Unspecified/General

When it opened in 2011 the Sapphire tower was the tallest building in Istanbul and among the tallest in Europe, and its observation deck near the top remains one of the highest public viewpoints in the city. Rising 261 metres in the Levent business district on the European side, the slender glass skyscraper was designed as a mixed development of luxury residences, a shopping mall and the viewing terrace, and was notable as the country's first ecological tower, wrapped in a double-skin facade that helps regulate its climate. The observation deck, set around the 54th floor more than two hundred metres above the street, gives a sweeping panorama over the cluster of skyscrapers that make up the modern financial district, the Bosphorus winding between the continents, the bridges, and on clear days the distant domes and minarets of the historic peninsula and the islands in the Sea of Marmara. The deck's signature feature is a 4D simulation called SkyRide, which gives visitors the sensation of flying by helicopter over the city, swooping past the Maiden's Tower, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and the Bosphorus in a virtual aerial tour. High-powered binoculars, interactive guides to the view, a rooftop cafe and a souvenir shop complete the experience. Reached directly from the 4. Levent station on the metro through the attached shopping mall, the deck is open every day from morning until late evening, and many visitors come toward dusk to watch the lights of the city spread out below. As a vantage point in the modern heart of the city rather than the tourist quarter, the Sapphire deck offers a different angle on Istanbul, taking in its twenty-first-century skyline alongside its ancient skyline far across the water. The tower's double-skin facade, an early example of ecological design in a Turkish skyscraper, and its sky gardens set between the residential floors, were innovations much discussed when the building opened, and they mark it as a product of the city's rapid modernisation. For visitors, the deck offers a chance to see this newer Istanbul, the towers and avenues of the business district, alongside the timeless view of the strait and the distant old city, a juxtaposition that captures the scale and pace of the city's growth. Its position deep in the modern district, directly above a metro station and shopping mall, makes it easy to reach but places it away from the main tourist sights, so it tends to draw those staying or working nearby, or visitors specifically seeking a high viewpoint. The SkyRide simulation gives families and children an added attraction beyond the view itself, rounding out a visit to one of the city's landmark towers.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 1 Eski Buyukdere Caddesi, Istanbul, Turkey

Telephone: +90 212 397 20 31

Website: https://www.sapphireskydeck.com

Opening Date: 04/03/2011