Home › Countries › Türkiye › İstanbul
CITY GUIDE / 169 discovery ideas
Find a story in
İstanbul.
Discover local stories, places and experiences. Save your own memory in the World Stamp app.
Search this city by topic →Eat balık ekmek standing at Eminönü
Mackerel grilled on a boat rocking at the quay, pushed into half a loaf with onion and rocket, eaten standing up while the ferries dock behind you. Buy one — and photograph it.
Stand inside the Blue Mosque
Stand beneath the blue atmosphere created by over 21,000 İznik tiles; decode the dome system of this six-minaret structure from within — and photograph it.
Drink boza at a counter that has not moved since 1876
Fermented millet, thick and faintly sour, served cold with cinnamon and roasted chickpeas — sold only in the cold months and drunk almost nowhere else on earth. Order a glass at Vefa — and photograph it.
Tour Topkapı Palace and the Harem
Cover all the courtyards in one go — from the sultan's chambers to the Sacred Relics section, from the Baghdad Pavilion to the Harem — and photograph it.
Have kuru fasulye at the bean houses behind Süleymaniye
A row of shops beside Sinan's mosque has served the same white beans over rice, with pickles and stewed lamb, for a hundred years — a working-day lunch, not a tourist one. Sit down — and photograph it.
Discover Hagia Irene, an early Byzantine church
The only great Byzantine church in İstanbul never converted to a mosque — no minaret, never whitewashed. In the apse there is a plain cross instead of a figural mosaic: direct evidence of the iconoclast years, when images were forbidden. It stands in Topkapı's first courtyard. Photograph the cross.
Eat Kanlıca yoghurt where it is named after
A Bosphorus village gave its name to a yoghurt so firm the spoon stands in it, dusted with icing sugar and eaten at the ferry landing it comes from. Order a bowl — and photograph it.
Eat Kup Griye at Baylan (since 1923)
Taste the signature dessert Kup Griye at Baylan, one of İstanbul's oldest living patisseries — and photograph it.
See Beykoz glasswork (Cesm-i Bulbul)
See Beykoz glasswork (Çeşm-i Bülbül) in Istanbul — and photograph it.
Shop by the rules of bargaining at the Grand Bazaar
Shop by haggling at the world's oldest covered bazaar, with over 4,000 shops — and photograph it.
Do a third-wave coffee tour in İstanbul
A filter-coffee tasting at the boutique roasters (specialty coffee) of Cihangir, Karaköy and Kadıköy — and photograph it.
Dine at a long-established kebab house like Beyti or Hacı Abdullah
Try Ottoman-Turkish cuisine with classic service at one of these century-old establishments — and photograph it.
Eat the 'Asuman' dessert at Çikolata Dükkanı in Moda
Try the legendary dessert — made with strawberries, Belgian chocolate and crêpe pieces — with weekend queues out front — and photograph it.
Buy spices and Turkish delight at the Spice Bazaar
Inhale the scent of spices at the bazaar beside the New Mosque; taste fresh nuts and menengiç — and photograph it.
Eat profiterole at İnci in Beyoğlu
Try the profiterole with chocolate sauce, an İstiklal icon with nearly a century of history — and photograph it.
Splurge in Bebek boutiques
The small shops along Bebek's shore are not chains — most have a single branch and the designer is usually inside. You walk between a window facing the Bosphorus and the door. Photograph a window with the water behind it.
Visit Camlica Tower for panoramic views
İstanbul's tallest structure, built for one purpose: to gather the broadcast antennas that were scattered across dozens of hilltop masts, all of which came down. From the observation floor both sides of the Bosphorus are visible at once. Photograph two continents in one frame.
Eat a fish sandwich at a historic spot
Fish sandwich at the Karaköy or Eminönü piers — ideally the classic version cooked on a boat — and photograph it.
Eat fresh pistachio baklava at Karaköy Güllüoğlu
Balance the hot dry baklava fresh from the oven with a pistachio 'nightingale's nest' at this 100-year-old establishment — and photograph it.
