Our local tour guide (Safiye) took us down for a stroll on İstiklal Avenue, which is a well known…read moreshopping street in Istanbul. That included taking us inside St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church. In a City full of stunning mosques and sprinkling of Eastern Orthodox, visiting this Roman Catholic establishment kind of turned the tourist saying of "Oh Joy, another Church!" on its head. We found the interior to be very impressive and comforting. This is the largest church in Istanbul and has Italian pedigree, both in its founding and in its clergy today. Depending on the day of the week, one could attend Mass in either Turkish, English, or Italian. Pope John XXIII preached here for 10 years while he was the Vatican's ambassador to Turkey before being chosen as pope. He is known as "the Turkish Pope" because of his fluency in Turkish and his oft-expressed love for Turkey and Istanbul. Gayle and I were able to admire a statue of him installed within the church's courtyard. I also detected a bit of Byzantine/Eastern Orthodox influence within a few of the "Icons" inside the church. One was how the 3 fingers are put together to signify the Trinity, with the back 2 fingers following. And if we stuck around longer, my guess is that we might have seen people crossing themselves in either the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox mode.

Went here for Christmas Eve service - absolutely beautiful!! Decorated to the nines both inside…read moreand out. If you're around Taksim Square on Christmas Eve, stop by for a visit at least. If you want to stay for mass on Christmas Eve, come early. 45 minutes before the service and it was standing room only. Very diverse crowd!

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchy in Fener neighborhood is one of the sights that one should visit in…read morethe old part of the city. It's the core of the Orthodox world thus many Greeks come to visit the church. Each weekend they conduct mass and if you're lucky you may meet the Patriach himself as well. Don't forget to visit Fener and Balat neighborhood after/before your visit and get lost in the "old Istanbul".

With chandeliers and all interior design, the patriarchate has a very illuminating feel. Sacred…read morerelics and reliefs are kept here. The stone which was used to tie Jesus was brought there from Jerusalem. Since the 6th century the Phanar Greek Patriarchate has been the center of Orthodoxy. It was first founded by Constantine the Great in 330 AD. By the time Fatih Sultan Mehmed legalized the the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate after the conquest of Istanbul, Gennadios II was assigned as patriarch and he operated the patriarchate from the Apostles Church. The building was moved from one place to another several times.

This particular church is located next to Taskim Square. Unlike Brian I was unable to find a nice…read morelady to badger the front guard to let us see the inside part of the church. Aside from that, the anteroom is okay and the grounds nice, but you are better off spending time elsewhere IMHO

Fantastic church next to Taksim Square. Looks like a palace. The church was closed when we…read morearrived, but we were able to walk around the church. Then I met some sweet old ladies in their Sunday best and they kindly used their sweet old lady powers to talk to the guard to let us into the church. So nice.

Not so many people know about this place, even locals maybe never pay attention. One of my favorite…read moreforgotten place which has a remarkable story, finally not about how Kanuni Sultan Suleyman (longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire) had a hamam built for his love Hurrem Sultan. No, this is a story of a group of underdogs. This is Bulgarian Iron Church has a 114 year history. In the 19th century, there used to be Bulgarian minority and they had a small wooden church. (Well at the time they were allowed to have their own national church.) It was located by the Golden Horn coast, between Balat and Fener where the current church is today situated. Inaugurated in 1849, the church became a symbolic for Bulgarian national resurrection and their struggle for independence. However, shortly after, the structure suffered from a ''fire'' or who knows!?. Due to the weak ground conditions, using iron was a necessity for building the church. The project of constructing a larger church was launched in 1898 by Hosvep Aznavur, Armenian born architect in Istanbul. The prefabricated parts, 500 tons of metal plaques were brought to the city from Vienna by vessels through the Danube River and Black Sea (How cool is that!). Created from cast-iron, from a flat-pack, the main skeleton of the church was made of steel and covered by metal boards (Even cooler!). Nuts, bolts, rivets were used when attaching all the pieces together. At the end of the one and a half years, the construction of this dazzling white Neo-Gothic church finally completed. Today it's one of the world's few surviving prefabricated cast iron churches and as I said one of my favorite hidden gem that is almost forgotten.

