Fatih

The number of visitors to Turkey's museums fell by almost half in the first three months of this year, while the number of foreign visitors also dropped by 60 percent. 

The sharp decline is thought to have been caused by a number of terrorist attacks hitting Turkish cities, which has led to a big drop in the overall number of tourists visiting Turkey.

The Istanbul Archeologists Foundation has filed a complaint to the Turkish Culture Ministry's preservation board against the Fatih municipality for allegedly damaging the historic, UNESCO-protected Yedikule walls by laying asphalt on a protective clearing beside the walls.

Gravel was dumped at the historic Yedikule Gardens, a UNESCO-protected site near the Marmara shoreline along the Byzantine-era ramparts surrounding the old city of Istanbul, bringing the gardens' future back into the spotlight.

A tramline that will run on the coast between Istanbul's Eminönü and Eyüp neighborhoods is set to be laid as its environmental impact assessment has begun. 

The line, which will carry 10,500 passengers in an hour, will offer a traffic-free sightseeing tour for those who want to see the age-old buildings in Istanbul's historical peninsula and Haliç area.  

A traffic jam paralyzed Istanbul morning traffic as a suicide was attempted on the 105-meter-high Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge over the Bosphorus on April 11. Road maintenance work also contributed to the traffic jam. 

Following the collapse of a wall in Istanbul's historic Gülhane Park, which killed two people and injured five others, ?lber Ortayl?, the former director of Topkap? Palace Museum, said alarm bells were ringing for the entire compound unless a thorough reinforcement project started immediately.  

Consuls general from 19 countries in Istanbul, as well as three Istanbul district mayors, marched against terrorism on March 22 on Istanbul's ?stiklal Avenue, the scene of a suicide attack on March 19 that killed five and wounded more than 30.

The Pavilion of Turkey at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition, la Biennale di Venezia, which will be held between May 28 and Nov. 27, will feature the project Darzanà. The Pavilion of Turkey, coordinated by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (?KSV) is located at the Sale d'Armi, in the Venetian Arsenal.

The restoration of the historic Grand Bazaar in Istanbul's Fatih district is ready to take off, as a five-year-long renovation project in the centuries-old covered market has reached an end. 

Istanbul's historic Grand Bazaar is about to undergo a much-needed renovation that will last a decade and cost tens of millions of dollars. But the revamp is not without controversyIt's over 500 years old, has survived fire and earthquakes, welcomes up to 400,000 people a day and takes pride in being the world's most visited destination, making it more popular than the Eiffel Tower.