Regional cuisine tour at Çiya Sofrası
Try dishes from different regions on one plate at Çiya in Kadıköy; the quince dessert and bride's almond sherbet are a must — and photograph it.
Buy midye dolma by the piece and count them
Stuffed mussels sold from a tray on the street, opened one at a time and squeezed with lemon; the shells stack up in front of you and the count is the point. Eat until you stop — and photograph it.
Watch the sunset from Galata Tower
From the top of the tower the Genoese built in 1348, see the Golden Horn, Sarayburnu and the Anatolian side all at once — and photograph it.
Tour Turkish modern art at İstanbul Modern
Tour the Turkish modern and contemporary art collection in Renzo Piano's new building; stand on the terrace overlooking the Bosphorus — and photograph it.
Read Mimar Sinan at the Süleymaniye Mosque
See the dome and semi-dome proportions in the building Sinan called 'my journeyman work'; visit the tombs of Suleiman the Magnificent and Hürrem in the graveyard — and photograph it.
Have dinner at the Maiden's Tower
Take a boat to the islet tower off Üsküdar; dine in the middle of the Bosphorus in its renovated restaurant — and photograph it.
Catch a special exhibition at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum
Also tour the Equestrian Mansion collection at the museum that hosts world-class exhibitions such as Picasso and Rodin — and photograph it.
See Seljuk tiles at the Tiled Kiosk
See this example of civil architecture built by Mehmed the Conqueror in 1472 and its large Seljuk-Ottoman tile collection — and photograph it.
Descend into the Basilica Cistern
Find the Medusa heads among 336 columns that are 1,500 years old; see its renovated state with light and music — and photograph it.
Tour the Yedikule Dungeons
Find the well where Young Osman was killed in the fortress where Ottoman envoys and princes were imprisoned — and photograph it.
See the sunset at Mihrimah Sultan Mosque (Edirnekapı)
Stand in the mosque Sinan built for Mihrimah, knowing the legend that twice a year (21 March-23 September) the sun sets behind its minaret as the full moon rises behind the other Mihrimah mosque — and photograph it.
Watch the Ottoman waterside mansions of the Bosphorus from a boat
On a Bosphorus tour, look one by one at the Sadberk Hanım, Hekimbaşı Salih Efendi and Köprülü waterside mansions from the water — and photograph it.
Visit the Eyüp Sultan Mosque
Attend a Friday prayer at the mosque beside the tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, a companion of the Prophet — and photograph it.
Watch the Golden Horn from Pierre Loti hill
Go up by cable car; see the finest curve of the Golden Horn from Eyüp; drink the coffee Loti loved — and photograph it.
See Osman Hamdi's 'Tortoise Trainer' at the Pera Museum
Stand before the original of the most iconic painting in Turkish art history — and photograph it.
Tour the İstanbul Archaeology Museums
Stand before the Alexander Sarcophagus; see the Hittite copy of Kadesh, the world's oldest written peace treaty — and photograph it.
See the frescoes of the Chora (Kariye) Mosque
Watch one of the finest examples of late Byzantine painting — the fresco-mosaics of the Mary and Jesus cycle — in vivid color — and photograph it.
See the carpet collection at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts
See one of the world's most comprehensive historical carpet collections at the museum in the İbrahim Paşa Palace — and photograph it.
Tour the Rahmi M. Koç Museum (Golden Horn)
Tour the industry-and-transport museum spanning steam engines to a submarine, classic cars to aircraft — and photograph it.
Greet the sunrise on the Bosphorus by ferry
In midsummer, board the first ferry of Beşiktaş-Üsküdar or Eminönü-Kadıköy — and photograph it.
Cihangir-Galata morning breakfast walk
Start at Firuzağa café; browse the antique shops in Çukurcuma; walk to Galata for a Georgian breakfast at Cafe Privato — and photograph it.
Watch a dervish ceremony
Attend the weekly Sema ceremony at the Galata Mevlevi Lodge; watch the Mevlana ritual live — and photograph it.
Climb the battlements of Rumeli Fortress
Walk the walls of the fortress Mehmed the Conqueror had built in 4 months in 1452 to prepare the conquest; see the narrowest point of the Bosphorus from above — and photograph it.
