Anadoluhisarı

This is a triple structure: the church of the Monastery of Pantokrator built 1118, then a public church circa 1136 plus a chapel that served as a royal mausoleum. It became a mosque and medresse in Ottoman times, but without massive alteration so it's a prime example of middle-Byzantine architecture. It's nowadays again a mosque, photogenic by day or dusk but the area should be avoided at night.

This is the main attraction around this part of the city. The holiest Islamic shrine in the city, the complex includes, right next to the mosque, the tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (Eyüp Ensari Türbesi), the standard bearer of Prophet Mohammad, died and buried here during the first Muslim siege of Constantinople (674-678 AD). The neighbourhood was named after him. Muslims flock here (in such huge numbers that sometimes you have to queue for a few minutes before entering the tomb) also to see a rather uninteresting plaque made of plastic, which is purported to be Mohammad's footprint. The interior of the tomb, covered with fine tiles/faience, is nonetheless well worth a look, however. It is also interesting to see the devout Muslims leaving the place by walking backwards through its exit hallway, as not to turn their backs to al-Ansari's catafalque, though obviously no one expects everyone to quit the place in the same manner.

A profusion of carpets, rugs, calligraphy, pottery, Qu'rans and other manuscripts. The museum is housed in the Palace of Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha (1495–1536), who was grand vizier to Suleiman the Magnificent, and the best of pals till Suleiman had him murdered.

A ritual dancing hall of the mystical Mevlevi order, the followers of the teachings of Mewlānā Rumi. The quiet and peaceful garden is a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of Beyoğlu. The oldest Mevlevi lodge in Istanbul, the convent was started in 1491, when the surrounding area was, hard to believe today but, pure wilderness beyond the city walls of Galata, although the current building dates back to 1855, as the older versions succumbed to repairs, rebuildings, and fires. However, the lodge was shut down in the early years of the republic (in 1925) along with all other 'reactionary' movements in Turkey, and the building has been serving as a museum dedicated to the Mevlevi order since 2010. Downstairs is a series of rooms dealing with the daily life of an average dervish, with informational signs in Turkish and English about the history of Islam and the Mevlevi order (also notice the original wooden pillars that support the building on this floor). On the upper floor is a dancing hall, a perfect example of 19th century Ottoman Baroque. Pre-Covid, this was where the sema whirling ceremonies were held every weekend evenings (admission by an extra ticket costing around 100 TL); check if they resumed. On the third floor is a display of various traditional Turkish/Islamic arts, including paper marbling (ebru), and calligraphy. After exiting the building, check out the small graveyard (or the "silent house" as the sign at its entrance says) on one side of the building, shaded by a number of hackberry trees, which Ottomans favoured to plant in the yards of mosques and graves to sign holiness. Here, the carved fez, or the basket of flowers in case of women, perched upon the highly detailed marble gravestone indicates the occupant's rank in the dervish hierarchy. At one corner of the necropolis is the grave of İbrahim Müteferrika, a converted Hungarian who was the first to start automated publishing in Ottoman Turkish in the 18th century, and served as the translator of Hungarian revolutionaries who sought asylum in Turkey, such as Kossuth, who stayed for a year in Kütahya, or Ferenc Rakoczi, who lived his last years in Tekirdağ.

This is a completely wooden building rising up to six storeys. It is said to be the second largest wooden construction in the world and the first in Europe. On the second highest summit of Büyükada (İsatepe, "Jesus hill", 164 m asl), it lies abandoned and dilapidated amidst the pine woods, like a picture-perfect haunted manor. It was built in the late 19th century, originally intended as a luxury hotel for the passengers of the Orient Express but never served that purpose and was put in use as an orphanage by the Greek community until it was closed down in 1964, within the context of the deteriorating Turkish-Greek relations due to the Cyprus dispute. It's dangerous, not to say forbidden, to enter the building due to the damages inflicted by decades of neglect. The title holder is the Ecumenical Patriarchate, led by Bartholomew I who wants the building restored and made a global environmental research centre (he's known as the "Green Pope" due to his efforts for environmental protection), but given the long legal disputes on titleship, not to mention the enormous funds required to bring the building to life, don't hold your breath.

Completed in 1851, this houses a mantle said to have been worn by the prophet Muhammad. The mantle is displayed during Ramadan.

Started in 1613 by the Ottoman sultan Ahmet I (r. 1603–1617, who also had the Blue Mosque in the Old City built), and extensively renovated by the art-loving Selim III (r. 1789–1807), this sole building, which itself has the distinction of being the only intact structure that dates back to the rule of Ahmet III (r. 1703–1730), set inside a beautiful garden of pools and mature cedar and magnolia trees is the only remaining part of what was once the fourth largest palatial complex in Istanbul, extending all the way to the banks of the Golden Horn (which is now occupied by the derelict buildings of the closed shipyard, which also block part of the view towards the shore). According to the local rumour, its name (which in Turkish means "mirrored poplar") derives from the now absent mirrors gifted by Venice to the palace that were presumably "as tall as the poplars" (aynalar kavak). The highly decorative and colourful interior includes several rooms of original furnitures fit for a sultan, some of which are covered with nacre, and walls embellished with Ottoman poems praising the palace and Selim III. Downstairs is a small museum dedicated to music, which exhibit some of the instruments (violins, ouds, and kamanchehs) and gramophone records owned by Fatma Gevheri Sultana (1904–1980), the granddaughter of Abdülaziz I (r. 1861–1876). While you are outside, also check out the old main entrance (now closed) towards the Golden Horn, topped by a dome. Worth the half hour spent there.

