Top 5 must-see places in Istanbul

Straddling Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, Istanbul is one of the major tourist destinations in Europe. The city’s strategic location has made it one of history’s most important cities. So there’s plenty of historic places to see, and to feel the exotic atmosphere. Here are the top five most rated tourist attractions and must-see places in Istanbul.

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Rumeli Feneri Castle

In the North end of Istanbul, near a village near the Bosphorus‘s Black Sea end named “Rumeli Feneri”, there’s a Medieval Genoese castle: the Rumeli Feneri Castle.

Rumeli Feneri literally means “Greekland Lighthouse” in the Turkish language. The village is named after a historical lighthouse still in use which is located on the European side of Bosphorus’ Black Sea entrance in Istanbul, Turkey. Rumeli (or Rumelia) is the former name for the Turkish lands in Europe. The lighthouse was built by the French in order to provide safe navigation for the French and British warships entering the Istanbul Strait from the Black Sea during the Crimean War (1853-1856).

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St. Anthony of Padua Church

St. Anthony of Padua Church is the largest church of the Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul. It is located on İstiklal Avenue (see notes 1) in the historic Beyoğlu (Pera) district, the social and cultural center of Istanbul.

It is also known as the Sant’Antonio di Padova Church, S. Antonio di Padova, St. Antoine, or locally as Sen Antuan.

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Olympos ancient city (Antalya, Turkey)

Olympos is an ancient Lycian city, its ruins lie at the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, in the borders of Antalya province, in a river valley near the coast. It was presumably taking its name from nearby 2,375 meters height (7,792 feet) Mount Olympos (or Mount Olympus – Turkish: Tahtalı Dağı, Timber Mountain), one of over twenty mountains with the name Olympos (Olympus) in the Classical world.

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Uzunya Beach

Uzunya is a small and beautiful cove in the north of Istanbul, near the Black Sea. It has a beautiful beach, one of the best beaches in Istanbul actually. There’s also a restaurant on the beach.

I went there during a training road bike ride. It is a good place for a train ride because it has a steep road, and very little car traffic.

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Maiden’s Tower

Since the medieval Byzantine period, 200 meters off the shore of the Salacak district in Üsküdar, at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus, a tower lyes on a small islet: The Maiden’s Tower (Turkish: Kız Kulesi).

It is also (mistakenly) known as Leander’s Tower (Tower of Leandros), which comes from one of many legends about the construction.  Mistakenly, because the legend of Hero and Leander took place in the Dardanelles, not in the Bosphorus.

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