Istanbul is adorned with the masterpieces of Turkish art, the great mosques of the Sultans that crown the hills. The city presents an exquisite, majestic and serene silhouette from all directions. The Golden Horn, which is a very secure natural harbor, has played a significant role in the development of the city. The historic city of Istanbul is situated on a peninsula flanked on three sides by the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn.

Even if you spend only a short time in Istanbul, you can see much of this great heritage. Although renowned for its mystery and history, Istanbul is also a rapidly modernising country with a prime location; one foot in Europe and one in the Middle East. Thus Istanbul retains its fascinating differences, and its contradictions: mosques coexist with churches, and remnants of the Roman Empire still stand alongside ancient Hittite and Neolithic sites.

Places which you shouldn´t miss:

• The jewel in the heart of Istanbul's Sultanahmet area - the mosque Hagia Sophia. With its magnificent dome, it was considered one of the great architectural miracles of Christendom, and went through incarnations as a church, a mosque and now a museum. 
• The Topkapi Palace Museum - the great palace of the Ottoman Sultans.
  
• Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque) with the cascading domes and six slender minarets dominate the skyline of Istanbul. It is one of the most impressive temples of Islam.
  
• Grand Bazaar - a teeming indoor maze of jewelry, carpets, leather, textiles, and antiques that dates back 500 years. Its sheer size—65 alleys and more than 4,000 shops—is not for the faint of heart.
  
• an authentic Turkish bath (the best place is in Cagaloglu Hamam or Çemberlita Hamam in the Old City) - You get a pestemal, or towel, and, after warming up on a hot stone slab for about 10 minutes, expect to be massaged, scrubbed, and soaped up for another 15 minutes, leaving your skin softer than you could ever imagine possible.
• Yerebatan Sarayi (Basilica cistern) - built by Emperor Justinian in the mid-500s, the cavernous underground water-storage area has a vaulted brick ceiling supported by a forest of Corinthian-carved marble columns. The most magical place in underground which you can ever see!

Maybe you didn´t know...

• Istanbul´s metro was built in 1875 and is the 3rd oldest subway in the world. London subway was built in 1863 and New York subway 5 years later, in 1868.
• The coffee was introduced to Europe by Turks. As well the famous Dutch tulips were given to Holland by Turks.
• Agatha Christie wrote her famous detective story “Murder on the Orient Express”  at Pera Palas Hotel in Istanbul. The Simplon-Orient Express – the “kings of trains and train of kings” – ran between Paris and Constantinople (Istanbul) from 1883 to 1977. She was one of the passengers of this famous train.
• The first church built by a man (St. Peter’s Church) is in Antioch (Antakya) in Turkey. The Seven Churches of Apocalypse are all situated in the Aegean region of Anatolia; Ephesus, Smyrna (Izmir), Pergamum, Thyatira (Nazilli), Sardis, Philadelphia (Alasehir) and Laodicea.
• Four bronze horses, which are decorating the San Marco Cathedral in Venice today, were taken from the city by the Crusaders in the 13th century.
• St. Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus, was born in Patara and became the bishop of Demre, on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.