The Aqueduct of Valens stands out as a massive series of stacked stone arches bridging a valley between two of Istanbul's historic hills. Completed in three hundred seventy-three under Emperor Valens, this structure was once the vital…
Istanbul Through the Ages
This walk traces Istanbul's evolution from the Roman and Byzantine eras through the heights of the Ottoman Empire to the birth of the modern Turkish Republic.
Take this tour in street view →Listen in the Mira app
1. Aqueduct of Valens
2. Column of Constantine
The Column of Constantine is defined by the heavy iron hoops cinched tightly around its stack of massive purple porphyry drums. Standing nearly thirty-five meters tall, this monument commemorates the inauguration of Constantinople as the…
3. Sultanahmet Square
Sultanahmet Square is a long, narrow public garden defined by three distinct ancient monuments that rise from its center. Once the Hippodrome of Constantinople, this site was the social and sporting heartbeat of the Byzantine Empire for a…
4. Basilica Cistern
The Basilica Cistern is a vast underground chamber featuring three hundred thirty-six marble columns that rise directly from the water. Commissioned by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian the First in the sixth century, this structure was…
5. Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque
The Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque is defined by a massive central dome that appears to float above the structure. Designed by the Greek geometers Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles, the building was completed in five hundred…
6. Topkapi Palace Museum
Topkapi Palace is defined by its four expansive, interconnected courtyards that stretch across the historic peninsula of Istanbul, overlooking the confluence of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. Commissioned by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror…
7. Galata Tower
The Galata Tower is a tall, rounded stone structure topped by a conical roof that looms over the skyline of the Beyoğlu district. Originally constructed by the Genoese in thirteen forty-eight as the Tower of Christ, it served as a…
8. Dolmabahçe Palace
Dolmabahçe Palace stretches along the European shore of the Bosphorus as a massive, uniform stone structure, distinct for its long waterfront facade of repeated windows, classical columns, and ornate projecting sections. Commissioned by…
9. Taksim Square
Taksim Square is defined by the eleven-meter-tall Republic Monument at its center, a bronze and stone sculpture group featuring Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and other founders of the Turkish Republic. Erected in nineteen twenty-eight, the…