Walk the Theodosian Walls
Walk the 5th-century land walls from Topkapı toward Yedikule; understand from within the structure that protected Byzantium for 1,000 years — and photograph it.
Cross to Üsküdar on an early-morning ferry
Board a Bosphorus ferry with a simit and tea from Eminönü; pull in to the Üsküdar pier watching the gulls in the morning light — and photograph it.
Celebrate Hıdırellez night (5-6 May) in Ahırkapı
Greet the arrival of spring dancing in the streets, with Roma music and halay — and photograph it.
Take a long tour on a historic Bosphorus ferry
Go all the way to Anadolu Kavağı on the City Lines 'Bosphorus Tour'; climb to Yoros Castle at the top — and photograph it.
Cycle along the Moda shore to Caddebostan
Start from Kadıköy; cycle 12 km along the coastal road and take a tea break at the Bostancı pier — and photograph it.
Go to the Princes' Islands for ferry, bicycle and silence
Büyükada, Heybeliada, Burgaz — motor vehicles are restricted, so rent an electric bike and gaze at the old mansions — and photograph it.
Climb to Aya Yorgi on Büyükada
Make a barefoot wish-journey to the monastery atop Büyükada; drink island wine at the hilltop restaurant — and photograph it.
Tour the İstanbul Biennial
Tour the main venues of the biennial held every two years; watch the performances in Galata, Karaköy and Pera — and photograph it.
Warm your hands on a glass of salep in winter
Ground orchid root whisked into hot milk and dusted with cinnamon, sold from carts on cold evenings — thick enough that the first sip is a surprise. Drink one outdoors — and photograph it.
Catch contemporary culture at Müze Gazhane
Go to the museum and workshops of the renovated gasworks in Hasanpaşa; continue with a cycling route — and photograph it.
Tour Dolmabahçe Palace
Pass beneath the 4.5-ton crystal chandelier; see Atatürk's last room and the stopped clocks — and photograph it.
Take a calligraphy and illumination lesson
Try calligraphy and illumination for a day at the traditional art courses of Yıldız Palace or İSMEK — and photograph it.
Tour Beylerbeyi Palace
Tour the summer palace Sultan Abdülaziz had built in 1865 — the most elegant Ottoman building on the Anatolian side — and photograph it.
Bathe in a historic hammam
Have a traditional scrub-and-foam session at the Çemberlitaş (Sinan, 1584) or Cağaloğlu (1741) hammams — and photograph it.
Join an ebru (paper marbling) workshop
Try the art of dripping paint onto water yourself at a traditional workshop such as Caferağa Medresesi — and photograph it.
Caddebostan-Maltepe coastal cycling
Complete the 20 km coastal cycling route on the Anatolian side in a single day — and photograph it.
Eat Silivri yoghurt from the tray it set in
Silivri yoğurdu is registered and specific: full-fat milk set in wide shallow trays so a thick yellow skin forms on top, sold by the slab and eaten with a spoon straight from the tray, sometimes with honey. Every dairy shop on the main street has it. Take a slice with the skin on — and photograph it.
Walk Sinan's long bridge at Silivri
Süleyman had Sinan throw this bridge across the marshy river mouth west of Silivri in 1568 so the army road to Edirne would stay dry: thirty-two low stone arches, over three hundred metres long, and still carrying traffic. Walk it end to end — and photograph it.
Akbank Jazz Festival (İstanbul, October)
Catch a concert at the 2-week international jazz festival held at various stages across the city — and photograph it.
Live concert at Babylon or Zorlu PSM
Catch an international act at one of İstanbul's most established concert venues — and photograph it.
Go to a match of one of the Big Three
Watch the derby atmosphere from the stands at the home ground of Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe or Beşiktaş — and photograph it.
Dine on the rooftop of Mikla
Combine Mehmet Gürs's modern Anatolian menu with a Bosphorus view — and photograph it.
Catch the tram on Istiklal Street
The nostalgic line dates from 1914 and people ride it from Taksim to Tünel hanging off the back. Photograph it.
