Museums

Aya Sofya (Haghia Sophia) Museum

The ancient Byzantine church, built by Justinian I between 532-537 AD after the Nika Riot, was later converted to a mosque with the addition of minarets in mid-15th century. The remarkable structure with its 56m high immense dome is a museum today in which you can see both Christian and Islamic art. There are good examples of the Byzantine mosaics as well. For about 1000 years this was the largest church in the world, and glory of the Byzantine Empire.

Open daily between 09:30-16:30 except Mondays.
Tel: (212) 522 17 50

Yerebatan Sarayi (Cistern Basilica)

Byzantine cistern from the 6th century built by Justinian I and is located to the south-west of Hagia Sophia. The water was brought from Belgrade Forest, 19 kilometers to the north of Istanbul, and it had a capacity to store 100.000 tons of water. It features fine brick vaulting supported by 336 various type of columns brought here from different parts of the Empire. The Basilica Cistern, or Underground (Yerebatan) Cistern as locals call it, now houses a cafeteria and hosts musical and theatrical performances and a Biannual. There are also two Medusa friezes brought from the Temple of Apollo in Didyma (today's Didim). Its dimensions are 140x70x9 meters.

Open daily between 09:00-18:30
Tel: (212) 522 12 59 

 

Kariye Museum Church of St. Saviour in Chora

Ancient Byzantine church later converted into a mosque in the 15th century AD. It is now a museum of Byzantine mosaics and frescoes. The typical Ottoman neighborhood with wooden houses is also very interesting to stroll around.

Open daily between 09:30-16:30 except Wednesdays.
Tel: (212) 631 92 41


 

Military Museum

The museum consists of many interesting military pieces such as uniforms belonging to every period of Ottoman army, various weapons from bow and arrow to triggered guns, seals, armors, tent of the sultan, sultan swords, flags, photos of ministers of defense, Byzantine Cavalry Flag, various warfare pieces used from the Seljuk period to the Republic period, and the chain with which Byzantines closed the Golden Horn before the Conquest. There is also a Janissary Band show daily between 3-4 pm.

Open daily between 09:00-17:00 except Mondays and Tuesdays.
Tel: (212) 232 16 98
 

Miniaturk

Miniaturk is also named as the "Showcase of Turkey", where you can find many important structures of Turkey in small scales, models of architectural masterpieces representing the Anatolian and Ottoman civilizations.
Models of 105 historical and architectural works, all made in the scale of 1/25, including the Library of Celsus at Ephesus, the Malabadi Bridge in Diyarbakir, Grand Mosque of Bursa, the Tomb of Mevlana in Konya, Dome of the Rock (Mescid-i Aksa), the Church of St. Antoine in Istanbul, the Ottoman galley, Savarona (Ataturk's boat), the Underground Cistern (Yerebatan), Stone houses of Mardin, Fairy chimneys of Cappadocia, Ataturk's Mausoleum in Ankara, Aspendos theater in Antalya, Hagia Sophia and the Maiden's Tower of Istanbul, can all be seen in one single place.


Open daily between 09:00-17:00
Tel: (212) 222 28 82


Modern Arts Museum

Opened its doors in December 2004 thanks to Eczacibasi family, this is the first and only Modern Arts museum in Istanbul. It's housed at renovated old docks in Karaköy district facing Topkapi Palace, with a rich library, exhibitions, photograph gallery, sculpture courtyard, movie theater, cafe and souvenir shop. One can find in this private museum almost everything on modern Turkish Arts.

Open daily between 10:00-18:00 except Mondays.
Tel: (212) 334 73 00
 

Pera Museum

The museum was opened in July 2005 by the Suna-Inan Kirac Foundation, another project of Koc family. The old building was originally constructed in 1893 by architect Achille Manousos and restored recently for the modern museum. Kutahya tiles, Anatolian weights and measurements, and Oriental portraits painting Collections are the permanent exhibitions in the museum. One of the most famous paintings in the museum is of Osman Hamdi's "The Tortoise Trainer" (Kaplumbaga Terbiyecisi in Turkish). In addition, three art galleries and an auditorium are among the facilities of the museum.

Open daily between 12:00-18:00 except Mondays.
Tel: (212) 334 99 00
 

Sakip Sabanci Museum

The building today known as the Horse Mansion on the Bosphorus was built in the 19th century and belonged to Sabanci family for many years. Just before the death of Sakip Sabanci the mansion was converted into a museum and opened to the public with its antique furnishings and art collections. Today the Museum's collection of precious manuscripts and extensive collection of 19th and 20th century paintings are on permanent exhibition in the rooms of the original house and gallery annex. From time to time, it is also hosting great exhibitions of international artists such as Pablo Picasso, Rodin etc.

Open daily between 10:00-18:00 except Mondays.
Tel: (212) 277 22 00

Binbirdirek Cistern (Binbirdirek Sarnici)

It's one of the oldest Byzantine cisterns of Istanbul; it was built by Philoxenus to the west of the Hippodrome as a huge water storage in the 4th century AD during the reign of Constantine the Great. The dimensions of the cistern are 64 x 56 meters with 15 meters of height and there were 224 original columns, out of which 212 of them survived until our days. The brick arches and the roof surrounded by tick walls are supported by these columns. Binbirdirek in Turkish means "Thousand and one columns", referring probably to its many columns. During the Ottoman period it was used as a silk threads production atelier and unfortunately as a dump during the Republic period. It was opened to the public in 2002 after a long restoration period. Besides being a museum, today there are small shops, a restaurant and a cafeteria in the middle, the cistern is also used for special meetings during incentives and for small scale music concerts.

Open daily between 09:00-18:30
Tel: (212) 518 10 01