Things to Do in Europe

Almost hidden among the narrow streets surrounding Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar, the Rustem Pasha Mosque is one of several Ottoman era mosques designed by famous imperial architect Mimar Sinan.  Sitting on the site of an old Byzantine church, an inscription indicates that the mosque was built in honor of Suleyman the Magnificent’s son-in-law and grand vizier, Rustem Pasha.  Despite incurring fire and earthquake damage over the years, the mosque has been repaired and still showcases some of the best of Ottoman architecture.

The Rustem Pasha Mosque is unique in that it sits on a high terrace above the hustle and bustle of the bazaar – many visitors don’t even realize it is there. Two staircases lead from the street up to the terrace and a colonnaded porch that stands in front of the diminutive mosque. However, the mosque may be best known for its extensive use of colorful Iznik tiles set in a variety of floral and geometric designs.  Indeed, it could be considered one of the most lavish mosques in Istanbul, with tiles covering the outer façade, interior walls and four large pillars.  

The Rumeli Fortress sits on a hill on the European side of Istanbul, overlooking the Bosphorus at its narrowest point. Built by Sultan Mehmed II prior to the conquest of Constantinople, the fortress was intended to help him control traffic along the Bosphorus and prevent aid from reaching the city from the Black Sea during the Siege of Constantinople in 1453. With the help of thousands of workers, the fortress was completed in just over four months.

In addition to three main towers, the fortress had one small tower and thirteen watchtowers, as well as three main gates next to the three main towers. It also had wooden houses for soldiers, a small mosque and a large cistern that distributed water to the fortress through three wall fountains. The shaft of the mosque’s minaret and one of the water fountains remain in the fortress today.

After the conquest of Constantinople, the fortress served as a customs checkpoint before later becoming a prison for foreign prisoners-of-war. It was completely abandoned by the 19th century, allowing a residential neighborhood to pop up inside. In 1953, Turkish president Celal Bayar ordered the residents to be relocated so the fortress could be renovated. It reopened as a museum and open-air theater in 1960 and as functioned as such ever since.

Founded in 1862, the Russian State Library features more than 43 million items in more than 240 languages, including 17.5 million books. The collection includes maps, sheet music, newspapers and audio recordings, as well as at least one copy of every book published in the country between 1922 and 1991. With more than 170 miles of shelves, it is the largest library in Russia and the fourth largest in the world. The main collection includes more than 200 private book collections belonging to popular Russian figures in science, culture and education, and a collection of rare books has more than 300,000 volumes. The State Library also holds regular educational and cultural events and has more than 30 reading rooms available for visitors to reserve.

Sacromonte is traditionally Granada's Gitano quarter, and these days, it is the epicenter of the city's flamenco scene. Spilling down the sides of its hill (the 'sacred mountain' of the same name; the district is actually named after the Sacromonte Abbey), the area has been extensively commercialized, but still has plenty of magic. At dusk, with the lights twinkling and the Alhambra views, it's hard to resist.

One of the many formal gardens encircling Madrid’s magnificent Royal Oriente Palace, the Sabatini Gardens, or Les Jardines de Sabatini, lie on the northern border of the palace grounds. Named in honor of the renowned 18th-century Italian architect, Francesco Sabatini, who designed the former royal stables that once stood on the plot, the gardens were opened to the public in 1978 by King Juan Carlos I and drew wide acclaim for their innovative Neoclassic style. Set around a monumental pond and fountain, the Sabatini Gardens feature a maze of sculpted hedges fashioned into elaborate geometrical patterns that look even more impressive from overhead.

The idyllic gardens are a popular spot for locals and tourists to relax, with plenty of shaded picnic spots tucked beneath the many pine and cypress trees. One of the most notable features are the fantastic views of the palace, accessed by a grand stone staircase at the foot of the garden. From across the central pond, the rear of palace is a picture of perfect symmetry, dramatically framed by trees and casting shimmering reflections on the water.

One of the most atmospheric times to visit is during the summer Los Veranos de la Villa festival, when the Sabatini Gardens and the Casa de Campo park host a series of open-air music concerts, theater, cinema showings and Flamenco performances.

What was an otherwise little-known village of the Cotentin Peninsula suddenly became infamous after it was visited by American troops on June 6th 1944 as part of Operation Overlord – making Sainte-Mere-Eglise one of the first villages to be liberated of the Nazis after four long years of occupation. Sainte-Mere-Eglise, along with Utah Beach, was one of the two airborne landings on D-Day, because of its strategic position between Cherbourg and Paris. Sainte-Mere-Eglise is also where the Airborne Museum is located (14 rue Eisenhower), entirely dedicated to the D-Day paratroopers. It includes authentic artifacts like a DC3 aircraft, insightful information and an entire section devoted to the movie The Longest Day, which depicts a well-known incident involving paratrooper John Steele of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. His parachute caught on the spire of the town church, from which he observed the fighting going on below, hanging limply for two hours and pretending to be dead before the Germans took him prisoner.