Take a night tour of the Basilica Cistern
Water drips and echoes between three hundred and thirty-six columns; the evening session is quieter. Photograph it.
Explore the cultural heart of the Historic Peninsula
Inside the old walls, Hagia Sophia, Topkapı and Sultanahmet stand within walking distance of each other. Photograph it.
See Kundekari woodwork at Topkapi Palace
Look closely at the door and cabinet panels, interlocked without a single nail or drop of glue. Photograph it.
Row along the Golden Horn
The water is a mirror in the morning; count the domes on the shore as you row from Eyüp towards Balat. Photograph it.
Ride the Istanbul–Sofia Express
Cross Thrace on the night train and step out in Sofia in the morning; the compartment window is the best view. Photograph it.
Visit the Historic Areas of Istanbul
The four UNESCO zones — Sultanahmet, Süleymaniye, Zeyrek and the land walls — on one route. Photograph it.
Marvel at the history of Hagia Sophia
Stand under the dome of a building that has been a church, a mosque and a museum across fifteen centuries; the marble carries the marks of every one. Photograph it.
Attend a Turkish film screening at the Atlas Cinema Museum
Watch Turkish cinema in a historic hall inside the oldest arcade on İstiklal. Photograph the auditorium before the lights go down.
Ride the historic Tunel tram
Two stops on the second-oldest underground railway in the world, running since 1875. Photograph the wooden interior.
Explore the ruins of the Theodosian Walls
The towers of the double wall that held the city for five centuries run from Yedikule to Ayvansaray. Photograph it.
Smell fresh flowers from the street vendors
Buckets of seasonal flowers in the Beşiktaş or Kadıköy market; buy one bunch. Photograph the buckets, not the bunch.
Explore the cool neighborhood of Cihangir
Stairs full of cats, second-hand bookshops and small cafés looking down at the strait. Photograph a staircase.
Hike to Aya Yorgi Monastery on Buyukada
Thousands of threads are tied to the trees along the climb, each one a wish; at the top the whole Marmara lies below you. Photograph it.
Catch a live performance at Ataturk Cultural Center
Opera, ballet or a concert inside the red box on Taksim. Photograph the red exterior after dark.
See kaat’i stencilling art in Istanbul
See kaat’i (stencilling) art in Istanbul — and photograph it.
Visit the Hippodrome (Sultanahmet Square)
Walk the track of the Byzantine chariot races; the obelisks still stand on the old axis. Photograph it.
Discover the historic neighborhoods of Kuzguncuk
A mosque, a church and a synagogue on one street, with painted wooden houses and a market garden alongside. Photograph it.
Hunt for treasures at Ferikoy Flea Market
Sunday-morning stalls of old photographs, records and copperware. Photograph a stack of other people's photographs.
Explore the Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk
One display case for every chapter of the novel, the fiction built out of real objects. Photograph it.
Explore Bebek and its hip cafes
Buy badem ezmesi in the morning, walk the shore, then anchor in a café. Photograph the water from the table.
Explore the labyrinth-like streets of the Grand Bazaar
Sixty-one streets, four thousand shops and a roof of domes; getting lost is part of the plan. Photograph it.
Warm up with roasted chestnuts
Take a paper cone from the corner brazier in winter — even the paper is warm. Photograph it.
Learn about the works of Mimar Sinan
Süleymaniye, Şehzade and Rüstem Paşa: the same architect's hand at three different scales. Photograph it.
Hunt for vintage gems in the backstreets of Galata
Dig through the second-hand shops on Serdar-ı Ekrem for a jacket, a camera, a record. Photograph it.
Go up to the roof of Valide Han for city views
From the han roof behind the Grand Bazaar, hundreds of domes and minarets stack up in front of you. Photograph it.
Relax in the garden of Ihlamur Pavilion
Sit in the linden garden between two small hunting pavilions — a pocket cut off from the city. Photograph it.
Take a ferry ride on the Bosphorus
A simit, a glass of tea and the gulls: the best view in the city for the price of a bus ticket. Photograph it.
Ride the Istanbul–Bucharest (Bosphor/Balkan) Express
Take the line out of Sirkeci across the Balkans to Bucharest — sleeper car and border stops included. Photograph it.
