The Bosphorus suburb of Vaniköy on the Asian shore of Istanbul is little more than the huge Kuleli Military High School and a string of yalıs (waterside mansions) hunkered down behind high walls. They are much better appreciated from the decks of a Bosphorus ferry than from the busy coast road.
In 2020 fire seriously damaged Vaniköy’s pretty little waterside mosque. Work on its restoration started almost immediately and was completed in 2024 with a library opened beside it. There seems less hope that the ferry terminal that once existed alongside it will ever reopen.
The Rasathane Observatory in the Kuleli Mahallesi on the hillside above Vaniköy is named after a 17th-century nobleman from the city of Van in the east. It has the unenviable task of watching out for and recording all the country’s earthquakes. You need permission from Bosphorus University (Boğaziçi Üniversitesi) to go inside.
Eating
There’s a very attractive branch of the Saray Muhallebicisi chain of restaurants (Tel: 0216-999 2885) on the inland side of the road at the point where Vaniköy merges into Kandilli. Otherwise, the Borsa Restaurant (Tel: 0216-460 0304) in what was once the Adile Sultan Sarayı is also at the joining point between the two suburbs although the cost of a meal there will be much steeper.
Transport info
You can get to Vaniköy from Üsküdar on one of the buses in the 15 series although how long it will take depends on the traffic bottlenecks at Beylerbeyi and Çengelköy. It’s sometimes quicker (and certainly more pleasant) to take one of the infrequent ferries to Kandilli and then walk or bus to Vaniköy.
Nearby areas
