1. There are a lot of historically important sites in İstanbul, which was once the cradle of civilisations. Castles and palaces take an important place among these sites.Below are the famous castles and palaces in İstanbul.

2. The Castles: Geneoese Castle, Seven Towers Castle, Anadolu Fortress, Rumeli Fortress. The Palaces: Topkapı Palace, Dolmabahçe Palace, Beylerbeyi Palace, Çırağan Palace.

3. GENOESE CASTLE

4. Genoese Castle Geneose Castle is a ruined castle overlooking the Bosphorus and Black Sea. Its name is Genoese because it had belonged to Genoese before Ottoman Empire held it.

5. Genoese Castle

6. SEVEN TOWERS CASTLE

7. Seven Towers Castle Seven Towers Castle was built in the time of Sultan Fatih Mehmet to protect the treasury. In Murat III's reign, the treasury protected at Seven Towers Castle was relocated to the Topkapi Palace and Yedikule began to be used as a dungeon. Today the fortress is a museum.

8. ANATOLIAN FORTRESS

9. Anatolian Fortress Anatolian Fortress is located on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. It was built by Sultan Bayezid in 1390-91 to conquer Istanbul. Today, Anatolian Fortress is an open air museum but only outer walls can be visited, and the road passes just through it.

10. RUMELI FORTRESS

11. Rumeli Fortress The Rumeli Fortress (Rumelihisari) is located on the European (Rumeli) side of the Bosphorus. It was built by Mehmet the Conqueror in four months for the preparation of the final attack on Constantinople (Istanbul), which led to the downfall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453.

12. Rumeli Fortress

13. The fortress has one small tower, three main towers, and thirteen small watchtowers placed on the walls connecting the main towers.

14. Rumeli Fortress

15. Today, the fortress is used as a museum and an open-air theatre for many concerts and performances during the summer month.

16. TOPKAPI PALACE

17. Topkapı Palace Topkapı Palace constructed by Fatih Sultan Mehmet, (the Conqueror) in 1478 has been the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans around 380 years until the construction of Dolmabahçe Palace by Sultan Abdülmecid.

18. Topkapı Palace

19. It has a wonderful view of the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn, the sea of Marmara. In 1924 it was turned into a museum at Ataturk's request It is now used as a museum for the exhibition of Ottoman masterpieces.

20. Topkapı Palace The palace is full of examples of Ottoman architecture and also contains large collections of porcelain, robes, weapons, shields, armor, Ottoman miniature, Islamic calligraphic manuscripts and murals, as well as a display of Ottoman treasure and jewelry.

21. Topkapı Palace

22. The picture is an imperial throne. There are many thrones to be exhibited belonging to Ottoman Sultans.

23. Topkapı Palace

24. The treasury section of the Topkapi Palace Museum is the richest collection of its kind in the world.The 86-carat Spoon Maker's Diamond, one of the most famous diamonds in the world, is also to be found here.

25. Topkapı Palace

26. Oil portraits of the sultans adorn the walls of the balcony-shaped galleries of the hall.

27. DOLMABAHÇE PALACE

28. Dolmabahçe Palace which was built as the first European-style palace served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1853 to 1922. The palace has also hosted many significant conferences of the Republican Period and is open to visitors as a public museum since 1952.

30. Dolmabahçe Palace Located on the European side of the Bosporus,it is the grandest of Ottoman Imperial palaces with 285 rooms,44 halls, 6 baths (hamam) and 68 toilets.

31. Dolamabahçe Palace

32. Dolmabahçe Palace The world's largest Bohemian crystal chandelier is at the center hall. The chandelier has 750 lamps and weighs 4.5 tons. Dolmabahçe has the largest collection of Bohemian and Baccarat crystal chandeliers in the world.

33. Dolmabahçe Palace

34. The palace was originally a bay, it was filled to become an imperial garden later.The Ottoman sultans liked the garden a lot.The name of the palace is related to this.Dolma means filled, bahçe means garden.

35. Dolmabahçe Palace

36. BEYLERBEYİ PALACE

37. Beylerbeyi Palace The Beylerbeyi Palace is located in Beylerbeyi neighbourhood of İstanbul, at the Asian side of the Bosphorus. It was built by Sultan Abdulaziz between 1861 and 1865 as a summer residence and a place to entertain visiting heads of state.

38. Beylerbeyi Palace

39. ÇIRAĞAN PALACE

40. Çırağan Palace Çırağan Palace was built by Sultan Abdulmecid in the 19 th century. This is the last palace built by the Ottoman Empire for the royal family.

41. Çırağan Palace