Istanbul Museum of Modern Art

The Istanbul Museum of Modern Art is Turkey’s modern first museum, hosting modern and contemporary art exhibitions. It was founded in 2004 and located at the shores of the Bosphorus.

Istanbul Modern connects world-wide artists and their works to art lovers. Many works of imagination ranging from painting and sculpture to video and installation is waiting for its visitors.

Additionally, museum supports many artists in Turkey and takes an important role about sharing Turkey’s artistic creativity with a wide audience. Also promotes international art works from many countries and it is home to interdisciplinary activities.

Istanbul Museum of Modern Art offers a cinema, restaurant, design store, an extensive library, photography gallery, permanent and temporary exhibition galleries and spaces for educational and social programs to its guests.

It has been presenting solo and group exhibitions with the aim of providing a platform visibility for artistic practices and encouraging production of contemporary artworks through the support it provides in the context of these exhibitions. Museum’s programme also features publications that accompany each exhibition.

St.Antuan Church

St. Anthony of Padua Church, also known as the Sant’Antonio di Padova Church, is the largest church of the Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul, Turkey. It is located on Istiklal Street in the Beyoglu district and  one of the most important Catholic churches in Istanbul, and has the largest community following its masses.

The original St.Anthont of Padua Church was built in 1725 by Italians, who was living in Turkey,  but was later demolished and replaced with the current building. It was constructed at the same location and rebuilt by the famous architect Giuliu Mongeri and completed in 1912, and also representing Italian Neo-Gothic and Tuscan-Lombard styles.

The cathedral is run by Italian priests. Pope John XXIII preached in this church for 10 years, when he was the Vatican’s ambassador to Turkey before being elected as pope. His nickname was “The Turkish Pope” because of his fluent Turkish and his love for Turkey.

Saturday mass is in Italian and begins at 19:00, Sunday mass is in English and begins at 10:00, and Tuesday mass is in Turkish and begins at 11:00.

Galata Tower

One of the best view of Istanbul from the Beyoglu side. Head up the Galata Tower and prepare yourself to jaw-dropping cityscapes. At 67 meters high, tower rules over the Istanbul skyline, offering outstanding views of the Old City, the Golden Horn, Bosphorus Bridge, Maiden’s Tower and many top attractions of the city.

The Galata Tower traces its origins back to the 6th century but it had its current appearance in 60’s restoration. The Romanesque style tower was built in 1348 during an expansion of the Genoese colony in Constantinople. The medieval stone tower, known as the Tower of Christ, was the tallest building in Istanbul when it was built in 1348.

In 1638, Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi flew by using artificial wings from this tower across the Bosphorus to the  Uskudar on the Anatolian side.Starting from 1717 the Ottomans began to use the tower for spotting fires in the city.

It’s one of the most popular historical attraction in Istanbul, every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors come to this fascinating tower. We recommend you to spare some time to visit the unique Galata Tower. It also contains an elegant restaurant at the top.

Close to the metro station (Sishane stop), open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with special hours for restaurant. Admission to the balcony costs 11 Turkish Lira (about $7 USD). See the tower’s website for more details.

The Museum of Innocence

The Museum of Innocence (Turkish: Masumiyet Müzesi) is a museum in the Çukurcuma neighbourhood of the Beyoğlu district in Istanbul, Turkey. In 1990s famous Nobel winner author Orhan Pamuk decided to create the museum in conjunction with his novel which is about love and set between 1974 and the early 2000s, and characterised life in Istanbul between 1950 and 2000 through two families which have different kind of subsistence levels.

The museum presents what the novel’s characters used, wore, heard, saw, collected and dreamed of, all meticulously arranged in boxes and display cabinets. You don’t have to read the book for spend some time in the museum and get the author’s eccentric idea. The novel was published in 2008, the museum opened in Spring 2012. On 17 May 2014, the museum was announced as the Winner of the 2014 European Museum of the Year Award