Topkapı Palace
The sultans’ palace on Sarayburnu: courtyards, the Imperial Council, the treasury and the terraces over the water. Dated entry, sold online on its own site.
Eastern Anatolia
Museums in Bitlis
3 museums and archaeological sites in the province of Bitlis, with hours and what to see at each.
Bitlis
Ahlat Museum
A regional museum in Ahlat on Lake Van, covering the Bronze Age to the Ottoman era and the Seljuk victory at Manzikert in 1071.
Visitor guide
Bitlis
Ahlat Seljuk Square Cemetery
Türkiye's largest historic Islamic cemetery, covering 210,000 square metres near Lake Van, filled with towering carved Seljuk-era tombstones.
Visitor guide
Bitlis
Ethnography Museum
A small museum in Bitlis that shows how local people lived and dressed in late Ottoman and early Republican times, in a building of Ahlat stone.
Visitor guideIstanbul tickets online
Four Istanbul landmarks, each sold on its own site by the agency behind this guide — dated entry and free cancellation up to 24 hours.
Basilica Cistern
Justinian’s great underground reservoir: 336 columns in still water and the two Medusa heads. Fast-track entry with a digital audio guide.
Hagia Sophia
Justinian’s cathedral, the sultans’ mosque and a working mosque again today. The ticket admits you to the upper visitor gallery.
Dolmabahçe Palace
A nineteenth-century palace on the water’s edge: the Selamlık, the Ceremonial Hall under its chandelier, the crystal staircase and the Harem.