“E digghe a chi me ciamma rénegôu
Che a tûtte ë ricchesse a l’argentu e l’öu
Sinán gh’a lasciòu de luxî au sü
Giastemmandu Mumä au postu du Segnü”
F. De Andrè, Sinan Capudan Pascià
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Itinerary in pills
- Day 0: Arrival in Istanbul
- Day 1: The Old Town
- Day 2: Bazaar and New town
- Day 3: The Golden Horn and Bosphorus cruise
- Conclusions
Introduction
Blaspheming Muhammad instead of the Lord. Listening again to Sinan Capudan Pascià, a wonderful song by De Andrè, I thought that, at the end, the essence of Istanbul might lie more or less there. Istanbul is a marriage of Islam and Christianity, East and West, Asia and Europe, two worlds that intersect in a harmonious synthesis, sometimes giving the impression that they never touch. Time is marked by prayers, which echo incessantly from the more than 2,500 mosques in the city, while space seems to expand indefinitely.
With its approximately 15 million inhabitants, Istanbul is in fact the only city in the world to span geographically between two continents, further demonstrating its cultural characteristics and size, making it the largest municipal center in Europe and the Balkans, and among the top ten in the world. This is also due to its location on the Bosphorus Strait, which allows its direct connection with the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, before the Mediterranean Sea.
Reviewing the city’s history is an exercise that would take too long. Suffice it to mention that its name has changed four times over the centuries, and its past saw it become first the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and then of the Ottoman Empire. And it is no coincidence that the city is home to about half of Turkey’s most important museums and historical monuments.
I visited Istanbul in December 2019, in the company of my parents and brother, who were not too democratically forced to follow the itinerary I had devised, which I present in the following paragraphs.
Itinerary in pills
You can divide Istanbul into 4 macro areas, namely the Historic Peninsula, divided between the Old Town and the Bazaar, the Golden Horn, and the New Town. You can find a division of the areas on the map I created just for you.
The most important and famous parts of the city are definitely in the Historic Peninsula, but each individual neighborhood has something different to tell. Below is the summary table of the itinerary we followed, divided into 3 full days.
| Day | Itinerary | Map |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Flight FCO-SAW in the evening | – |
| 1 | Old Town | Old Town |
| 2 | Bazaar and New Town | Bazaar New Town |
| 3 | Golden Horn and Bosphorus cruise | Golden Horn Bosphorus |
| 4 | Flight SAW-FCO in the morning | – |
We moved around the city mostly on foot, sometimes using public transportation and cabs, which are quite cheap. To get to Istanbul you can count on the presence of two international airports. The first is the New Istanbul Airport (IST), located to the north of the city in the European zone, and the second is Sabiha Gökçen (SAW), which is located to the south in the Asian zone. To reach the center from the airports, one can conveniently take transportation, particularly a bus from New Airport (service operates between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.) and the metro from Sabiha Gökçen. The journey takes more than an hour in both cases. During this time, one can already realize the size of the city.
Day 0: Arrival in Istanbul
Our Pegasus Airlines flight to Sabiha Gökçen Airport leaves Fiumicino in the late afternoon. The flight is fairly uneventful, I travel seated next to an Iraqi girl with whom I exchange a couple of tips on how to optimize time for sightseeing. I only find out once back in Italy that she was a rather well-known person in her country. I learn that from her social page, where she still constantly posts photos and videos of herself during interviews on the national news.
We arrive at our hotel in the evening, being 4 of us we decide to take a cab, which costs us as much as taking transportation. I don’t remember the name of the hotel, but I remember well that it was located in the old town and directly overlooked the Blue Mosque. We take a first, quick tour of the old city by night, having an hour or so to spare before our eyelids start to droop.
Day 1: The Old Town
Our city tour begins at Sultan Ahmet Square, formerly known as Hippodrome Square. The square, which today represents one of the most vital centers of the city, dates back to the historical period between the empires of Septimius Severus and Constantine, during which it became one of the largest hippodromes in the world. Within it are a number of monuments of special interest:
- The Obelisk of Theodosius, Istanbul’s oldest monument, dating from the 15th century B.C. and built at the behest of Pharaoh Tutmosis III. It owes its name to the Roman Emperor Theodosius who had it transported from Egypt. The obelisk is decorated with various hieroglyphics.
