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Culture

Istanbul is a city with a modern heart and an ancient soul, offering plenty of things to do.

Istanbul Modern

The Istanbul Modern (Istanbul Museum of Modern Art) is Turkey's first private museum that organises modern and contemporary art exhibitions. Apart from permanent and temporary exhibition galleries, there is a photography gallery as well as spaces for educational and social programmes. The museum also offers a cinema, restaurant, design store and an extensive library.

  • Photography gallery
  • Cinema
  • Restaurant

Taksim Square

Taksim Square, situated in the European part of Istanbul, is a major shopping, dining and leisure district which is well known for its restaurants, shops and hotels. It is often called the centre of modern Istanbul and is the location of the Republic Monument, which was built in 1928 and commemorates the formation of the Turkish Republic.

  • In the European part of Istanbul
  • A major shopping, tourist and leisure district
  • Well known for its restaurants, shops and hotels.
  • The centre of modern Istanbul

Santral Istanbul

Formerly the Silahtarağa Power Plant, Santral Istanbul offers a diverse range of attractions including exhibitions, arts and cultural events, educational programmes and concerts. Located on the Golden Horn, the structure was the Ottoman Empire's first urban-scale power plant and supplied the city with electricity from 1911 and 1983. The facility also features of the Museum of Energy, Turkey's first industrial archaeology museum.

  • The oldest power plant in Turkey
  • Energy Museum
  • Contemporary exhibitions and cultural events
  • Educational programmes

Rahmi M. Koç Museum

The Rahmi M. Koç Museum, located on the northern shore of Golden Horn, extends across three separate areas spanning around 27,000 square kilometres, including the historic lengerhane building and the historic Hasköy dockyard. The museum includes an open air display area, where visitors can see large scale and durable objects such as a submarine, ferry boat, planes and a floating sheerlegs. The privately owned museum also hosts Atatürk Collection which includes personal belongings from costumes to official equipment of the Founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey.

  • Displays Istanbul's industrial past
  • Hosts Atatürk Collection
  • Temporary exhibitions
  • Workshops and educational programs for the kids

Miniaturk

Miniaturk in Sütlüce, the world's largest miniature park, covers a total area of 60,000 square meters and contains 120 models created in 1/25th scale. Creating a fairy tale atmosphere, the Miniaturk project is divided into three main sections; Anatolia, Istanbul and the former Ottoman territories. In addition to the models on exhibition in the open-air museum, Miniaturk also offers a 400-seat amphitheatre, a playground for the park's younger visitors, a life size chess board and a labyrinth.

  • World's largest miniature park with 120 models of Turkish monuments and historical sites
  • A 400-seat amphitheatre
  • A life size chess board and a labyrinth
  • A gift shop that sells souvenirs of Miniaturk

Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts

Located at Sultanahmet, the collection at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts consists of approximately 33,000 pieces from each historic era. The first Turkish museum of Turkish and Islamic arts, the building contains a rich collection of rugs, ceramics, glass, metalwork, miniatures, stone art, calligraphy, textiles and wooden works. Specific items of interest on display here include funeral belts, pearl reading desks, carved cooper cups, royal crests, clothing belonging to Sultan Yıldırım Beyazıt and Sultan Selim II.

  • The first Turkish museum of Turkish and Islamic arts
  • 33,000 pieces from each historic era
  • Some of the oldest carpets in the world
  • Various edicts of the Ottoman Sultans

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