Recently Turkey is mainly negative in the news. A lot of information I hear about Turkey is about bomb attacks, the coup of 2016 and political tensions with Europe. My personal experiences with Turkey and in particular Istanbul are great. Visiting Istanbul was the start of my first solo adventure in 2014.
Istanbul is really an amazing city with a big history. When you are visiting this city today, you will notice that this city is enormous. The architecture reflects the different influences Istanbul was dealing with in the past. There are buildings from the Greek/Roman period, from the Byzantine period and from the Ottoman period. All old structures are still looking well maintained. There are so many great structures, but I made a top 3 of structures I really loved.
The new mosque is a beautiful structure and was built in 1597. When I was walking to the Galatabridge it was the first thing I noticed directly. Seeing the old city of Istanbul from the bridge felt like being taken back in time. I loved to make pictures of the fishermen on the bridge, in front of the mosque. The fishes they had catched, were being fried and sold under the bridge in one of the many fish restaurants. When you are visiting Istanbul do not forget to taste the fresh fish. It is really delicious!
Another old mosque that used to be a church was Hagia Sophia. From 537 - 1453 this was the biggest cathedral of the world. After Constantinopel felt and became Istanbul the church was transformed into a mosque. One of the main colors of this structure is pink and that is really different from all churches or mosques I had seen before. On the inside of Hagia Sophia you will find beautiful Christian and Islamic art. I think it is amazing that you can see the influences of both religions in one building.
The last structure you really have to visit is the Galata Tower (from 1348). This medieval stone tower gives you a beautiful view on the Bosphorus and the old city of Istanbul. One advice take the stairs down when you are going down from the top. The interior of this tower and that looks great as well.