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- Locals have answered 166 questions about Istanbul.
- Ask Istanbul Locals
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1. Hagia Sophia
- 1,500 year old monument, a blend of a thousand years of civilization
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- Religious Sights
- Sultanahmet
- Nile Expert Tip: The piece de resistance of Istanbul - a breathtaking building both on the outside and inside. Steeped...
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2. Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Mosque)
- Reaching for the heavens
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- Religious Sights
- Sultanahmet
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3. Topkapi Palace
- Best ensemble palace and UNESCO World Heritage Site
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- Landmarks
- Sultanahmet
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4. Aya Irini
- A Beautiful Monument
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5. Yeralti Camii (Underground Mosque)
This eerie underground mosque occupies the crypt of a former castle that was probably associated with...
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6. Fatih Mosque and Complex (Fatih Camii ve Külliyesi)
Fatih Sultan Mehmet II had his namesake built on the ruins of the Havariyun, or the Church of Holy Apostles,...
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7. Cinili Camii
This mosque was built for the Valide Sultan Kösem, mother of Murat IV, in 1640. This simple square-planned...
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8. St. Savior in Chora (Kariye Müzesi; formerly the Kariye Camii)
Much of what remained in the coffers of the Byzantine Empire was invested in the embellishment of this...
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9. Küçük Ayasofya Camii (Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus)
Started in A.D. 527 by Justinian in the first year of his reign, this former church represents an important...
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10. Dolmabahçe Palace
- Filled with luxury
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- Landmarks
- Beşiktaş
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The Best of NileGuide
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Religious sights of a city tend to connect you with the sacred side of local culture. Especially in Istanbul there is a delicate mosaic of a multi-cultural past. Istanbul and Anatolia in general has been home to many different civilizations and cultures for over centuries. As such, each civilization left a mark of its culture and religion on these lands.
Some of these marks (and monuments) were demolished during the succession of new rulers and new civilizations. Some of these did not perish, but evolved as in Hagia Sophia Mosque (which was once a church). And, some of these survived and they took their place next to a Mosque or a Muslim Palace. It is such that Istanbul has a unique, yet multi-cultural and mystifying religious carpet.
If you love history, do read a lot before you go to see the following landmarks.
- Best Of Istanbul
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