The heart of Istanbul

With so many buildings, mosques, streets, museums worth seeing… After arriving in Istanbul, we asked ourselves the question – where is the best place to start? – Well, it is not possible to make a general statement about this. We decided to explore our immediate surroundings first and after a few meters we ended up in the middle of Byzantine and Ottoman witnesses – the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii), the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace and the Yerebatan Cistern.

All these highlights are within easy walking distance in the Sultanahmet district. We started our tour in the Blue Mosque – this name, by the way, comes from the beautiful blue tiles that decorate the walls inside. Almost as impressive as the blue tiles is the beautiful carpet on the floor. The mosque is still a religious place today and therefore certain rules of conduct (covering hair, wearing long clothes, taking off shoes) must be observed. An incredibly impressive and spiritual place that you should take your time for.

Afterwards we ventured down into the depths of the Yerebatan cisterns. This building can be reached via a relatively inconspicuous entrance at the Hagia Sophia. The cistern was one of my personal highlights – like in another world, you walk to classical music in this beautifully lit underground portico. There is still water in the cistern and if you look closely, you can also discover one or two fish. There are rarely places that exude such peace and beauty as I have experienced in this cistern.

If you want to visit the Hagia Sophia, you should pay attention to the opening hours. We were surprised that the last visitors are allowed in at 4.30pm at the latest. In contrast to the Blue Mosque, you have to pay an entrance fee of 25 Turkish liras (note: the euro is not accepted as a means of payment!). Once a church, converted into a mosque in Ottoman times, the Hagia Sophia is now a museum. The building is extremely impressive both from the inside and from the outside, but in my opinion it no longer radiates spirituality. Nevertheless, this mixture of different religious uses is exciting, which is particularly visible with the Jesus mosaic in the gallery. An exciting building with an eventful history – which is rightly considered one of the landmarks of multicultural Istanbul.

 

Right next to the Hagia Sophia is the center of Ottoman power – the Topkapi Palace. I like castles anyway and therefore there was no question that we would visit the palace. The entrance fee is also 25 Turkish liras. The palace complex is embedded in a beautiful green area and offers a great view over to Üsküdar and Kadikoy. Above all, I found the difference to the castles as we know them exciting. Instead of wallpaper and/or carpets, there are beautiful mosaics all over the walls.

You should definitely plan a day for this heart of Sultanahmet and even then there is little time to linger and enjoy – and yes, in my opinion, these buildings clearly belong on the top list of sights in Istanbul.