- The Serpentine Column, built in Greece in the fifth century B.C. as an offering to Apollo after the victory of the Greeks at the Battle of Plataea, and transported to Istanbul (at that time Constantinople) by Emperor Constantine. The monument owes its name to its two twisted pieces, originally representing two snakes, before they were damaged about 3 centuries ago.
- The German Fountain, donated to the city in the early 1900s by Kaiser Wilhelm II, who personally designed it.
- The Constantine Column, erected not by the most famous emperor with the same name, but by the lesser-known Emperor Constantine VII, in honor of his grandfather, Emperor Basil I.
Located a short walk from Hippodrome Square is the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, originally the palace of Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha. Inside the museum are a variety of works in wood, stone, and metal, but the most important collection is that of handmade carpets. As we are not too keen on this kind of art, we omitted the visit, but if you are interested you can buy tickets on the museum’s website (cost €17, open 9am-5pm, except Mondays). Not far from the museum is then the Sokollu Mosque, built at the behest of the wife of Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmet Pasha of Serbia in the 16th century.
After the Hippodrome, it is the turn of the Blue Mosque, one of Istanbul’s main and most famous attractions. It was built by Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I in the early 1600s and owes its name to the color of the more than 20000 majolica tiles and paintings used to decorate its interior. Apparently, the term “turquoise” comes from the very colors of this mosque, coined by the French as “color of the Turks.” The mosque features 6 minarets, a number due, according to one legend, to the decision of the architect who was commissioned to do the work, who pretended to incorrectly understand the sultan’s request that the minarets be made of gold (the Turkish terms of “gold” and “6” are pronounced similarly). Absolutely worth seeing is the outer courtyard, which offers a magnificent view. Then to the northeast of the mosque is the mausoleum, which houses several tombs, including that of Sultan Ahmet I and his wife. Visiting the mosque is free and is possible from sunrise to sunset, except for the 5 prayer times that are interspersed throughout the day. For the visit we take as much time as necessary to be able to see every corner.
A few meters from the Blue Mosque, it may be worth visiting the Mosaic Museum, inside which mosaics dating mainly from the 4th and 5th centuries are housed.
Our next stop is Sultanahmet Park, from which we appreciate the beautiful view overlooking Aya Sofya (to the north) and the Blue Mosque (to the south). The park is also home to the Aya Sofya Baths, built by Sultan Hurrem. The cost of the baths is quite high (from 95€).
We then head to the Yerebatan Cistern, also known as the Basilica Cistern. There are a number of cisterns in Istanbul, built in ancient times to make up for the shortage of water within the city walls by their supply from nearby forests. The cisterns also served as reservoirs during times of war, when enemy armies used to destroy aqueducts or poison the water. The Yerebatan Cistern is the largest and most important in the city and was built by Emperor Justinian. It is possible to visit it internally, descending to the lowest points. Among the most striking things to see are the Medusa heads, brought to light in recent times and used as the base of some columns. Admission (open 9-6:30 p.m.) is charged; tickets can be purchased on the Cistern website.
Leaving the Yerebatan Cistern, we continue on to Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya), one of Istanbul’s most iconic attractions. Its name comes not from a saint named Sophia, but from the Greek word for Wisdom (of God, in this case). The imposing building in its present form dates back to the Justinian Empire, which had it built as a church, a function it held until the Ottoman conquest in 1453, following which it was converted back into a mosque. During the conversion, many decorations depicting human subjects were covered with a layer of plaster, as in Islam it is apparently forbidden to pray in places where human images are found. Beginning in 1934, the layers of plaster were removed, following the decision of the government of Ataturk (founder of the Turkish Republic) to close the building to worship and open it to the public in the form of a museum. Since 2020, at the behest of President Erdogan, Aya Sofya has been reopened to Islamic worship. Admission costs €25; the visit is definitely worth the asking price. Tickets can also be purchased online at the museum’s website (entry 9-7:30 p.m., except Mondays). Among the most attractive parts of the church/mosque/museum is the huge dome, which held the record for size until the construction of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.
Next to Hagia Sophia, the Ahmed III Fountain, built by the sultan of the same name in the early 1700s, is worth a look before we get to another of the city’s most important attractions, namely the Topkapi Palace.
