Museums

Galata Tower

Considered among the oldest towers in the world and one of the symbols of Istanbul, Galata Tower was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Temporary List in 2013. Galata Tower, one of the most important structures that make up the silhouette of Istanbul, was used as a long-term fire watchtower and was named Galata Fire Tower.

Galata Tower was first built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinianos in 507-508 AD. The Genoese rebuilt the current tower in 1348-49. The tower was raised between 1445 and 46 years. It was damaged by an earthquake in the 1500’s and was repaired by Architect Murad bin Hayreddin. III. After the tower is repaired during the Selim period, a bay window is added to the upper floor of the tower. In 1831, the tower suffered another fire, II. Mahmut rises two more floors above the tower and the top of the tower is covered with the famous cone-shaped roof cover. The building was last repaired in 1967.

Istanbul Archaeology Museum

Istanbul Archaeological Museums are a complex of museums consisting of three main units. The Archaeological Museum, The Museum of Ancient Oriental Works, The Tiled Kiosk Museum. Istanbul Archaeological Museum, the first museum in Turkey, has about a million artifacts from a variety of cultures, brought from the imperial lands.

The interest in collecting historical artifacts in the Ottoman period dates back to the reign of Mehmet the Conqueror, but the institutional emergence of museums coincides with the establishment of Istanbul Archaeological Museums in 1869 as Müze-i Hümayun (Imperial Museum). Müze-i Humayun, housing the archaeological works collected in the Hagia Irene Church, is the foundation of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. The Tiled Kiosk built during the reign of Mehmet the Conqueror, was converted into a museum because of the insufficiency of Hagia Irene. The Tiled Kiosk which is still under the administration of Istanbul Archaeological Museum, was restored and opened its doors in 1880.

Pera Museum

The museum is located in the historic building of the former Bristol Hotel, which was designed by architect Achille Manoussos and built in 1893. It was renovated between 2003 and 2005 by architect Sinan Genim, who preserved the facade of the building and transformed the interior into a modern and fully equipped museum.

Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts

WORLD’S RICHEST ISLAMIC ART COLLECTION
Turkish and Islamic Art Museum is the first museum in our country to include Turkish – Islamic art works together. It opened its doors for the first time in 1914 in the imaret building of Suleymaniye Mosque Social Complex, one of the most important structures of Mimar Sinan (Sinan the Architect) by the name of “Evkaf-ı Islamiye Museum” (Islamic Foundations Museum). It was moved to Ibrahim Pasha Palace to the west of Blue Mosque Square, in 1983. Apart from the Sultan palaces, the museum building is one of the earliest surviving palace buildings to the present day, dates back to the late 15th century.

Ibrahim Pasha Palace, one of the most important structures of Ottoman civil architecture, rises above the old “Racetrack Square” stairs. In 1520, it was repaired by Suleiman the Magnificent and gifted to Ibrahim Pasha of Pargali, his son-in-law and grand vizier.

Topkapi Palace

Everything About The Private Life Of The Ottoman:
The Harem apartment, where the Sultans lived with their families in private, was the dwelling of the members of the Ottoman Dynasty and the upper-class women of the Harem for centuries. It also functioned as a school with its own rules and hierarchy. The Imperial Harem of Topkapi Palace is extremely important in terms of architecture and its representation of the styles belonging to the period from the 16th century to 19th century.

It was a forbidden section where no one was allowed to enter except for Sultans, Sultan’s mother, wives and children, the Qadi, the Chief Consort, concubines and the harem guards (eunuchs).

Galata Mevlevi Museum

With its historical Main Door, Galata Mevlevi Lodge awaits you at one end of İstiklal Street of Beyoğlu, and to the left at the beginning of Galip Dede Street. This lodge would be referred to as Galata or Kulekapısı Mevlevi Lodge or Galip Dede Tekke, during the Ottoman era. It was established in 1491 and represents the most important Ottoman works in Beyoğlu along with Galata Palace School. In 1975, it was opened to visitors as Divan Literature Museum before it was reorganized as Galata Mevlevi Lodge Museum in 2011.

Dolmabahce Palace

Dolmabahçe Palace was the first European-style palace in Istanbul and was built by Sultan Abdülmecid between 1842 and 1853, at a cost of five million Ottoman gold pounds, the equivalent of 35 tons of gold. Fourteen tons of gold leaf was used to adorn the ceilings of the palace. At the centre of the hall, the world’s largest Bohemian crystal chandelier can be found; it was a gift from Queen Victoria. The chandelier has 750 lamps and weighs 4.5 tons. Dolmabahçe has the largest collection of Bohemian and Baccarat crystal chandeliers in the world, and one of the great staircases has bannisters of Baccarat crystal, brass and mahogany, all in the shape of a horseshoe. Another notable feature is the 150-year-old bearskin, a gift from the Tsar of Russia.