Istanbul Photos

Anadolu Kavagi is a small authentic Turkish fishing village at the joining of the Bosporus and Black Sea. Just north, on top of the hill, is Yoros Castle.

The small fishing village of Anadolu Kavagi, near Yoros Castle, overlooks the confluence of the Bosporus and the Black Sea.

The Bosporus or Boshphorus, also known as the Istanbul Strait, is the narrowest passage used for international navigation. The Bosphorus River running through Istanbul forms the divide between Asian Turkey and European Turkey.

Jews settled in the Balat quarter, on the European side of Istanbul after their expulsion from Spain. Today it is a working class neighborhood on the banks of the Golden Horn with just two of the important synagogues still in existence.

Popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the interior, Sultan Ahmed Mosque, is the national mosque of Turkey and historic mosque of Istanbul, built between 1609 and 1616.

Istiklal Street (Independence Avenue in English) in Istanbul, Turkey, is a 3 km long pedestrian street lined with music shops, nite clubs, restaurants, boutiques and cafes.

The Spice Bazaar, one of the oldest and the second largest covered markets after the Grand Bazaar, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Hagia Sophia (St. Sophia), today a museum in Istanbul, Turkey, was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly 1000 years (from about 537 A.D. to 1520).

Off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey, sits Maiden's Tower (long ago known as Leander's Tower), acting for centuries as a lighthouse in the Bosphorus, today has been converted into a cafe and popular restaurant.

The Museum of Islamic Art, the Museum of the Ancient Orient and the Archaeological Museum together house over 1 million works of art and objects representing nearly all of the eras and civilizations of the world.

The most impressive of Byzantine cisterns below the city of Istanbul is the Yerebatan Sarayi also called the Basilica or Sunken Palace Cistern.