In 1453, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II and his army conquered Constantinople, putting an end to the Byzantine Empire. (Read more about Constantinople and Byzantine Istanbul here.) The victorious Turks renamed the city Istanbul, moving their capital here, where it remained until the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War One.

While modern Turkey is only a small portion of a once vast empire, this was its seat, and some of Istanbul’s most incredible and popular sights come from the Ottoman period, built by an empire that once spanned more than two million square miles, enveloping most of the Middle East, North Africa, and southeastern Europe.

When Mehmed II moved the capital of his empire to Istanbul, a suitable palace was needed for himself and his family. Ground was broken on Topkapi Palace in 1459, and the first phase was completed in 1465, though buildings would continue to be added by many sultans until the official main palace moved across the Golden Horn to Dolmabahce Palace in 1856. The maze of buildings and courtyards sits just past the Hagia Sophia, on a hill overlooking the confluence of the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus.

Visiting Topkapi Palace is crowded and expensive, nearly $30 for a ticket, plus an additional fee to see the harem (the personal dwelling place of the sultan and his wives and children), but will keep you occupied for at least a couple hours. Some public audience rooms are able to be seen, and several series of rooms containing aspects of the imperial treasury. One set holds arms and armor (including the personal weapons of various sultans), while another contains religious icons, some of which – like Moses’ staff – are quite obviously not real. A third exhibit has some imperial clothing, and another holds Islamic calligraphy. The longest line in the palace will be for the “main” treasury and its gem-crusted beauties.

My favorite rooms, however, are the Baghdad and Yerevan Kiosks, which are beautifully decorated pavilions featuring some cool thrones and stained glass, along with the library of Ahmed III, built in 1719. And don’t miss the view from the palace’s balconies!

Like Roman emperors, Ottoman Sultans attempted to outdo each other when it came to building projects, especially with mosques. Ottoman mosques are built in what seems a stack of domes and corners, each framed by graceful minarets. The more minarets, the more important the mosque, for the most part. In 1617, Sultan Ahmed I built a mosque that holds his name. Most of us, however, know the Sultan Ahmed Mosque as the Blue Mosque.

The Blue Mosque has six minarets, which when it was built was equaled only by the main mosque in Mecca. (Not wanting to overshadow Islam’s most holy sight, Ahmed added a seventh to that mosque.) It sits just across the city’s main (in the tourist center, at least) square from the Hagia Sophia, and while considerably smaller it still more than holds its own.

Admission is free, though the mosque is closed during prayer times. When open, there is a line which moves quickly. (Remember, shoes must be taken off to enter any mosque. In addition, there is a dress code. No shorts or bare shoulders, and women must have their heads covered.) Once inside, visitors see why the Sultan Ahmed Mosque is called the Blue Mosque, as stunning ornamentation and stained glass seem to dye the interior blue from certain angles.

While the Blue Mosque is uncomfortably crowded at times, make sure to give yourself a few minutes to appreciate the incredible geometry of the domes and pillars from different parts of the room, only a portion of which is accessible to visitors.

For a mosque that is almost as pretty but a much better visitor experience, hike up a hill close to the Galata Bridge to the Suleymaniye Mosque. This four minaret beauty was constructed in 1557 by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, under whose rule the Ottoman Empire achieved its largest territorial boundaries.

While not as ornate as the Blue Mosque, the Suleymaniye Mosque is actually larger, and was the biggest in the city until 2019, when the massive Camlica Mosque was built on Istanbul’s Asian side. More importantly, it has significantly fewer visitors, so you may even have time – as I did – to sit on the thick carpet and enjoy the interior at leisure.

Beyond mosques and palaces, one can experience Ottoman culture through two vast bazaars. The Grand Bazaar holds more than 4,000 shops, and traces its history back to the days of Mehmed II. But I recommend the Egyptian (or Spice) Bazaar. It is smaller, less crowded, and full of stalls selling loose spices, teas, and sweets.

The Spice Bazaar is much newer, officially beginning in around 1660, and was built to hold the city’s massive and important spice trade. Today, while a majority of the interior stalls still deal in spice and tea, more jewelry and rug shops are opening, so the differentiation from the Grand Bazaar is lessening.

A few notes if you intend to actually shop for tea or spices here. First, Turkish teas are some of the best in the world. They can be expensive; pomegranate tea (my personal favorite) can run upwards of $50 per 100 grams. I find the quality worth it, but don’t think you are going to get it on the cheap. Second, if you want to shop for saffron, know that Turkish saffron is actually safflower and you want Iranian saffron. It will run anywhere from $6-12 per gram depending on quality and the stall. Always smell it first, and smell the difference between different cost versions.

With the Ottoman Empire lasting into the twentieth century, and being one of the major shaping forces of the modern world, there is so much more here in its former capital than just these few sights. Fountains, palaces, mosques, parks, and more pay testament to the power and grandeur of that great civilization. But these are the highlights, and the easiest ways to experience just a tiny fragment of Ottoman Istanbul.

Like it? Pin it!