The places in Istanbul that should be visited

Istanbul is a giant city full of mysteries. When you get here it’s difficult to follow the plan of visiting sights — there are so many interesting thing around! But some famous places of the city should be visited anyway. Further you will find out about some of them.

Hagia Sophia — the great relic of Christianity

Hagia Sophia is the second by size Christian temple in the world after the Saint Paul’s Cathedral in Rome. It makes Hagia Sophia one of the first places, where you should go after you get to Istanbul. The temple’s size is not its only advantage. The relic represents a masterpiece of architecture — so much beauty under the roof of a single building can hardly be imagined, but it’s reality! Ingenious mosaics, wall paintings, displaying Saints, all this astonishes with beauty and antiquity. And this is just a small part of Hagia Sophia beauties.

Blue Mosque — the star of the world’s Islam

The largest and the most beautiful mosque of Istanbul! A majestic building with six minarets raises above the city’s buildings and tops of trees. From inside the building is paved with a great number of white and blue tiles, due to which it is named so — the «Blue mosque». The floor is covered with carpets, 260 windows illuminate the rooms and create a really magic impression.

Grand Bazaar — goods for everyone

One of the largest markets of the world, Grand Bazaar will show you the different side of Istanbul’s city life. This is a giant trade area — according to the latest count, there are about 2600 trading stores at the Grand Bazaar. The market is so big that there are streets and sections inside it. You can buy almost everything there. No one will promise you perfect quality of the goods bought there, but it’s the place where you can bargain. Here people usually buy jewelry, souvenirs, antiques, spices, clothes and footwear, carpets.

Topkapi palace — the mystery of the millennium

Topkapi palace is one of the main sights of Istanbul, which yearly attracts many tourist to the city. The palace is known not only for its interesting history, but for its beauty also. It as named «the city inside the city». In this palace, built in 1465 from four to five thousand people used to live. In 1923 the palace became a museum. Its collection is considered one of the rarest collections of the world.