Places to Visit
Mosques, palaces, Byzantine monuments and neighbourhoods of the Historic Peninsula.
10 places
Hagia Sophia
Byzantium's greatest cathedral, now a mosque. Its vast dome is a landmark of world architecture.
Basilica Cistern
A dimly lit underground reservoir with 336 columns and the famous Medusa heads.
Hippodrome (Sultanahmet Square)
Byzantium's chariot-racing arena, home to the Egyptian Obelisk and the Serpent Column.
Little Hagia Sophia
A calm, elegant Byzantine church built shortly before Hagia Sophia.
Chora (Kariye Mosque)
Home to some of the finest mosaics and frescoes of Byzantine art.
Theodosian Walls
5th-century land walls that guarded the city for a thousand years, from the Marmara to the Golden Horn.
Valens Aqueduct
A giant Roman-era aqueduct spanning Atatürk Boulevard.
Cistern of Philoxenos (Binbirdirek)
A quieter, many-columned Byzantine cistern than the Basilica Cistern.
Column of Constantine
A porphyry column from 330, the year the city became the capital.
Great Palace Mosaic Museum
Mosaics from the Byzantine Great Palace showing hunts and daily life.