Topkapi Palace was built as the residence of the sultans after the city’s conquest by the Ottomans in 1453, and owes its name to the Turkish term for the set of cannons placed before the palace gate. Since 1924, the palace has been used as a museum, which holds the national record among the most visited museums. The building is very large; the walls surrounding it could even enclose the entire Vatican. It has undergone several transformations over the centuries, so the architectural style is a mix of different cultures. The palace is divided internally into two parts, one inside, where the sultan and his family lived, and another outside, used for government and military administration. At the plan level, the main areas consist of four courtyards and the Harem, the latter in turn consisting of several sections. In addition to various collections of weapons (among the most important in the world), porcelain and imperial treasures, the palace also contains a number of sacred relics, among which are worth mentioning:
- Muhammad’s sword and cloak
- Muhammad’s tooth, which fell during the Battle of Uhud
- The stirrup attributed to Moses
- The sword of David
- The turban attributed to St. Joseph
- The arm attributed to St. John the Baptist
Find all the information on the museum’s website, where you can also buy tickets (cost from 25€, open 9am-6pm, except Tuesdays). A few hours should be considered for the visit (2 to 4, depending on your interest); the palace as a whole is very large and deserves a thorough tour.
The last attractions worth mentioning in the old city are the Church of St. Irene and the Archaeological Museum, the latter containing a collection of more than a million objects from different nations, making it the largest museum in Turkey and among the top ten in the world. The museum consists of the Archaeological Museum, the Museum of the Ancient World, and the Majolica Museum. The entrance fee (open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or 9 a.m.-7 p.m. in winter and summer, respectively) costs €15 and can be purchased on the museum’s website.
Day 2: Bazaar and New town
Bazaar
Our second day begins at the Mausoleum of Mahmut II, which houses the sarcophagi of three prominent Ottoman sultans and their close relatives who lived between the 19th and 20th centuries. We stop short; our first real goal is the Grand Bazaar, which we reach with a short walk in a few minutes. The Grand Bazaar dates back to the Byzantine era and is considered the oldest commercial center in the world. The Grand Bazaar area is very large and includes about 60 streets, 12 mosques and more than 4,000 stores, in which the most unthinkable goods can be found. The market is open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., except Sunday.
We walk further until we reach Beyazit square, the largest public square in Istanbul. Also known as Freedom Square and built on the ancient forum of Theodosius, its present form dates from the mid-20th century, having undergone several changes over time. It was named after the sultan of the same name who had the Mosque built on one of the sides of the square at the turn of the 15th century. The mosque is among the largest examples of Ottoman architecture and is the oldest in the entire city. The mosque complex also includes a hostel, a religious school and thermal baths. On the other sides of the square are Beyazit Tower, built to guard against possible fires, and the entrance to the University, which originally housed the Military Ministry (it became the University when the ministries were transferred to Ankara).
We continue our adventure by heading to the Suleiman the Magnificent Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the city, dating back to the mid-1500s and built in honor of Sultan Suleiman II. The mosque’s design is by architect Sinan, the most famous Ottoman architect. The mosque is clearly visible as early as the Galata Bridge, but it certainly deserves a visit up close and inside. Visiting the interior is free and allowed outside prayer times. Special features of the mosque include the hand-decorated windows and stained glass windows, as well as the ostrich eggs hanging from the candelabra, the smell of which apparently keeps spiders away. Also very beautiful is the view of the city that can be appreciated from the mosque walls. Also located next to the mosque is a cemetery, in which are, among others, the mausoleum of the sultan and that of his wife, recognizable by the different color of the tombstones (green) than that of the others (gray).
Not far from the Suleiman Mosque and the University is the Sehzade Mosque, among the largest in the city and built by the sultan in honor of his son, who died prematurely.
From the Suleiman Mosque, walking along the market street (Uzunçarşı Caddesi), we arrive at Eminonu square and especially the Egyptian Bazaar, known for its spice market unusually conceived as part of the New Mosque. The appellation of Egyptian comes not, as is falsely believed, from the influence of Egyptian spices, but from the fact that the construction of the Bazaar was done mainly with the taxes collected by the Ottomans in Egypt. The oriental atmosphere of this Bazaar is particularly visible.
Since we are close, let’s also visit the New Mosque (Yeni Cami), so called not because it is particularly new (it was built in the 1600s), but because its first foundation was abandoned and fell into disrepair, before the project was resumed to be completed over a full 66 years, a record duration for the construction of mosques in Istanbul (consider that the construction of the Blue Mosque took only 7 years). Next next to the New Mosque is the Rustem Pasha Mosque, built in honor of Sultan Suleiman’s son-in-law, who was among the most prominent Grand Viziers of the time.
