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Istanbul Sapphire is the fourth tallest building in Istanbul (as of August 2024). It features an observation deck on the 56th floor.
Introduction to Istanbul Sapphire
I visited Istanbul Sapphire on a cloudy Thursday afternoon with my friend Isaac. At the time of my visit, it was the tallest building in the city at 261 meters (856 feet). In addition to the observation deck, it features a shopping mall, restaurants, and residences.
Getting to Istanbul Sapphire
Istanbul Sapphire is located in a corner of the district of Kâğıthane, across the street from the districts of Şişli to the south and Beşiktaş to the east. To get there, take the metro to 4. Levent station, which is connected to the building. You have to go through security to enter the mall.
Skydeck
Once inside, you can find the ticket booth for the Skydeck, which is open from 10am to 10pm. Admission for foreigners is 400₺ for the observation deck only (as of August 2024). For an extra fee, you can get a combo ticket including SkyRIDE Istanbul, a nauseating 4D helicopter simulation around the city. There’s also a restaurant. Visit the official website for more info.
After buying tickets, staff will direct you to the elevators. At the top, we took a walk around the open-air observation deck and saw many of the famous and historic sites of Istanbul with the Princes’ Islands in the distance. It would have been better with sun, obviously, but the view was kind of disappointing anyway.
The building is located a bit far away from places like Sultanahmet and Galata, but they’re visible. The sad reality of the view shows the lack of green spaces in Istanbul, minus the cemeteries and a few tiny parks.
Once we finished with the views, we did the SkyRIDE Istanbul. The extra money is worth it. Isaac and I had a good laugh when it was over.
Jale Kuşhan Wax Museum (Moved to Another Location)
After the observation deck, we had some extra time to kill. We decided to check out the Jale Kuşhan Wax Museum (Jale Kuşhan Balmumu Heykel Müzesi) on the ground floor of Istanbul Sapphire. We were expecting a cheesy little museum with creepy figures. Our expectations were met but it was enjoyable at the same time.
There are a few halls to go through and it’s possible to get a very enthusiastic guide in English for no extra cost. They will explain some of the historical figures along with a small demonstration on how the wax figures are made. The museum moved to Cevahir Mall in 2017 and later to another location. I can’t find any further information on it.
One of the halls is dedicated to figures of Turkish history, including many important Ottoman sultans and their wives.
There are also other Turkish historical figures such as engineers and warriors.
Turkish writers and philosophers make up a good chunk of the figures.
A small section contains some Islamic scholars and philosophers.
Another hall showcases famous modern figures from around the world. There are Soviet leaders, French royals, musicians, actors, politicians, and more. Many of them were bought from a St. Petersburg wax museum when the museum was first founded.
Unsurprisingly, a special section is dedicated to a few figures of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk along with other Turkish politicians.
