As Turkey's most populous city known for tourist attractions, restaurants, nightlife as well as its cultural and financial hub, located on both sides of the Bosphorus, the narrow strait between the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea, Istanbul bridges Asia and Europe both physically and culturally. For centuries Istanbul is a city that has captivated visitors and has witnessed the rise and fall of empires that fought to seize its beauty. A sprawling metropolis, Istanbul is a mosaic of sights, where European style greets oriental mystique, where ancient treasures sit alongside modern designs and where traditions thrive in a contemporary world. .The Hagia Sophia Sophia and the mesmeric Grand Bazaar will draw one in; however it is the city’s cosmopolitan vibe that brings comfort to modern day tourists and sojourners. Istanbul's most famous attractions are centered in and around the Sultanahmet district that consists of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace and the Brand Bazaar before heading to nearby Eminonu to shop in the Spice Bazaar known for shops selling spices, Turkish delights, sweets, jewelry, souvenirs and more. The cascading domes and slender minarets of the Blue Mosque dominate the skyline of Istanbul. In the seventh century, Sultan Ahmet I commissioned the building of an Islamic place of worship that was built over the site of an ancient hippodrome and the Byzantine imperial palace. It took seven years to complete – a year before the Sultan’s death. The two iconic architectural buildings – the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, stand next to each other in Istanbul's main square, and it is up to visitors to decide which is more impressive. One of the most notable features of the Blue Mosque visible from far away is its Six Minarets. This is very unique to the Mosque because most mosques are known to have one to four minarets. The name Blue Mosque comes from the twenty thousand flowery, abstract patterned blue tiles that line the high ceiling inside the Mosque The interior is lit with two hundred and sixty windows that were once filled with seventh-century stained glass but are now replaced with replicas.

Known for its great architectural beauty and an important monument to both the Byzantine and Ottoman Empire, the Hagia Sophia was once a Church. It was later converted to a mosque; but today, it stands as a museum in Instanbul.Hagia Sophia has always been the precious of its time and it is universally acknowledged to be one of the great buildings of the world. It was built in the fourth century by Constantine the Great - the first Christian emperor and founder of the city of Constantinople that he called the New Rome. However, upon the arrival of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror into the city, it was converted to a mosque having seen the amazing beauty of Hagia Sophia. It was under the rule of Turkish president Kemal Atatürk in 1934, Hagia Sofia was secularized and turned into the Ayasofya Museum. The most famous part of the Hagia Sophia's mosaics on the upper floor and in the galleries provide visitors with a commanding view of the nave from all sides of the museum and a close-up view of some of the best Byzantine mosaics. The Basilica Cistern, also known as the Sunken Palace was constructed by Justinian in 532 to primarily supply water to the Byzantine Palace. Known for the Medusa Heads for pillars positioned upside down and sideways, the Basilica Cistern is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lies beneath the city of Istanbul. Its underground waterway was used as a reservoir for water storage for the Great Palace and other buildings. Completely renovated, the Bisilica Cistern has been featured in movies such as the James Bond film From Russia with Love, as well as in novels and video games. Water still drips melancholically through the ceiling, and the brick-domed ceiling echoes classical music. Another famous location is the Topkapi Palace, which is one of the most popular sites visited in Istanbul. Built by the Sultan Mehmet II on top of a hill in a small peninsula, it has gone through its changes over four hundred years by the addition of different sections by different Sultans based on the taste or the needs at the time of their reign. Due to the different changes, the palace is formed by a maze of buildings centered around a series of courtyards protected by different gates. With its architecture predominantly Middle Eastern in character, the Topkapı Palace is one of the biggest palace-museums with its collections and approximately 300,000 archive papers. The ravages of time have resulted in the museum’s destruction by fire and demolition due to the new building of many of its original structures. Despite this, the original fifteenth century museum that integrates segregates and defines the palace's residential, ceremonial and functional requirements remains intact.

The colorful and chaotic Grand Bazaar is the heart of İstanbul's Old City and has been for centuries. Starting as a small vaulted warehouse built by order of Mehmet the Conqueror in 1461, the Grand Bazaar is one of the largest covered markets in the world with sixty streets and five thousand shops that attracts between two hundred and fifty to four hundred thousand visitors daily. It is well known for its jewelry, hand-painted ceramics, carpets, embroideries, spices and antique shops. Many of the stalls in the bazaar are grouped by type of goods, with special areas for leather, gold jewelry and more. The bazaar has been an important trading center since 1461 with its labyrinthine vaults that feature two domed buildings. The bazaar was vastly enlarged in the sixteenth century, during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent; but in 1894, it underwent a major restoration following an earthquake. The complex consists of two mosques, four fountains, two hamams, and several cafés and restaurants. In the center is the high domed hall of the Cevahir Bedesten, where the most valuable items and antiques were to be found including furniture, copperware, amber prayer beads, inlaid weapons, icons, mother-of-pearl mirrors, water pipes, watches and clocks, candlesticks, old coins, and silver and gold jewelry set with coral and turquoise. An afternoon spent exploring the bazaar, sitting in one of the cafés and watching the crowds pass by or bargaining for purchases is one of the best ways to recapture the romantic atmosphere of old Istanbul.

The city of Instanbul is divided into remnants of its long and well known history that is said will astound many visitors and tourists. Though many attractions are located within the old city district of Sultanahmet, there is an array of other tourist attractions throughout the further reaches of the city. Such was the mindset of photographer Bastiaan Woudt who found it difficult to pick the best city to visit before starting his adventure in Fatih and Fener that are known to be the most conservative districts in the city. Referred to as the first Instanbul, Fatih is one of the largest and central districts of Instanbul that runs up to the medieval walls that was part of Byzantine Capital, Constantinople. Fatih also sits within the Roman wall and is home to the Fatih mosque which is the first Ottoman Mosque in Instanbul. The streets in Fener are full of historic wooden mansions, churches, and synagogues dating back to the Byzantine and Ottoman eras. Fener is designed according to a unique road plan where a continuing array of streets intersects one another at upright angles. The urban structure of the district that is seen as unusual can be traced to the division of plots following fires that damaged the district. The architectural uniqueness of the district can be traced from the religious buildings; and the height of buildings in the district vary between one and four storeys with half of the buildings dating back to pre-1930s; thus giving the district its characteristic atmosphere reflecting the interesting features of that time period. The streets that are said to have hosted the most influential of empires along with their monuments, housed a mosaic of communities in addition to sustained earthquakes, fire, and sieges. The neighborhoods had been forgotten until 1997 when UNESCO took notice which led a restoration and rehabilitation program of the adjoining neighborhoods. Despite restoration projects efforts, the streets is said to remain, for the most part, an echo of what they were hundreds of years prior. None the Less, places such as St. Savior in Chora, Edirnekapi, The Theodosian Land Walls, The Palace of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Ivas Efendi Mosque, Anemas Dungeon amongst others are said to be some of the must see locations a tourist should explore. To discover and learn about the rich history and memory of Istanbul, great preparation is recommended. In addition to an in depth research of your own, contacting a professional tour operator or the Department of Tourism is encouraged for more information and education to aid in the preparation of a travel of a lifetime.