanbul that he took to...

Directly behind Haghia Sophia are the walls shielding Topkapı Palace. Part command centre for a massive military empire, part archetypal Eastern pleasure dome, the palace was...

Built by the Emperor Justinian at the same time as the Haghia Sophia, it was forgotten for centuries and only rediscovered by a Frenchman, Peter Gyllius, in 1545 when he...