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.
İznik Lake Basilica
An early Christian basilica lying beneath the waters of Lake İznik, spotted from the air in 2014 and now approached by a walking platform and a small museum.
About the museum
In early 2014, aerial photographers surveying Bursa's heritage noticed the outline of a large building under the shallow waters of Lake İznik, the ancient Nicaea. It turned out to be a basilica in the early Christian tradition, its walls partly collapsed into the lake. It is a rare case of a monumental church studied by underwater archaeology.
Divers began surface surveys in 2015 and started underwater excavation that November, working under a university team from Uludağ University. Debris from the building lies inside and around the ruin, and the excavations continue.
In 2025 the site was given a visitor centre, and the museum opened to the public on 28 October 2025. The centre houses a small museum, a café and a shop, and a walking platform leads out so that you can look at the ruins from above rather than only from the shore.
Tips
- The site is new to visitors, so check the official page for current hours and access before travelling.
- Nearby in and around Bursa are the İznik Museum, the Bursa Archaeological Museum and the Bursa Ottoman House Museum.
Questions
When is İznik Lake Basilica open?
According to the Ministry’s listing it opens at 08:00 and closes at 17:00 (last entry 16:30). Closed: Monday.
Can I buy tickets for İznik Lake Basilica on this site?
No. This site sells no tickets. Topkapı Palace, the Basilica Cistern, Hagia Sophia and Dolmabahçe Palace are sold on our sister sites; for İznik Lake Basilica, buy at the ticket office or on the Ministry’s official e-ticket system.
Where is İznik Lake Basilica?
İznik Lake Basilica is in Bursa, Türkiye — Selçuk Mah Kutalmışoğlu Süleymanşah Cad. No:6 İznik/Bursa.
Nearby
Bursa
Ottoman House Museum
A 17th-century Bursa house beside the Muradiye complex, opened as a museum in 1958, with painted and carved woodwork on its upper floor.
Bursa
Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum
Bursa's museum in the Green Madrasa, with tiles, woodwork, metalwork, coins and costume from the Seljuk, principality and Ottoman periods, plus a garden of Bursa tombstones.
Bursa
Bursa Archaeological Museum
Türkiye's third-oldest museum, founded in 1904, whose collections run from the Miocene to the Byzantine era, including the Paşalar fossil elephant and a gold olive diadem.
Bursa
İznik Museum
A 14th-century soup kitchen with an unusual inverted-T plan, turned into the museum of ancient Nicaea, with finds from prehistory to the Ottoman era and a garden of stone fragments.
Istanbul 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.