Standing in a wonderful park above the Çırağan Palace Hotel, Yıldız Sarayı in Beşiktaş is the least known of İstanbul’s imperial palaces which…
“Filled-in garden” North of Kabataş the Bosphorus suburb of Dolmabahçe is best known for the huge and spectacular palace built to house the…
“Arsenal” Named after the Arsenal that is one of its most striking monuments, Tophane is one of those places that was until recently…
Cihangir is to İstanbul expats what Sultanahmet is to its tourists – the number one place to be. At least, it’s the number…
“Baghdad Road” Over on the Asian side of İstanbul, Bağdat Caddesi is one of those places that Turks tend to rave about but…
Old name: Karay Köy The waterside suburb of Karaköy almost feels like four separate places. There’s Karaköy Meydanı, the frantically busy square through…
“Roman (European) Castle” The well-heeled Bosphorus suburb of Rumeli Hisarı is named after the huge castle built here by Mehmet the Conqueror in…
“The Judge’s Village” Old name: Chalcedon The great divide in İstanbul created by the Bosphorus strait means that relatively few foreign visitors make it…
Rather unexpectedly, the part of Old İstanbul around Cerrahpaşa and Haseki remains completely off-the beaten-track to tourists despite being within easy walking distance…
“Vinegar-seller” For over a century as the location of İstanbul’s railway station for trains to Europe, Sirkeci was one of İstanbul’s main transport…