What To Do in ISTANBUL, Turkey? - TOP 10 With Tour Guide

What To Do in Istanbul, Turkey? - In this Top 10 with Tour guide video I will show you my favourite 10 Things To Do In Istanbul, Turkey. I’m Rok and I’ve spent last 8 years travelling around Europe as a tour guide. I would like you to show you one of my favourite cities, exotic and amazing Istanbul. I made this Istanbul travel guide to show you my favourite Istanbul Attractions.

My List of Top 10 Tourist Attractions in Istanbul:
00:00 - Intro
00:43 - 10. Istikal Avenue
Most famous avenue in Istanbul that is visited by nearly 3 million people in a single day. It is an elegant pedestrian street, 1.4 kilometre or less than a mile long, full of stores, galleries, theatres, cafes, pubs, clubs, pastries, restaurants whatever you want you will find it here.

01:54 - 9. Hippodrome
It was built in 203 as a big arena that could accommodate up to 100,000 spectators. It was the centre of Byzantium's civic life for 1000 years. Besides chariot races, this was the centre for many political and theological controversies.

03:19 - 8. Whirling Dervishes
In 13th century Sufism emerged as a mystic and ascetic aspect of Islam. By focusing on spiritual aspects of religion, Sufis strive to obtain direct experience of God. One of the ways is a form of physically active meditation which is still practiced by the Sufi Dervishes. The dervishes ‘whirl’ more than 2000 times as a form of devotional act that represents spiritual journey as they turn towards the truth of God.

05:06 - 7. Galata tower
Medieval nine story stone tower was the city's tallest structure when it was built in 1300s by the Republic of Genoa. Later the Ottomans used it to detect fires in the city. From the top of this tower the first human flight took place.

06:48 - 6. Bosporous straight
Bosporous straight forms continental boundary between Europe and Asia, and separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey. It is one of the busiest waterways in the world and the world's narrowest strait used for international navigation. It is the only passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean and that is why Bosporus has always been of great importance for all civilisations.

09:01 - 5. Basilica cistern Istanbul
It was built in 6th century and it is cathedral-size underground chamber. It is supported by 336 columns and it served as the imperial water supply for the Byzantine emperors. Many of the columns used in construction were recycled from earlier classical structures. The most famous reused parts are bases blocks carved with the face of Medusa.

10:30 - 4. Grand bazaar Istanbul
The largest and oldest covered market in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops. It is soo huge that it is taking up a whole city quarter. They started to built this Bazaar in 1400s and its still feels like nothing changed.

11:53 - 3. Istanbul Blue Mosque
This beautiful mosque has five main domes and eight secondary domes. When it was built in 1600s it caused a big stir in the Muslim world, as it had six minarets the same number as the Great Mosque of Mecca. The mosque got its nickname from its interior decoration of tens of thousands hand painted blue tiles.

13:53 - 2. Topkapi Palace
huge palace from 15th century from where the Sultans of the Ottoman Empire ruled over their empire for 400 years. The palace complex consists of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings. It has hundreds of rooms and chambers, but only the most important are accessible to the public, like the treasury and the imperial harem where Sultan's concubines and children would spend their days.

15:19 - 1. Istanbul Hagia Sophia
Most famous landmark of Istanbul. It was built in 537 and for almost 1000 years this was the world's largest building and an engineering marvel. Its massive dome it is considered to be the highlight of Byzantine architecture that changed the history of architecture. For more than 900 years it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the heart of Byzantine empire. In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottomans and the biggest Christian Church was converted into the biggest mosque and 4 minarets were added. In 1935 it was converted into a museum.

Please leave YOUR thoughts, ideas and suggestions in the comment section below. You can also share with us YOUR LIST of top attractions in Istanbul.

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Thank you,
Rok Goes Around

P.S.: Rok is a traveler, a cinematic vlog creator and a tour guide. On this travel channel he is combining his 20 years of travelling experience, his 10 years of filmmaking experience and his 8 years of tourist guiding experience.

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