French Institute, Istanbul

Hagia Triada Orthodox Church

Finding a quite large and still operating church on the edge of the main square of the largest city of a predominantly Muslim country may not be expected by everyone, but this is exactly the definition of the quite elaborate Hagia Triada

Istanbul Modern Art Museum

A must see for anyone interested in contemporary Turkish art, this is a nice, organized museum with contemporary installations

S. Antonio di Padova Catholic Church

Although not at the size of Hagia Sophia, this is the largest church (still used for religious activities) in Turkey

Galata Convent of Whirling Dervishes

A dancing hall of the mystical Mevlevi order, shut down in 1925 along with all other 'reactionary' movements in Turkey

Pera Museum

Pera Museum is a private museum with a large collection of Turkish Orientalist paintings, archaeological finds of Anatolian measurement units and tools used in Asia Minor since antiquity, and faiences of Kütahya

Crimean Memorial Church

A neo-gothic anglican cathedral which would not be out of place in northwestern Europe, Crimean Memorial Church was built for the protestant community of the city by Britain in late 1800s

Istanbul Military Museum

Among the exhibition of this museum are five thousand pieces from the Ottoman era through the WWII, with the most prominent piece possibly being the huge chain that the Byzantines stretched across the mouth of the Golden Horn to keep out the Sultan's navy in 1453 during the siege of Constantinople

French Institute, Istanbul