Turkey’s biggest city is a unique mix of Europe and Asia, ancient and modern, piety and hedonism – and it’s still warm enough to lunch outside, says Terry Richardson.
- Overview
- Istanbul Hotels
- 36 Hours In…Istanbul
- Attractions
- Restaurants
- Nightlife
- Shopping
- Itineraries
Why go now?
It is an excellent time to visit this booming metropolis, standing boldly astride the Bosphorus Strait dividing Europe and Asia. On the best days it’s still warm enough to stroll around the old city’s Byzantine and Ottoman Turkish architectural treasures in shirt sleeves, or sip sweet black tea from a tulip-shaped glass in the open courtyard of a 300-year-old medrese.
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On the worst, part with a couple of quid for a brolly from a street vendor and dodge showers between sights as varied as the monumental Blue Mosque and the eerily illuminated depths of the Basilica Cistern.
With a host of places to visit in the old city and, across the Golden Horn in the buzzing entertainment quarter of Beyoglu, myriad shops, galleries, cinemas, clubs and live music venues, there’s always something to do, whatever the weather.
After a couple of days in exotic Istanbul, you’ll see why it has proven a favoured location for Bond film directors, with From Russia with Love, The World is Not Enough and Skyfall all paying homage to one of the world’s great cities.
Getting there
Turkish Airlines (0844 800 666; turkishairlines.com) flies from Birmingham, Heathrow, Manchester and Gatwick; easyJet (0905 821 8905; easyjet.com) from Luton; Turkish carrier Pegasus (0845 0848 980; flypgs.com) flies from Stansted. Flights take three and a half hours.
Where to stay
Special treat: Travellers can explore the sometimes frenetic city from a tranquil Bosphorus-front base at the A’jia Hotel (Halide Edip Adıvar Cd 27, 0216 413 9300), combining 19th-century charm with contemporary chic. With its own water-taxi service. Doubles from £219.
Mid-range: There are boutique hotels aplenty but, in a very understated way, the Ibrahim Pasha Hotel (1) (Terzihane Sok 7, 0212 518 0394) – just a short walk from the Blue Mosque – is perhaps the best. Doubles from £118.
On a budget: Büyük Londra Hotel (2) (Mesrutiyet Cd 53, 0212 245 0670), known in its late-Ottoman heyday as the Grand Hotel des Londres, is ideal for those seeking some serious fin de siècle atmosphere in the heart of buzzing Beyoglu. Doubles from £35.
On arrival
7pm
Assuming you are staying, as the vast majority of first-timers do, in the old city, your best bet for an aperitif may well be your hotel. Many have roof bars with superb views of iconic buildings like the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, and panoramas over the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus. If you’re bereft of your own terrace, try the roof bars of the Pierre Loti Hotel (Piyer Loti Cd 1) or Nomade Hotel (Ticarethane Sok 15).
8.30pm
Now to dinner. Tucked away up a cobbled side street just off Sultanahmet’s main drag, Divan Yolu, is Khorasani (3) (Ticarethane Sk 39/41; 0212 519 5959 ; khorasani restaurant.com). The speciality is that most Turkish of foods, the kebab. Here several varieties are grilled to perfection over charcoal and served up with great ovals of the thin, unleavened bread, lavas. Meze, or starters, are delicious, too, with dips like muhamara, a spicy blend of breadcrumbs, walnuts and hot pepper. A mixed-kebab plate for two is £20.
Day one
10am
The only way is up if you begin your day in the subterranean depths of the Basilica Cistern (4) (Yerebatan Sarnıcı; daily, £3.50), a 1,500-year-old building supported by 336 columns. Don’t miss the twin blocks carved into snake-haired Medusas, or the carp idling in the shallow waters.
11am
Right across from the cistern is the greatest single building in a city full of wonders, the Hagia Sophia (5) or Aya Sofya (www.ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr; £8.70, closed Mondays). It was a church, then a mosque and is now a museum; standing beneath its 55m-high dome is a humbling experience. Look out for superb mosaics of Christ, the Virgin Mary and Byzantine emperors – and the Viking graffiti scratched on the balustrade of the south gallery. Neighbouring the Hagia Sophia is the breath-taking Sultan Ahmed (Blue) Mosque, a working mosque which makes for a great visit (voluntary donation, closed to non-worshippers during five daily prayers).
1pm
A couple of minutes walk away on Divan Yolu is Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi (6) (0212 520 0566), where the speciality is grilled meatballs dished up with a white-bean salad and spicy tomato sauce. It’s good value (mains around £5.20) and attracts as many locals as tourists.
When travelling to Beyoglu from the old city, take the tram to Karaköy and follow signs in the underpass to Tünel, the 19th-century underground funicular, which will whisk you uphill to the southern end of Istiklal Caddesi, Beyoglu’s main street.
2pm
The four courtyards and plethora of buildings and pavilions that make up the Topkapı Palace complex (7) (www.topkapisarayi.gov.tr; £8.70, closed Tuesdays in winter) are a whole afternoon’s entertainment. This was the nerve centre of the mighty Ottoman Turkish empire. Suitably grandiose, it’s superbly located on the tip of the peninsula on which the old city stands. Several museums, featuring such treasures as the famed Topkapı Dagger and a hair from the Prophet Mohammed, dot the complex, and there’s a café with great views across the Bosphorus.
8pm
Head across the Golden Horn to hedonistic Beyoglu and Gurme Boncuk restaurant (8) (Asmalımescit Sok 29; 0212 245 3170) , a lively, traditional Armenian-Turkish meyhane (tavern) where you can enjoy an all-inclusive feast (including alcoholic drinks) for £30. There’s cold meze, and hot starters including kalamari, followed by grilled fish. It’s a great place to try the aniseed spirit raki, Turkey’s alcoholic drink.
Day two
10am
Take the tram to the Pazartekke stop and walk a section of the fifth-century Land Walls of Theodosius, a fortification that kept Constantinople’s foes at bay for more than a thousand years, to the Kariye Museum (kariye.muze.gov.tr; £5.20). This late-Byzantine gem, once the Church of St Saviour in Chora, is adorned with a collection of mosaics, some of which tell biblical tales in near-graphic novel style.
Noon
Take an early lunch in the lovely garden of the Asitane restaurant (Kariye Camii Sok 6; 0212 635 7997; asitanerestaurant.com; mains from £8.70). Attached to the Kariye Hotel, right next door to the museum, it’s justly renowned for recreating Ottoman Turkish dishes. Walk off lunch with a half-hour stroll to the wall’s end on the Golden Horn. At Ayvansaray Pier catch a ferry (£1) to the Galata Bridge (9).
City checklist
Istanbul’s equivalent of an Oyster card, the Istanbulkart saves the hassle of buying tokens (jeton; £1) every time you travel. You save a shade over 30p per journey after loading the card – it can be used on the tram, metro, buses, ferries, funiculars and suburban trains.
You’d be ill-advised to hire a car as accidents are frequent, signposting is poor and parking difficult.
Plenty of Turks drink alcohol. However, drunken behaviour is frowned upon and may land you in trouble with the police.
Read Terry Richardson’s complete Istanbul city break guide
more : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/turkey/istanbul/articles/istanbul-travel-guide/