Popular Tourist Attractions in Istanbul
Istanbul is Turkey's most populous city along with its cultural and financial hub. Located on both parties of the Bosphorus, the narrow strait involving the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea, Istanbul bridges Asia and Europe both physically and culturally. Istanbul is divided in three by the north-south Bosphorus Strait (Istanbul Bogazi), the dividing line between Europe and Asia, the estuary of the Golden Horn (Haliç) bisecting the western part and the Sea of Marmara (Marmara Denizi) forming a boundary to the south.Istanbul features a temperate oceanic climate which can be influenced with a continental climate, with hot and humid summers and cold, wet and occasionally snowy winters. Istanbul features a high annual average rainfall of 844mm, with late autumn and winter being the wettest, and late spring and summer being the driest.The Whirling Dervishes is really a place which can appear to be a tourist attraction, but it's an actual worship service of Mevlana's followers. During the ceremony the Dervishes become a bridge between God and humans by way of a prayer-induced trance. Although on top of many visitors'Istanbul to-do-list, people often had to skip it in the long run because seats were sold out. Don't make the same mistake and reserve your seats well in advance. This splendid church-turned-mosque-turned-museum is one of the world's greatest architectural achievements. After years of restoration works, the Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya) is finally scaffolding free, enabling one to absorb its splendor as it was meant to be.Topkapi Palace (TopkapiSarayı) is rightfully a sight you can't afford to miss while in Istanbul. This complex of kiosks and pavilions contained by four lush green courtyards is where generations of sultans had their principal residence for pretty much fifty per cent of a century.Top attractions at Topkapi Palace would be the Harem, an adorned ‘cage'of the sultan's women, the treasury storing the crown jewels (containing the famous Topkapi dagger), and the weapon's room boosting the Ottoman's fine craftsmanship even though it stumbled on making swords and bows.Istanbul is not just fascinating above ground, but additionally underground with the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan). This exquisite piece of Byzantine engineering is really a spectacular underground cistern, once bringing normal water with aqueducts from current Bulgaria to Istanbul.Bargain hunting at Istanbul's Grand Bazaar. Grand Bazaar is finished 500 years old, but nonetheless among the largest covered bazaars in the world. Its 60 streets contain a minimum of 5000 shops, 60 restaurants, 18 fountains, 12 mosques, and a school.This is not a tourist trap as some claim. Locals shop here each and every day, but odds are they're better at bargaining than you are. The bazaar is extremely famous for its carpets, leather, ceramics, souvenirs and jewelry.
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