İstanbul Üniversitesi Gözlemevi

On Istanbul University's main campus in Beyazıt, next to Beyazıt Tower, this observatory is described as Turkey's first modern observatory. Founded on the proposal of the German astronomer Erwin Finlay-Freundlich and designed by the architect Arif Hikmet Holtay, the building was completed in 1936; its first instrument was a 30-centimetre Carl Zeiss Jena astrograph. It was strengthened between 2009 and 2013 while keeping its original architecture. The Department of Astronomy and Space Sciences receives individual and group visitors on weekdays by appointment, with planetarium shows, visits to the historic dome and telescope observation, plus an observation evening on the last Friday of each month.