Marmara Region

Marmara is a region in northwest Turkey that straddles Europe and Asia across the Sea of Marmara. The cosmopolitan main city, Istanbul, features the Byzantine Hagia Sophia Museum, with its soaring dome and Christian mosaics, and the huge Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque). Nearby is the opulent Topkapı Palace, former home of sultans. South of Istanbul, the city of Bursa has thermal springs and Ottoman architecture.