Constantinople

House sales decreased by 17.5 percent to 1,225,926 in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to official numbers made public on Jan. 19.

Istanbul had the highest share of house sales with 16.2 percent, followed by Ankara with 9.3 percent and İzmir with 5.3 percent, Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said.

Foreign tourists entering the former Orthodox Christian cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul will have to pay an entrance fee from Monday, as announced by Turkey's Culture and Tourism Ministry. 

With temperatures dropping sharply due to the new cold wave coming from Iceland, citizens in Istanbul are witnessing the season's first snowfall, as chilly weather will continue in the coming days.

Murat Kurum, the mayoral candidate for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Istanbul, has unveiled his agenda, focusing on critical issues such as urban transformation and traffic problems.

In a bid to boost tourism and make it easier for tourists to access the city, Istanbul Municipality has launched the "Visit Istanbul" web portal that features an artificial intelligence tourist guide application and a platform for content creators.

"Due to bad weather conditions, the Bosphorus strait near Istanbul is temporarily closed to the passage of ships in both directions," according to a statement carried by RIA.
The Dardanelles Strait was also closed to traffic earlier.
A yellow weather alert is in effect in the Istanbul area due to hurricane-force winds of up to 80 kilometers per hour.

A Turkish newspaper has published video footage showing fragments of building material falling from inside the dome of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, raising concern about the integrity of the former Orthodox Christian cathedral and the safety of visitors.

“Raptor” had left Decelia, Egypt bound for Constantinople – She suffered mechanical failure, issued a mayday signal and then her track was lost

Foreign nationals visiting Istanbul's Hagia Sophia for tourism purposes will be subject to an entrance fee starting from Jan. 15, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has announced.

Tourists wishing to visit Hagia Sophia in Istanbul will have to pay admission starting in January 2024, the country's culture minister announced on Tuesday.

The 1,500-year-old Byzantine cathedral, which was converted from a museum into a mosque by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2020, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and receives over 3.5 million visitors a year.