Take the cable car to Pierre Loti Hill
Take the cable car up from Eyüp; from the café at the top the whole Golden Horn is below you. Photograph the view from the cable car, not the summit.
Take a guided night tour of illuminated landmarks
Sultanahmet's domes and minarets look like a different city under floodlight. Walk it once the crowds thin. Photograph it.
Walk the Golden Horn waterfront
Walk the shore road from Eyüp to Ayvansaray, with the shipyard and the minarets lined up on the far bank. Photograph it.
Get a selfie on the Camondo Stairs
Get a selfie on the Comondo Stairs — and photograph it.
Visit the Nuruosmaniye Complex
A baroque-influenced complex at the gate of the Grand Bazaar, with a wide courtyard under a single dome. Photograph it.
Explore the Asian Side of Istanbul
The Kadıköy market, the Moda shore and Bağdat Avenue — a different rhythm from the European side. Photograph it.
Attend a workshop on traditional belly dance
Learn the basic hip and hand figures with a live darbuka keeping time. Photograph the drum.
Admire the traditional cini tilework of the Blue Mosque
The pattern in the blue tiles changes from panel to panel; get close enough to see where one ends. Photograph a single panel.
Get VIP views of Hagia Sophia from a Sultanahmet terrace
From street level you cannot see that the dome sits on a square, and from a terrace you can: four huge piers, and the weight coming down through them into the ground. Go up for tea in the late afternoon when the stone turns colour. Photograph the dome against the light.
Shop designer brands in Nisantasi
Turkish and international designers sit side by side in the windows on and around Abdi İpekçi. Photograph it.
Visit the Hagia Sophia History & Experience Museum
Fifteen centuries of Hagia Sophia laid out layer by layer in digital rooms. Photograph the layer you did not know about.
Golf at Kemer Country Club
A round on the forested course north of the city. Photograph the fairway with the pines on both sides.
Feed the pigeons in Eminonu Square
A handful of feed in the courtyard of the New Mosque puts hundreds of wings in the air at once. Photograph it.
Spend a beach day at Kilyos or Sile
The Black Sea, cold and rough, an hour from the city: sand and wind. Photograph it.
Catch the Istanbul Culture Route events
In September the city's streets, hans and squares turn into free concerts and exhibitions. Photograph it.
Visit the Istanbul Military Museum and watch a Mehter Band performance
The band that plays here is the ancestor of every military band in the world, and the thing nobody tells you is the walk: three steps forward, then a half turn to face the crowd, so the whole line advances at the speed of an argument. Photograph the turn, not the instruments.
Visit Yildiz Palace Complex
Pavilions, a porcelain works and greenhouses scattered through a hillside grove rather than one palace building. Photograph the porcelain works.
Visit the Museum of the History of Science and Technology in Islam
Hundreds of working replicas, from astrolabes to water clocks, in Gülhane's former stables. Photograph it.
Go cycling along the Bosphorus shoreline
Ride the shore from Bebek to İstinye — waterfront mansions on your right, tankers passing on your left. Photograph it.
Visit a historic church in Istanbul
The mosaics of Chora, or the Greek churches in Fener: the city's Byzantine layer is still standing. Photograph it.
Feel like royalty at Ciragan Palace
Tea on the marble terrace of one of the last Ottoman palaces, facing the water. Photograph the terrace, not the tea.
Relax in Gulhane Park
Sit under century-old plane trees in what was Topkapı's private garden; the Bosphorus shows through at the lower end. Photograph it.
Explore the historic wooden mansions of Arnavutkoy
Walk among bay-windowed wooden mansions sitting right on the Bosphorus; some have stood in the same spot since the nineteenth century. Photograph them.
Admire the National Palaces Painting Museum
The Ottoman palace painting collection hangs in Dolmabahçe's Crown Prince apartments. Photograph it.
Ride the Macka Funicular for green views
The short line from Maçka to Taşkışla crosses above the valley and leaves the city below you. Photograph it.
Explore Kadikoy street art murals
Yeldeğirmeni carries murals the height of an apartment block, three of them on a single street. Photograph it.
