Blue Mosque was built on historical peninsula of İstanbul, in 1616 by Architect Sedefkar Mehmet Aga. The mosque is called “Blue Mosque” because of blue, gren and white colored Iznik chinas. When Hagia Sophia was turned into a museum from a mosque in 1934, Blue Mosque became the center mosque of İstanbul. With the complex [...]

Beyoglu next to the Taksim Square is aan important part of modern Istanbul, it’s a great way to get away from the old city and enjoy modern Istanbul as the local people do. There is so much going on in the approximately 2,5 kilometers (1,5 mile) long street between Taksim Square and the Tünel funicular [...]

Taksim Square is the most known modern city center of Istanbul. Many hotels and restaurants are in or near the Square and on Istiklal Street, and there is a local bus terminal for public transportation and the main subway station. Istiklal pedestrian street has many bars, night clubs and movie theaters therefore it’s always busy [...]

Hagia Sophia was first named “Megale Ekklesia” (The Great Church) as it was the largest church in Constantinople (Istanbul today). The historian Socrates indicated that the church was named Sophia during the reign of Emperor Constantius. The name given to the church symbolized the second divine attribute of the Holy Trinity. Originally, Sophia, which means [...]