Sultanahmet walking tour & neighborhood guide
Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the heart of two empires.
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Sultanahmet is the historic core of Istanbul, on the tip of the peninsula where the Golden Horn meets the Bosphorus. For more than fifteen centuries it was the center of power of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, and today its domes and minarets form one of the most famous skylines in the world.
Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque
Hagia Sophia, completed in 537 under the emperor Justinian, was the largest church in the world for nearly a thousand years. It became a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of 1453, then a museum, and is again a working mosque. Its vast dome seems to float above the prayer hall, and Byzantine mosaics survive in the upper galleries. Foreign visitors buy a ticket and enter by a separate route.
Facing it across a garden with fountains, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles that cover its interior, was finished in 1616 and has six minarets. It remains a place of worship, so visits pause during the five daily prayers, and visitors should cover their shoulders and knees; women also cover their hair.
Palaces, cisterns and the Hippodrome
Topkapı Palace, the home of the Ottoman sultans for almost four hundred years, spreads across courtyards and pavilions on the headland, with treasuries, the Harem and terraces overlooking the Bosphorus. Below the streets, the Basilica Cistern, a 6th-century underground reservoir with hundreds of marble columns and two Medusa heads, is one of the city's most atmospheric sights.
The long square of the Hippodrome, once a chariot-racing track for 100,000 spectators, still holds an Egyptian obelisk more than 3,500 years old and the bronze Serpent Column from ancient Greece. Small lanes behind the Blue Mosque lead to the Arasta Bazaar, and the Grand Bazaar is a short walk away along the tram line.
A classic walk in Sultanahmet
Start in Sultanahmet Square between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, visit both, then walk along the Hippodrome. Go down into the Basilica Cistern, enter Topkapı Palace and finish in Gülhane Park, then walk downhill to the Spice Bazaar and the Galata Bridge at Eminönü.
Visit Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque early in the morning, before the tour groups, and avoid Friday midday prayers. Topkapı Palace is closed on Tuesdays. In the evening, the domes are lit and the square is calmer.
Top sights in Sultanahmet
- 1
Hagia Sophia
The great domed church of Justinian, now a mosque.
- 2
Blue Mosque
The six-minaret Sultan Ahmed Mosque and its blue tiles.
- 3
Topkapı Palace
The palace of the Ottoman sultans and its treasury.
- 4
Basilica Cistern
A forest of columns in a 6th-century underground reservoir.
- 5
Hippodrome
The old chariot track with its Egyptian obelisk.
- 6
Gülhane Park
A former palace garden with tulips in spring.
Food markets & where to eat in Sultanahmet
Arasta Bazaar
A small bazaar behind the Blue Mosque with tea gardens nearby.
Grand Bazaar area
Kebab shops and tea houses in the lanes around the bazaar.
Eminönü waterfront
Balık ekmek, grilled fish sandwiches, by the Galata Bridge.
Spice Bazaar
Turkish delight, spices, nuts and dried fruit.
Opening hours and prices change often. Please check with each place before you visit.
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