This striking icon of the disputed Republic of Artsakh caused a stir at a Eurovision Song Contest.

1513 Turkish world map, full of European state secrets and snarky commentary.

This crumbling medieval basilica once attracted pilgrims by the thousands to collect a miraculous dust that formed above the saint's tomb.

This elevator was built in 1907 to connect two neighborhoods separated by a steep, rocky cliff.

It's believed that this small church was connected to the Hagia Sophia via a secret tunnel.

Taking the subway here means doing so over a bridge located in the middle of an estuary.

Have tea in a cemetery with a dazzling view of Istanbul.

A tiny park in the middle of some big power politics.

The home-turned-museum of Barış Manço, the mustachioed Turkish Elvis for children.

A surprising and unconventional mosque hidden in the subsoil of Istanbul.

This historic hotel preserves many treasures from its heyday hosting passengers on the Orient Express.

Climb a set of vertiginous stone steps to the top of this impressive ancient edifice.

This shuttered power plant is now Turkey's first industrial archaeology museum.

A section of the long chain that blocked enemy ships from entering Constantinople.

This former Imperial summer home was the venue for a royal slap that once echoed 'round the world.

The legendary luxury train passage is commemorated with a charming museum inside its former eastern terminus.

No one is sure if the world's fourth-largest diamond had been found in a rubbish heap or was pawned by Napoleon's mom.

This half-forgotten fortress was constructed by the Ottoman conqueror of Constantinople.

A gorgeous, Gaudí-esque stairway constructed in the city of Istanbul by a prominent Jewish family.

This museum was invented in a novel before being made real by the author.

An Art Nouveau gem hides beneath the layers of city grime obscuring this once-magnificent building.

The most metal church of all time was built in record time because of an international, pious pissing contest.

A sixth-century Byzantine cistern hidden below a modern carpet store.

Step back in time and witness the fall of Constantinople.