We stumbled upon this wonderful Church organically while exploring Balat area. It was never a…read moredestination. What a delight... Unlike other places of interest the Church is not a hot spot, hence it wasn't crowded. There was no entrance fee and it wasn't swamped with crowds like so many other places in Istanbul. We got to explore the Church and it's compound in peace without bumping into masses of people. Such a welcome change. There were signs for dress code, but nothing was enforced thankfully. I was in Shorts and a Tank top on a rather warm and humid Turkish summer day. Not complaining, just making an observation. St. Stephan Bulgar Kilisesi is a Bulgarian Orthodox Church. "The Sveti Stefan Church is located in the Fener district of Istanbul. This Bulgarian Orthodox Church on the Golden Horn is also known as the Iron Church." - https://www.kulturportali.gov.tr/turkiye/istanbul/gezilecekyer/sveti-stefan-kilisesi [using Google Translate] "The Bulgarian St. Stephen Church (Bulgarian: " "; Turkish: Sveti Stefan Kilisesi), also known as the Bulgarian Iron Church, is a Bulgarian Orthodox church in Balat, Istanbul, Turkey. It is famous for being made of prefabricated cast iron elements in the Neo-Byzantine style. The church belongs to the Bulgarian Christian minority in the city." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_St._Stephen_Church It's Wikipedia... so don't know how accurate the information is... #Gratitude #Blessing

Absolutely stunning! Hagia Sofia, I was not familiar with your game. It was so interesting to see…read morehow much Christian influence and history is here, which I had no idea about. Our ticketing and entrance process was smooth, though busy - expect lines if you don't go right away in the morning or near closing. Wear clothes that cover your shoulders, chest and knees - and a scarf for covering your head for ladies. They do have some there if you need one. The space is huge! Down on the main floor is just for practicing Muslims to pray, so the space accessible to guests in the higher area. They did have a few spots where you can get audio info, but it was pretty limited info and more of a description of what you're seeing. The ticket covered admission to the museum (not attached, another building) that was VERY helpful and informative! We did that second but wished we'd done it first. Such a stunning space with a ton of history. An absolute must in Istanbul!

This is an Orthodox Church that convert to mosque. This may be happen during Ottoman era in 1453…read more This history site is classified as museum and it is classified as Ayasofya Cami. You need a ticket to visit for non Muslim visitors. You can buy the combo ticket with Hagia Sophia museum or building visit along. Price is not cheap. The interior can spot some mosaic tile with orthodox figures. The ticket only allows second floor visit. The wall is kind of cover up with huge platt. You won't see the wall painting. However you can see how big is the dome. Visit take you one hours.

When we arrived at the Basileus Hotel for our week in Istanbul, the staff suggested that my mom and…read moreI visit the Little Hagia Sophia. It is literally about a one minute walk from the hotel, so off we went. Emperor Justinian had this built as a church in the sixth century. Under the Ottomans, it was turned into a mosque. This structure and the Hagia Sophia are contemporaries, and have similar design, but neither is a model for the other. This mosque is a small one--you can stand in one spot in the room and see the full interior upon entrance. Still, it has the features you'll be used to seeing in other mosques, like the carpet designed to allow for worshipers to have proper spacing and be lined up for prayer. It also has very vibrant color on the interior and the windows let in beautiful light. It's not a site that takes much time to see, and I would not travel here if I was not in the area, but if you are nearby, a stop here wouldn't be out of order.

We decided to visit the "Little Hagia Sophia" (so called because it was also built by Justinian,…read morealong similar lines to the Hagia Sophia) before visiting some of the larger and more famous buildings. It is certainly less spectacular than the Hagia Sophia, but it has something to offer for people who are interested in older buildings. Do not expect original Byzantine architecture, however, as it has been heavily modified over the centuries, most recently to brace it against the vibrations from the railroad which runs right next to the building. For one thing, it is far less crowded, and you can take your time examining the paintings which decorate the upper galleries without feeling pushed or rushed. Although we did not have a language in common, the caretaker ensured that we saw all public parts of the building, by inviting us to climb to the gallery when we otherwise wouldn't have done so. As with all active mosques, you need to take off your shoes before entering, and women are asked to wear a headscarf. There were headscarfs you could borrow just inside the door. There is no charge to visit.

Beautiful. Also called "Crimean Church" it is conveniently located down the street from şişhane…read moremetro station. Simply depart the metro station at the Istaklal exit at the top of the escalators and keep going down the hill. The church has gothic-esque towers that are quite picturesque from the street. The gates were closed when I visited. I was told by a friend living in Istanbul that the church does not welcome visitors. Never you mind, it is still beautiful from a the street and you can get a few nice slots through the closed gate.