Two days in Istanbul - the city between two continents

To visit Hagia Sophia, female visitors must wear long clothes and a headscarf.

Istanbul has a history of nearly 2,700 years and has been the capital of four powerful empires in history: Roman, Byzantine, Latin, Ottoman. The name Istanbul has been officially used in Türkiye for less than a century, quickly becoming a famous global destination, attracting nearly 20 million tourists each year, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute.

Coming to this capital of religion, art and history, visitors can learn about different beliefs and the unique cultural exchange between East and West.

Day 1: Sultanahmet Area

Sultanahmet is the heart of Istanbul, similar to the Hoan Kiem district in Hanoi, with the most important cultural works of Turkey. With a day of walking, you can visit many churches, shop in traditional markets and enjoy local cuisine at street stalls.

Hagia Sophia (Turkish name: Ayasofya)

This is one of the five most beautiful mosques in the world and was the largest for 1,000 years. Until the 20th century, Hagia Sophia was a place of worship for many other religions in Istanbul's thousands of years of history. Durable, majestic and elaborately decorated, Hagia Sophia is a glorious testimony to history.

The mosque is open to visitors from 9am to 7:30pm, with an entrance fee of 25 euros per person (about 675,000 VND). Like all other mosques, visitors are required to wear modest clothing, and women are required to wear scarves or hats to cover their hair when entering.

Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı)

Basilica Cistern is one of the largest and most beautiful underground water tanks in the world, with a history of nearly 1,500 years. With an area of ​​9,800 m2, Basilica Cistern is located completely underground, containing 80,000 m3 of water, supported by a giant complex of 336 giant marble columns 9 m high. These numbers show the creativity and labor of the ancients.

Basilica Cistern is the setting for many famous literary and cinematic works, including Dan Brown's novel Inferno , which was later made into a film of the same name starring Tom Hanks. Basilica Cistern is open from 9am to 10pm, with an entrance fee of 800 lira (about 630,000 VND).

Topkapi Palace (Topkapı Sarayı)

Topkapi Palace is one of the most beautiful and famous palaces in Türkiye, which was once the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire and the residence of the sultan and his family. The wealth and power of the empire as well as the lavish lifestyle of the sultans are clearly shown in Topkapi Palace. Here you can see magnificent buildings with well-preserved interiors. Tables, chairs, beds, cabinets made of precious wood, elaborately embroidered wall tapestries, and exquisite crystal chandeliers several meters high.

The hundreds of square meter rooms are paved with tens of thousands of wooden pieces more than 10 cm long and more than 1 cm thick, showing the ingenuity and talent of Turkish artisans from hundreds of years ago. Visiting the palace, visitors can admire the bedrooms, bathrooms, dressing rooms, and reception rooms of the king, queen, and princesses.

Located within the palace grounds is the Hagia Irene, the oldest church in the Byzantine Empire. You can visit this vast complex with an entrance fee of 1,500 lira (about 1.1 million VND).

Day 2: Taksim Area

When coming to Türkiye, you cannot miss Taksim. If Sultanahmet is a place of history, religion and art, then Taksim is a paradise of cuisine, shopping, entertainment and experiencing the bustling life of modern Türkiye. The two areas are nearly 5 km apart, visitors can walk across the famous Galata Bridge to go from Sultanahmet to Taksim.

Dolmabahce Palace (Dolmabahçe Sarayı)

Be prepared to spend hours exploring Türkiye’s largest palace, Dolmabahce, which was once the Ottoman sultan’s summer palace and is located on the Sea of ​​Marmara, where visitors can dip their feet into the sea below from the steps of the palace.

Dolmabahce Palace is the largest palace in Türkiye

Dolmabahce has many buildings, each with hundreds of rooms, many of which are over 100 square meters in area, and are lavishly decorated. Dozens of precious collections of weapons, jewelry, clothing, and household items belonging to the king are also preserved here. Visitors can admire swords studded with gold, inlaid with gems, gold-embroidered costumes that took months to complete, and large diamonds on necklaces and bracelets.

Entrance fee to Dolmabahce Palace is 1,050 lira (770,000 VND), opening hours are 9am to 6pm except Mondays.

Galata Tower

The 1,500-year-old tower is one of the symbols of Istanbul. For centuries, it was the tallest structure in the city and witnessed important historical events of many empires. Visitors can find traces of Byzantine, Genoese and Ottoman rule in the tower.

The tower is open from 8:30 to 23:00, the entrance fee is 30 euros per person. Around the tower are many small alleys with many restaurants and cafes with delicate decoration and reasonable prices.

Each attraction has its own price list, either in euros or lira, but most only accept lira. Visitors should exchange Turkish lira in advance for spending.

University (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/hai-ngay-o-istanbul-thanh-pho-giua-hai-chau-luc-395395.html