Visit the Mosaic Museum of the Grand Palace
Under the Arasta Bazaar, the floor mosaics of the Byzantine palace remain exactly where they were found. Photograph them.
Swim at the beaches of the Princes Islands
Swim in the open Marmara with pine ridges behind you and the city skyline in front. Photograph it.
Discover the creative scene in Galata
Work through the design studios, record shops and small galleries in the lanes behind the tower. Photograph it.
Go antique shopping in Cukurcuma
The shops on these steep lanes hold everything from vinyl to chandeliers, and haggling is expected. Photograph it.
See the Spoonmakers Diamond at Topkapi Palace
Forty-nine brilliants set around an eighty-six carat stone — the most crowded case in the treasury. Photograph it.
Pose between two continents at the Maiden’s Tower
Cross by boat from Salacak and stand on the tower's terrace; both sides of the city are in view at once. Photograph it.
Explore the art galleries in Nisantasi
Contemporary Turkish art in galleries that sit inside ordinary apartment floors. Photograph the doorbell panel on the way in.
People-watch at the coffee shops of Moda
Take a table on the street running down to the water; the sea is ten paces away. Photograph the street, not the cup.
Order Daruzziyafe meatball at Nicole
A kitchen reworking a köfte associated with an Ottoman imaret kitchen, which is a strange thing to order in a tasting menu and exactly why it is worth ordering. Ask what they changed and what they refused to change. Photograph the plate before the sauce is spooned.
Take a sunset yacht cruise on the Bosphorus
As the sun drops behind the European side the water turns copper. Stay on deck. Photograph it.
Explore the historic bazaars of Eminonu
From the Spice Bazaar down to Tahtakale the streets are spice, dried fruit and copper stalls. Photograph it.
Chill at Bomontiada and visit the Photography Museum
Sit in the brick courtyard of the old brewery, then see the photography show upstairs. Photograph it.
Visit a historic synagogue in Istanbul
Ahrida in Balat or Neve Şalom in Galata; both can be visited by appointment. Photograph the doorway.
Visit the Zeytinburnu Mosaic Museum
Byzantine floor mosaics from the excavations are displayed together with the layer they were found in. Photograph it.
Get a Turkish coffee fortune reading
Turn the cup over, wait five minutes and have the shapes in the grounds read to you. Photograph the cup upside down on the saucer.
Visit the Pera Palace, a stop of the Orient Express
Agatha Christie's room, and one of the oldest lifts in Europe still running. Photograph it.
Watch the dondurma cone show
Join the routine where the Maraş ice cream seller offers the cone on a long rod and snatches it away again. Photograph it.
Buy handmade gold jewelry at the Grand Bazaar
On the jewellers' lane the scales are still worked by hand. Ask about the workmanship. Photograph it.
Hike the Sufi Trail (Istanbul to Konya)
Hike the Sufi Trail from Istanbul to Konya — and photograph it.
Watch the sunset from Buyukada
Sit on a rock on the island's west side as the sun goes into the sea and the city lights up in the distance. Photograph it.
Follow the UNESCO Ancient Route: Istanbul to Letoon
Follow the UNESCO Ancient Route from Istanbul through Troy, Pergamon, Ephesus, Aphrodisias, Hierapolis, and Letoon — and photograph it.
Feed the cats of Istanbul
They are the most comfortable residents in the city; leave food for one stretched out in front of a shop. Photograph it where it lies.
Hang out on Istiklal Avenue
Walk it end to end; turn into the arcades, stop for the buskers, eat midye dolma. Photograph an arcade rather than the avenue.
Go hiking in the Belgrade Forest
Walk the paths through the beech forest north of the city, past the Ottoman dams that once supplied its water. Photograph it.
Walk the Topkapi Palace gardens
Walk the tree-lined paths of the four courtyards; the terrace at the far end looks over the strait. Photograph the fourth courtyard.
Browse artisan crafts in Nisantasi side streets
Small workshops behind the main avenue, from ceramics to printing. Photograph a workshop with the door open.
