The Sultanahmet neighborhood is Istanbul’s main sightseeing area and includes the Topkapi Palace and the former Byzantine church of Haghia Sophia, now a museum.
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The incident today comes after Turkey has been shaken by two major bombing Islamic State group attacks a year ago.
The cause of the explosion is being investigated, but State-run TRT television says it was likely caused by a suicide bomber.
“Investigations into the cause of the explosion, the type of explosion and perpetrator or perpetrators are underway”, the Istanbul governor’s office stated, as the cause of the explosion is not yet clear.
Private NTV television said the explosion, which could be heard from several neighborhoods, was close to a park that is home to a landmark obelisk.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu immediately convened a security meeting with the country’s interior minister and other officials. Police cordoned off the area to shocked passers-by and tourists and the nearby tram service has been halted.
“The explosion was very loud”.
“I started running away with my daughter. It was really scary”, she added.
An official from one tour company who declined to be identified told Reuters that a tourist group from Germany was in the area at the time of the blast, but it was unclear whether any of them had been hurt. The prosecutor’s office said the attack was carried out by a local Islamic State cell. Kurdish militants and left-wing groups are active in Turkey.
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Meanwhile the banned ultra-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) has also staged a string of usually small-scale attacks in Istanbul over the last months.
