ISTANBUL
Istanbul Travel Guide
Formerly Byzantium, then Constantinople, part of the Ottoman empire since their invasion of 1453, and now the capital of modern Turkey, Istanbul is a place where continents, empires, and faiths have met — and clashed — for more than two millennia.
The result is an urban palimpsest: churches turned into mosques, palaces that remember both Christian emperors and Ottoman sultans, and a skyline pierced by both minarets and domes.
Europe and Asia meet here, not just in geography, but in to some extent also in tone.
Nowhere else do you find the echoes of Roman aqueducts beside Ottoman bathhouses, the call to prayer reverberating from hills once mapped by Justinian’s architects, or backgammon boards clicking beside techno bars, meyhanes, and centuries-old bakeries still making simit at dawn.
It is not always easy. Istanbul is a city of contrasts and contradictions: chaotic, spellbinding, unfinished, and eternal. But it rewards the curious traveller with moments of profound stillness — a shaft of morning light through Hagia Sophia, a ferry slicing through the mist on the Bosphorus, the hush inside a carpet shop where business feels older than language.
Here's what we think should form the core of your experience:
Mosques, Churches & the Architecture of Empire
At the heart of the city’s historical peninsula stands Hagia Sophia — first a Byzantine church, then an Ottoman mosque, then a museum, and now a mosque again. It is one of the great buildings of the world, a structure that has outlived empires, earthquakes, and ideology. Step inside, and spend a moment with it: the scale, the dome, the light — all of it is unforgettable.
Just opposite stands the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque), with its six minarets and cascading domes, still active and radiant with Iznik tilework in 20,000 shades of blue. And a short walk away is the underground Basilica Cistern, eerie and beautiful, where stone Medusa heads hold up forgotten columns in water once used to supply the imperial palace.
This triangle — Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the Cistern — forms the sacred and imperial heart of the old city, but don’t miss the Süleymaniye Mosque either, a hilltop wonder built by Sinan, the master architect of the Ottoman golden age.
Bazaars, Neighbourhoods, & the Soul of Istanbul
Most likely you’re here because you’re researching where to go in Istanbul to really get it, to get at the heart of it.
The Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar are essential stops here. The Grand Bazaar, founded in 1461, is one of the oldest covered markets in the world. It contains thousands of shops offering a dizzying array of essentially everything there ever was, made more or less anywhere.
There are all manner of cheap imported goods. There are also incredible antique dealers who most likely have anything you could dream of, from any period of history, here at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Approach or leave near sundown, and you'll hear the Islamic prayer echo through the streets. And if you happen to be there in the rain, as the author once was, the sheets of falling water will transform the amplified audio eerily into a strange waves of what could almost be distorted electric guitars.
It's an impressive experience.
And of course, beyond strictly shopping opportunities, the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul is where you can find ancient caravanserais and hidden tea courtyards if you know where to look.
A private tour here can make all the difference.
The Egyptian Bazaar (Spice Bazaar) near Eminönü is a sensory overload: dried fruit, sumac, nuts, Turkish delight, and rosewater perfumes all under one roof.
Beyond the classic sites, modern travellers should explore Istanbul’s neighbourhoods — Balat’s crumbling charm, Karaköy’s galleries and design cafés, and the Asian side’s Kadıköy district, full of markets, meyhanes, and real local energy.
Taking the ferry across the Bosphorus is probably worth counting as one of the best things to do in Istanbul — it costs little, lasts twenty minutes, and is a memory worth having which will make you fall in love with the city.
Sit outside, drink Turkish tea in a glass, and watch Istanbul unfold in silhouette.
Culinary Crossroads: From Palace Kitchens to Street Stalls
As one of the world’s great culinary cities, Istanbul’s cuisine is a convergence of Anatolian, Balkan, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean influences. Try köfte grilled over charcoal, börek stuffed with cheese and herbs, and meze spreads served with rakı in seaside meyhanes.
But some of the best food here comes from the street: simit rings warm from the bakery, roasted chestnuts in winter, fish sandwiches beside the Galata Bridge, and dürüm wraps sold at midnight by men who’ve been doing this since their grandfather’s time.
This is, by the way, the land of infinite kebab, just in case that catches your fancy as well. A feast of roast chickens or lamb or beef, in homemade fresh bread.
Here there are also the old palace traditions — Ottoman court cooking, still preserved in certain restaurants that serve dishes like hünkar beğendi (sultan’s delight) or lamb stews spiced with cinnamon, almonds, and dried fruit.
The fact is though, at some point, it’s highly likely that you’ll find yourself lured into a shop by one of the infinite windows containing a display of what must surely be infinite baklava or lokum, Turkish Delight, and you’ll end up unintentionally spending a few hours just sipping tea and enjoying the world.
Many years back, on the author's first visit to Istanbul, the gentleman at his hotel reception pointed out the way to the Grand Bazaar as follows:
“I could get there in 15 minutes,” he said. “But it will take you at least forty, because you will stop on the way to look at everything.”
And of course he was quite right in this, and there is of course no better way to visit Istanbul, or really anywhere, than at the pace of discovery, rather than rushing off to a set destination however worthwhile, much too fast.
Just remember: food here is layered, much like the city itself — rooted and yet changing, shaped by trade, and memory.
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Istanbul