Chora means countryside, and when built as a monastery in the 4th century it stood outside the Constantine walls; a century later, it was incorporated into the Theodosian walls. It was rebuilt in the 11th century then wrecked by an earthquake, so the structure and fabulous mosaics you see now are 14th century. When the church was converted to a mosque in 1500 the mosaics were plastered over, and only restored in 1958 when it became a museum. In 2020 it was again proclaimed a mosque but here (unlike Fethiye Mosque) they saw the sense and tourist income of preserving the mosaics. You need to work around prayer times.

The Byzantines built several great palaces in Constantinople and this is the only one to survive almost intact. It's from the late 13th century, in typical alternating marble and red-brick rows, and was an imperial residence: Porphyrogenitus means "born to the purple" indicating the heir to the crown. Yet it was merely an annex or pavilion within the much greater Palace of Blachernae, of which nothing else remains. It's set within the north end of the Theodosian Walls and was much bashed during the Ottoman capture. Later it was variously a menagerie, brothel, pottery, poorhouse and bottle works, then fell derelict in the 20th century. In 2021 it re-opened as a museum.

This is a circular indoor space enclosed by a 3D depiction of the Ottomans breaching the Walls of Constantinople on 29 May 1453, with sound effects. It's over-priced, unhistorical and tourist-trappy.

This building dating back to 1945 houses the local radio branch of the state radio and television corporation of Turkey (TRT). Not exactly an architectural pearl (although fans of the 1940s' totalitarian architecture will likely find its stately façade interesting), but it is prominent for the part it played in the political history of Turkey: It was occupied three times by the Army, in 1960, 1971, and most recently in 1980, when the radio was decidedly the broadcast type ranging most wide and far, to announce that they had launched a coup and taken over the governance of the country.

Sokollu Mehmet Pasha was the grand vizier and de facto ruler of the Ottoman Empire during its 16th century golden age. He commissioned this mosque, one of three in the city to bear his name, but the sloping site was a challenge. He hired the best, Mimar Sinan, who completed it in 979 AH / 1571 AD, with the slope resolved by a fronting courtyard above shops and a medrese. The interior has outstanding İznik blue tiles, and three fragments of the Black Stone (Hajar al-Aswad) of the Kaaba: above the main entrance, minbar and mihrab.

Dedicated to toys, this is a museum which adults can enjoy as much as kids. It's founded by poet Sunay Akın, and is housed in a historical mansion in the Göztepe neighbourhood east of Kadıköy. Among the 2,000 pieces of toys from around the world in exhibition, the oldest are a French-made violin from 1817 and a U.S.-made doll from 1820.

A private museum with a large painting collection and archaeological collections of measurement units and tools used in Asia Minor since antiquity and faiences of Kütahya.

It has a sandy beach backed by forest where a creek runs out. This is as far as you can go in a standard car.

A Byzantine monastery complex carved into a cliff, set in a lush valley. The site is free, but May-Sept there's a 32 TL toll for cars on the access roads. There's a picnic area, pity about all the trash, and a couple of restaurants nearby.

Built as the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus around 530 AD, the same time as Hagia Sophia, but their styles differ. Transformed into a mosque in the early 1500s, it's beautifully decorated, with fine marble details, and has a pleasanter atmosphere than the larger busy mosques. The adjoining madrasa houses craft shops.

Named after a 16th-century village, founded by Serbs deported from Belgrade when it fell to the Ottomans. The village was popular as a forest resort, but its inhabitants were resettled in the 19th century and it's now a bosky ruin. The forest is mostly primordial and deciduous, predominantly oak. It's dotted with ancient aqueducts and dams as this area was a water catchment for Constantinople / Istanbul, and has lots of walking jogging and cycling trails and picnic areas. The two main ways in are via Bahçeköy (near the Arboretum entrance) and Kemerburgaz (which has the best aqueducts). There's a small access toll. The forest is supposedly a protected area but is being encroached on by highways and suburbs: this is likely to get worse as the access route to Istanbul's new airport leads right through it.

The third and grandest of the churches on this site, completed in 537 AD. The 30-m diameter dome covers what was for over 1000 years the largest enclosed space in the world, only surpassed in 1520 by Seville cathedral. It used "pendentive" architecture to throw the dome's weight onto four stout pillars, a design that inspired many Eastern Orthodox churches and Ottoman mosques. It became a mosque after the Ottoman conquest in 1453, remaining so until 1931. It was then a museum until 2020 when it was again proclaimed a mosque. That means you must work around prayer times and dress appropriately.