Hippodrome of Constantinople

The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry has transformed an ancient land registry office building in Istanbul's Sultanahmet Square into a museum that narrates all the changes in Hagia Sophia from its initial construction to the present day.

Turkey welcomed 2021 under strict restrictions designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, with security forces cracking down on violators on New Year's Eve.

The curbs included an 80-hour nationwide lockdown, which began on 9 p.m. on Dec. 31, and a ban on large gatherings for the New Year celebrations at hotels and other accommodation facilities.

The world's largest "carpet" of live tulips was "rolled out" in Sultanahmet Square on Thursday, April 25, with an induction by new Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

It is the middle of May, almost two weeks before the end of the month, and high on the agenda came, once again, the issue of the Hagia Sophia. 

"Slava's Snowshow," an epic show from the best clown in the world, Slava Polunin, and his team, will be on stage at the Zorlu Performing Arts Center in Istanbul between Feb. 24 and March 6.

The death toll from the jihadist suicide bomb attack in Istanbul's touristic Sultanahmet neighborhood on Jan. 12 has risen to 12, as another German tourist had died more than a month after the attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed to intensify diplomatic and other cooperation to implement an agreement on Syria struck at talks in Munich, the Kremlin said in a statement following phone talks between the two leaders on Feb. 14.

Three construction workers were killed on Feb. 1 when a freight lift crashed to the ground at the construction site of a 32-story residence in Istanbul's Bahçe?ehir neighborhood.

The freight lift crashed to the ground from the 23rd floor with workers Yasin Bak?r, ?ükrü Ya?ar and Osman Yard?mc? inside.

Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) fell 3.7 percent in 2015 as the country's energy-dependent economy reeled from low oil prices, the state statistics agency said on Jan. 25, citing preliminary data.

An Istanbul court arrested 10 people with suspected links to the suicide bomber who killed 10 German tourists in Istanbul's Sultanahmet Square on Jan. 12 over charges of "being a member of a terrorist organization" and "voluntary manslaughter."