There’s no easy way to sum-up Istanbul. It's huge, thriving and complex, situated on two continents divided by Bosphorus. With a rich and long history, it is a mishmash of ancient and modern.

There is definitely no shortage of fun things to do in Istanbul, even on rainy, windy winter days. Whether you are an art/history nerd, a foodie or a traveller who loves getting lost in beautiful neighbourhoods, Istanbul has something for you.

Here are some of the things I found interesting and managed to capture during my short stay.

Hagia Sophia

It’s a little bit tough to choose the first step in this journey, but I would start with Hagia Sophia.

One of the oldest intact buildings in the world, today it is 1480 years old and has survived hundreds of earthquakes throughout history. Its age, size, magnificence, architecture and mystical atmosphere make it truly a unique place in the world.

Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) is the former Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal cathedral, later an Ottoman imperial mosque and now a museum. It was and still is famous in particular for its massive dome. It was the world's largest building and an engineering marvel of its time. It is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have "changed the history of architecture".

In it’s long and turbulent history it saw Emperors crowned, victories celebrated and prayers of the Ottoman Sultans. For many centuries, the Hagia Sophia was the world’s largest shrine.

Sultan Ahmed Mosque a.k.a. Blue Mosque

Sultan Ahmed Mosque; also known as the Blue Mosque is one of the most magnificent mosques in Istanbul. It was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. It got its nickname by hand-painted blue tiles adorn the mosque’s interior walls, and at night the mosque is bathed in blue as lights. It sits next to the Hagia Sophia.

At the time of my visit, it was too crowded to get in, so I managed to take a couple of shots outside.

Grand bazaar

Hard to miss, The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world. It covers 61 streets on an area of 30,700 ㎡ and hosts over 4,000 shops. The Grand Bazaar at Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls of the world.

Usually, I don’t mind the crowd but here I was a little bit overwhelmed and could not entirely enjoy the experience – or find anything useful to buy.

This is not so strange considering it is one of the most-visited tourist attractions in the world with 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily.

Egyptian (spice) bazaar

A somewhat smaller version of the Grand Bazaar mostly dedicated to amazing Asian spices and sweets. It’s a concentrated feist for all the senses.

Streets and Sweets

Istanbul is not only about historic spots and attractions. Wherever you go you'll stumble upon interesting streets, alleys, and places to buy amazing food and mouth watering sweets.

Baklavas, Turkish delight (Lokum), roasted chestnuts and Salep ice cream, don’t miss out on these!

Turkish belly dance

I saved this for the end, although this was the first thing we saw. Turkish night is a kind of night that Turkish culture and food is served. The place was horrible, the food was mediocre but some parts of the show were amazing. Especially these two.