In northern Şişli, a short bus ride from Taksim Square, is a candy-pink Ottoman house in which Mustafa Kemal once stayed. It now contains three floors of memorabilia of the...

This attractive wooden mansion was the retreat of celebrated poet Tevfik Fikret (1867-1915), who built it himself. Although the literary exhibits don't amount to much, the...

Set in a beautiful 17th-century medrese, this is one of the city's more unusual museums. Where instructors once lectured students in Islamic philosophy, they now give lessons...

A visit to the city's least known museum requires forward planning: to gain access to the heavily guarded Selimiye army barracks, you must fax your passport details, expected...

The official museum of the Galatasaray School sports club, now more famous for its football team. Barely more than a trophy room, the exhibits include photographs, memorabilia...

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...

Istanbul's long-awaited contemporary art museum, Istanbul Modern, opened in its doors in December 2004. Housed in a former customs warehouse on the waterfront in Karaköy, which...

Founded by poet Sunay Akın in 2005 in an old wooden mansion in Göztepe, the collection here contains some 4,000 toys from around the world. Highlights include a French violin...

Housed in the immaculately restored Zülfaris Synagogue (in existence since 1671, but dating in its present form to the early 19th century), a collection of well-presented...

The sheer size and wealth of this place says as much about the military's continued clout in Turkey, as it does about the country's bloody history. For many years, this was one...

The decrepit state of this poorly signposted museum, housed in a waterside mansion, suggests that few visitors find their way here. Shame, because the collection of Turkish art...

Behind Sultanahmet Mosque and slightly down the hill towards the Marmara is a small, 17th-century shopping street, built to provide rental revenue for the upkeep of the mosque....

Overlooking the Hippodrome, the museum occupies the restored 16th-century palace of Ibrahim Paşa. A Greek convert to Islam, Ibrahim was the confidant of Süleyman I and in 1523...

Announced by a roadside garden full of big guns, the museum is housed in two separate buildings on the Bosphorus. The larger building holds an extensive collection of model...