The 7 Wonders of Turkey

Cool Maps: 7 Wonders

The Hagia Sophia

"Hagia Sophia (Church of Holy Wisdom), now known as the Ayasofya Museum, is a former Eastern Orthodox church converted to a mosque in 1453, converted into a museum in 1935, in the Turkish city of Istanbul. It is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest buildings of the world and sometimes considered the Eighth Wonder of the World. Its conquest by the Ottomans at the fall of Constantinople is considered one of the great tragedies of Christendom by the Greek Orthodox faithful."

Topkapi Palace

"The palace is full of examples of Ottoman style architecture and also owns large collections of porcelain, robes, weapons, shields, armors, Ottoman miniatures, Islamic calligraphic manuscripts and mural decorations, as well as a display of accumulated Ottoman treasures and jewelry."

Basilica Cistern

"This cathedral-sized cistern is an underground chamber of 143 by 65 metres, capable of holding 80,000 cubic metres of water. The large space is broken up by a forest of 336 marble columns each 9 metres high. The bases of two of these columns reuse earlier blocks carved with the head of a Medusa."

Blue Mosque

"The most important element in the interior of the mosque is the mihrab, which is made of finely carved and sculptured marble, the adjacent walls sheathed in ceramic tiles. To the right of the mihrab is the minber, or pulpit, where the Imam stands when he is delivering his sermon at the time of noon prayer on Fridays or on holy days."

Walls of Constantinople

"The Walls of Constantinople are a series of stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul in Turkey) since its founding as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they are one of the greatest and most complex fortification systems ever built."

The Fairy Chimneys of Cappadocia

"A Fairy Chimney is a conical rock formation, typically found in the Cappadocia region of Turkey. It consists of a cap of hard rock resting on a cone-shaped pinnacle of softer rock. In Cappadocia, houses have been carved from these formations, and they make it a popular tourist destination."

Troy

"Today it is the name of an archaeological site, the traditional location of Homeric Troy, Turkish Truva, in Hisarlik in Anatolia, close to the seacoast in what is now anakkale province in northwest Turkey, southwest of the Dardanelles under Mount Ida."