We close our tour of the Bazaar district by heading to the Galata Bridge, which connects the Old Peninsula with the New Town. The current version of the bridge is of recent construction (the bridge was completed in 1994) by a Turkish firm, but other versions have been built since the mid-19th century. The earliest designs date back as far as the Renaissance and also involved Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, but their plans were not followed up.
The New Town
Arriving at Galata Bridge, the first half of the day has already passed. We have a quick lunch so that we can head straight to Dolmabahçe Palace, which we reach by public transportation (open until 4 p.m., closed Monday and Thursday). The palace was built by Sultan Abdülmecid I around the mid-1800s as a new imperial residence, replacing the Topkapi Palace, which was deemed too modest for the sultan’s pomp. After the proclamation of the republic, the palace was used by Ataturk as a summer residence, being turned into a museum upon his death. Basically, it consists of 3 buildings, one for men, one for women and the last for courtiers. It is possible to visit the palace internally (ticket cost around 40€, which can be purchased locally). The visit takes some time, considering that there are nearly 300 rooms there and that it is the largest palace in Turkey. The style of the interior rooms is very lavish, in fact the palace was adorned trying to emulate the major European royal palaces. Among the rooms, it is worth mentioning the one in which Ataturk died, in which the clocks were for a long time set to the time of his death. For a tour of the interior, consider a couple of hours.
Finally, in the palace’s surroundings are the Dolmabahçe Mosque, completely different in style from the city’s other mosques, and the Clock Tower.
After the palace tour, we make our way to Taksim Square, one of the city’s most vital centers. The highlight is the Republic Memorial, a monument celebrating the founding of the Turkish Republic and designed by Italian architect Pietro Canonica. The monument features two sculptures depicting Ataturk, in the first in military garb during the War of Independence and in the second in ordinary clothes. The name of the square comes from that of the stone reservoir located in the area.
From Taksim Square, we return toward Galata Bridge by walking first along İstiklal Avenue and then along French street (Fransız Sokağı), a picturesque street full of clubs that actually has little to do with France. Passing from İstiklal Avenue to French street, one encounters some attractions that might be worth a short stop:
- Galatasaray High School, founded in the late 1400s
- The Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua, which has a rather picturesque facade
- The 360 Club, from which a good panoramic view of the city can be appreciated
Before arriving at the bridge, we go to meet the Galata Tower, a stone tower used for fire control and formerly used as a prison. It is said that the first man to fly was a guy who jumped from the tower by tying himself to wooden wings. It is very impressive to see the tower lit up at night. You can also appreciate one of the best views of Istanbul from the tower. To climb to the top you can use the elevator, or walk up about 150 steps.
At this point we are quite tired, so we return to the hotel area to have dinner and rest in preparation for the next day.
Day 3: The Golden Horn and Bosphorus cruise
Golden Horn
We devote most of our last day to the Golden Horn, an area of Istanbul more removed from tourism than the previous days’ attractions, and named for the trade that historically took place around the large canal east of the Galata Bridge. Since this is a long route, we also make use of public transportations to get around, in addition to our affectionate legs.
We begin the tour at the Valens Aqueduct, built in 375 AD at the behest of the emperor of the same name for the purpose of providing water throughout the city. It has been in operation for more than 1,500 years; it was originally over a kilometer long, but today only about 800 meters remain. The construction is made of stone, taken from the walls of Chalcedon. From the aqueduct we walk about ten minutes to the Fatih Mosque, the first imperial mosque built after the conquest of Istanbul. The mosque was built to replace the Church of the Holy Apostles, commissioned by Emperor Constantine I. Nearby the aqueduct and the Fatih Mosque, I also point out the Zeyrek Mosque (or Pantocrator Monastery).
We then continue to the heart of the Golden Horn attractions, namely the surviving Byzantine churches. Coming from the Fatih Mosque, the first of these is the Church of Theotókos Pammakaristos (Blessed Mother of God), now the Fethiye Mosque. The church was built in the 12th century and converted to a Mosque after the Ottoman conquest. Internally, the building contains the largest number of Byzantine mosaics in the city, along with the Church of St. Savior in Chora and Hagia Sophia. Tours are open from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day except Monday. In the vicinity of the church/mosque, I also mention the Fener Greek Lyceum, an aesthetically appreciable building due to the red color of its bricks (not coincidentally, the building is also called Red Castle).
