Murat III

Istanbul's Topkapı Palace, affiliated with the National Palaces Department, opened its doors at night for the first time on June 30 to visitors.

The palace will be open every Saturday night between 9 and 11 p.m. and visitors will have the opportunity to tour the palace in two groups.

The Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM), a landmark of Istanbul, will reopen its doors on the 98th anniversary of the Turkish Republic on Oct. 29, with the "Mimar Sinan Opera," a two-act work composed by Hasan Uçarsu.

Construction of a new building planned next to the Atık Valide Mosque complex, one of the two great Istanbul mosque complexes designed by the legendary Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan in the 16th century, has been halted by a court on the grounds that the work was damaging the historic building.