Hi everyone!
Today, I want to tell you about my experience of going to the top floor of this 66-floor massive building located at one of the central spots in Istanbul, 4. Levent. It is called Istanbul Sapphire, a 261 meters tall skyscraper that is the tallest building in Turkey and the 17th tallest building in Europe. The first floors of the building are used as a shopping mall, while the middle floors are used as residences. The last floor is dedicated to a special terrace that features a spectacular view, a restaurant, and a 4D Skyride Simulation.
These are the knobs on the elevator. There were quite a few of them haha!
While entering the shopping mall area is free and open to the public, you need a ticket to go to the top floor, which was 100 TL for adults and 80 TL for students.
I went there with my mother, but we didn't have a plan to go to the top floor of this building. We had just left the home with the aim of having a good day, visiting museums and having some fresh air. However, it was Monday, and all of the museums in Istanbul were closed. Plus, the weather was quite cold, gloomy, and rainy, so outdoor activities were not an option.
Finally, we decided to visit the top floor of Sapphire to take it out of our bucket list (it'd been there for quite a long time and we thought we shouldn't postpone this any further given the perfect circumstances!)
Some views from the terrace
As you can see in the photos, the weather was quite dark and fogy. When we were on the terrace taking these photos, there was no one other than us as the weather was freezing and because of the fog, the view was not as good as it should be.
Still, I think there was a different kind of beauty when the weather was like this and there was no one around us. Despite the fog, I still could spot some the places I know from the above. It was actually quite fun to try to recognize the buildings or find the building where I live :) ! Because of the cold and wind, we couldn't stay outside as long as we wished, but it was still wonderful to experience this spectacular view of Istanbul even for a short time.
Inside the floor, there was also a restaurant and a little shopping area to buy souvenirs.
This board compares the other tall buildings around the world to each other. Other similar buildings include Empire State Building, Burj Khalifa and Shangai World Financial Center.