The best places for travel photography in Istanbul.
1) Süleymaniye Mosque
"Built by the most important architect of Ottoman times, Arhitect Sinan, this superb monument is Istanbul's largest mosque complex. The mosque was built between 1550-1557 by Sultan Süleyman the Magneficent at the peak of the Ottoman Empire. On the long list of Sinan's admired buildings, the Süleymaniye Mosque ranks among the top. The mosque crowns one of the Istanbul's seven hills.
The Suleymaniye Mosque is part of a külliye consisting of a hospital, soup kitchen, hamam, library and medrese(religious school). It was the first mosque with four minarets. The rectangular outlay is similar to the Hagia Sophia but much more refined. The stained glass Windows next to the mihraba re among the oldest and most beautiful works of art in Istanbul's history.
Different than other mosques, Süleymaniye has camel skin drums placed in its dome. You may not see them, but you can test the acoustics by stepping hard on the floor. Besides this, in order to gather the smoke coming from the oil lambs, architect Sinan built a ‘’ Smoke Room’’ above the gallery to the west. The sud gathered in this room was used to make ink fort he institutions around the building."
2) Hagia Sophia view from Sultanahmet Square
"Hagia Sophia church was built during the reign of Emperor Theodosius and burned down in the fire of Nika Revolt in 532 A.D. during the reign of Justinian. The same year Justinian ordered to build a new basilica, the one we can see today, and only five years later, 537 AD, it was opened to the public. The architects of this new basilica were Isidorus from Miletus (Söke) and Anthemious from Tralles (Aydın). The basilica was covered with the magnificient dome 55.60 m high and 30.80 - 31.88 m in diameter, with 40 frame timbers and 107 pillars.
In 1453, with the conquest of Istanbul, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror converted the church into a mosque. To strengthen the building architect Sinan did significant work in Hagia Sophia in the Turkish period. During the reign of Sultan Abdulmecid (1839 – 1861) de Fossati brothers made various restorations in the building. Hagia Sophia Museum, the legacy of both Christian and Muslim culture, was opened for visits according to the order of Ataturk and decision of the Turkish Assembly of Ministers on the 1st of February, 1935.
The Hagia Sophia Museum was included in the list of UNESCO List of World Heritage.
The activities of the Museum are supervised and supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Turkey."
3) Yildiz Park
"Located between Besiktas and Ortaköy, in the Yıldız Park, the Yıldız Palace is complex which extends 500,000m2 and consists of several pavilions, palace buildings and other service and management buildings. The name of this complex comes from the pavilion built by Sultan Selim III in the large gardens that make up the Yıldız Park. The yellow hall in the Yıldız pavilion is beautifully decorated with landscapes painted on the ceiling.This complex extended by many of Ottoman Sultans but during Sultan Abdulhamid II period this complex even more extended.
Abdulhamid used Yıldız Palace his main residence, despite the other Sultans' preference of the newly constructed Dolmabahçe Palace. Abdulhamid, like all Ottoman Sultans, busied himself with a trade, his being cabinet-making. He established workshop for cabinetmaking and porcelain production of porcelain continues there to this day in the Yıldız Porcelain Factory. After the fall of Ottoman Empire this palace complex was abandoned.
The Yıldız Park is now open to the public and many of pavilions have been restored."
4) Ortakoy
"Ortaköy is a small area located within the Besiktas district and is best known for its historic and beautiful mosque.
The Ortaköy Mosque — while one of Istanbul’s smaller mosques — offers perfect photo opportunities due to its positioning in front of the Bosphorus Bridge (15 July Martyrs Bridge)."
5) Galata Bridge
6) Galata Tower
The tower was built in the 14th century by the Genoese who had semi-independence from the Byzantines. It was part of their fortification.
The tower was used as a prison and a fire tower during the Ottoman era. The nine-story tower is 66.90 meters tall and was the city’s tallest structure when it was built. The elevation at ground level is 35 meters above sea-level.
According to Evliya Çelebi, Ottoman historian and traveller, Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi flew as an early aviator using artificial wings from the tower to Üsküdar. The Sultan at the time initially taught of rewarding him, then changed his mind and sent him to exile in Algeria.
Today the observatory deck has a 360 degrees view of the city, from here you can observe the monuments that sit on the seven hills of historical peninsula. (Constantinople was built on the seven hills of the historical peninsula like Rome.)