Picnic and smell tulips at Emirgan Park
In April the park turns into bands of colour, millions of tulips deep. A blanket is all you need. Photograph it.
Walk the Beyoglu Culture Route
Follow the line from Galata up to Taksim, taking the arcades, churches and han courtyards in turn. Photograph it.
Kumpir In Ortakoy
Eat kumpir in Ortakoy — and photograph it.
Visit the Living Museum of Haci Bekir to learn Turkish Delight history
The shop has been selling lokum from the same family business since the eighteenth century, and the museum floor above it is mostly moulds, copper pans and the scales. Ask which sweets predate sugar beet. Photograph the old moulds.
Book a wellness spa day in Istanbul
Put the hamam, the massage and the resting room in the same day; the noise of the city stays outside the door. Photograph it.
Visit the Istanbul Airport Museum
The museum inside the terminal holds objects from the history of flight and rotating exhibitions; turn the wait into something. Photograph it.
Fly to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines
Land at the hub of a network flying to more than two hundred destinations; the domed terminal is the first view. Photograph it.
See the Obelisk of Theodosius and Serpent Column
One brought from Egypt, the other from Delphi, both still lined up on the axis of the Hippodrome. Photograph it.
Read the world’s first love letter at the Istanbul Archaeological Museums
A clay tablet the size of a hand, in Sumerian, written about four thousand years ago and addressed to a king by a woman at a fertility rite. It is a small brown thing in a case and most people walk past it. Find the number, stand still, photograph the case.
Take a photography tour of Istanbul architecture
A Byzantine dome, an Ottoman minaret and a modern glass façade meet in a single frame. Go looking for that frame. Photograph it.
Go on a morning run in Rumeli and watch the ships pass
Running the shore road you keep pace with the tankers coming through the strait. Photograph a ship level with you.
Walk the contemporary art galleries of Istiklal Street
The free galleries along this street are hidden on upper floors; work down the road and go up each staircase. Photograph a stairwell.
Visit a historic mosque in Istanbul
Süleymaniye, Rüstem Paşa or Şehzade — stand inside and listen to what the dome does to sound. Photograph it.
Explore Fener and Balat neighborhoods
The red brick of the Greek school, the wooden Bulgarian church and the steep painted streets all in one walk. Photograph it.
Feed seagulls from the ferries with simit
Tear the simit and hold it up; the gulls fly alongside at the speed of the ferry. Photograph one level with your hand.
Hike the Sultans Trail (Istanbul section)
Hike the Sultans Trail long-distance footpath to Istanbul — and photograph it.
Visit the santralistanbul Museum of Energy
The machines are still in place in the turbine hall of the power station that lit the city for fifty years. Photograph it.
Meet Turkish designers at Galataport
Walk the shop row of the new terminal on the water and look at what Turkish designers are putting in the windows. Photograph it.
Pause to admire the Sveti Stefan Church
The Bulgarian church on the Golden Horn is built entirely of cast iron, made in Vienna and shipped here in pieces. Photograph it.
Explore the art galleries of Karakoy
The old bonded warehouses have become galleries, three or four of them together in the lanes behind the quay. Photograph it.
Do an Istanbul street food crawl
Simit, stuffed mussels, kokoreç and boza: the city's counter kitchen in one walk. Photograph it.
Visit the Istanbul Aquarium in Florya
The tunnels are arranged as a route rather than by species, so you cross from the Black Sea to the Pacific. Photograph the point where the water changes.
Visit the German Fountain at the Hippodrome
The German Fountain arrived by ship as parts made in Germany, then assembled in Istanbul. Commemorating Wilhelm II's 1898 visit, it opened on 27 January 1901. Walk around it, find the German bronze inscription and golden dome mosaics, and photograph a detail. Record the fountain's journey in your memory.
Story and sources →Do a photo session in the colorful streets of Balat
Pastel façades stacked up the slope with washing lines strung between them — the most photogenic hill in the city. Photograph it.
TURN DISCOVERY INTO A MEMORY
Live it. Stamp it. Remember it.
Find an idea here. Save the experience with your photo and note in your personal World Stamp passport.
Get the app ↗