The Hippodrome of Constantinople was the social and sporting heart of the Byzantine capital, where chariot races, imperial ceremonies, imperial ceremonies, public gatherings and announcements took place. Today, the former track is part of Sultanahmet Square, marked by monuments like the Obelisk of Theodosius, the Serpent Column, and the Walled Obelisk.

The Blue Mosque, a.k.a. Sultan Ahmed Mosque was built in the early 17th century by Sultan Ahmed I and is renowned for its six minarets and interior decorated with thousands of blue İznik tiles. Its architecture blends classical Ottoman design, featuring a cascading dome structure that creates a vast, light-filled interior.

Located on the European side of Istanbul, but looking nothing like other palaces in Europe, Topkapi Palace is a complex of courtyards which was built to be the first and main palace of Ottoman sultans after taking over Constantinople. For four centuries, it served as the main residence and administrative center of the Ottoman dynasty.

Its Harem was the private inner world of the palace, housing the sultan’s family, favorites and concubines. If the walls could speak, the palace intrigue and dramatic gossip it would tell would put even the stories of Versailles to shame.

Hagia Sophia is a monumental building in Istanbul originally constructed in the 6th century as a Byzantine cathedral under Emperor Justinian. Famed for having the largest dome in the world for a thousand years, Hagia Sophia was built to be the Vatican of Eastern Christianity.

With its vast central dome and shimmering mosaics, Hagia Sophia has served successively as a church, a mosque, a museum, and then again as a mosque, reflecting the city’s layered religious and political history.

The Basilica Cistern is a vast underground water reservoir built in the 6th century to supply water to Constantinople’s Great Palace and surrounding buildings. It is supported by 336 recycled marble columns in doric, corinthian and ionic styles – including the infamous Medusa head bases reused from Greek temples 500 miles outside of Constantinople/Istanbul.

The Grand Bazaar is one of the world’s oldest and largest covered markets, established in the 15th century shortly after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. With over 4,000 cell-like indoor shops, arranged along vaulted street, it has long functioned as a center of trade, craftsmanship, and commercial life in the city.