Also worth mentioning in the Fener-Balat neighborhood, which houses the Greek high school:
- The Bulgarian Orthodox Church of St. Stephen, also very impressive inside (free admission)
- The Jewish Quarter of Balat
- St. George’s Cathedral, seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, with a richly decorated interior
After visiting the Fethiye Mosque it is the turn of the Church of St. Savior in Chora (i.e., “outside the city”), from my point of view the most striking attraction in the Golden Horn area. The church was built at the behest of Emperor Justinian and is one of the best examples of Byzantine art. After the Ottoman conquest it was converted into a mosque; today it is used as a museum (Kariye). Unfortunately, many mosaics are damaged, but the well-preserved ones deserve a proper look. The church is accessible from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except on Wednesday; admission is charged.
Near the church of St. Savior in Chora are some rather striking attractions:
- Yedikule Castle (7 towers), built initially at the behest of Emperor Theodosius I (which is why the castle is referred to as the Walls of Theodosius), who had the triumphal arch built, and enlarged with three towers by the Ottomans about a millennium later, before being used as a prison until the mid-20th century, when it was finally used as a museum.
- The Tekfur (or Porphyrogenite) Palace, one of the imperial residences of the early Byzantine rulers, of which only a few remnants actually remain (the floor and roof have been lost).
- The Sahabe cemetery, built in honor of Muhammad’s followers in the mid-1500s (the Sahabe are somewhat comparable to the Islamic equivalent of Jesus’ apostles).
We head at this point to the Eyup Sultan Mosque, dedicated to the last martyr of the Sahabe and considered one of the holiest Islamic sites in Istanbul, although its current version is of recent construction. On the way between St. Savior’s Church in Chora and the mosque, if you have time you can pass by Anema Dungeon, so named in memory of an Arab commander imprisoned there for attempting to kill the Byzantine emperor of the time (around the year 1000), later sentenced to death, and finally pardoned at the behest of one of the emperor’s own daughters, who fell in love with him. From the Eyup Sultan Mosque, I point out the possibility of arriving (preferably by vehicle) at Miniaturk, the world’s largest miniature park, a stop we skipped in order to fit in the Bosphorus cruise.
Bosphorus
The Bosphorus Strait, which separates Asia from Europe, is considered one of the most important and busiest sea passages in the world. Its name comes from Greek mythology. According to the legend, Zeus turned one of his mistresses into a heifer to protect her from the jealousy of Hera. Hera, however, realizing the spell, made a fly chase her for eternity. To escape the fly’s torment, the heifer threw herself into the water, thus dying (the term Bosphorus literally means “passage of the heifer”).
Along the banks of the Bosphorus are a number of attractions of interest, from royal palaces to mosques. Some of these deserve an ad hoc visit, but if you want to get a smattering of them by seeing them only externally, a cruise is advisable. There are several types, from the shortest, lasting a couple of hours, to the longest, which can last even a full day. In any case, I strongly recommend buying tickets directly on the spot, avoiding the various people you meet on the street offering you the cruise, for which you would pay much more. We chose the short cruise option.
Starting from the Galata Bridge, the first point of interest, located on the other side of the Bosphorus from the Dolmabahçe Palace, is Leander’s Tower, or Maiden’s Tower, depending on which of the two legends related to the tower you prefer. According to the first, young Leander swam every evening from the coast to the tower to reach his beloved locked up there, who guided the young man’s journey by shining a light with a candle, until one day the candle went out and he was lost in the waves, an event that was followed by the girl’s suicide. The second legend, on the other hand, tells of an emperor who locked his daughter in the tower to protect her from a prophecy that foretold her death from the bite of a snake, which managed to bite her anyway, emerging from a basket of fruit brought to her by a witch.
Continuing toward the Black Sea, we next pass by the Ortakoy Mosque, located in one of Istanbul’s liveliest neighborhoods.
From the mosque there is a good view of the Bosphorus Bridge, among the longest bridges in the world, designed as the first link between Europe and Asia. Very impressive to see the bridge lit up at night.
On the opposite bank of the strait from the Ortakoy Mosque is the Beylerbeyi Palace, or “chief commander’s” palace. The palace, built of white marble, was mainly used as a residence for distinguished guests.
Sailing further in the direction of the Black Sea, we find Küçüksu Palace, used as a hunting base by the sultan who had it built around the mid-1700s. Next to the palace, before reaching the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, also among the longest in the world, we find the Anadolu Fortress, and across the strait the Rumeli Fortress.
After the mini cruise, we end the day with an excellent kebab, which cannot be missed in a proper visit to Istanbul.
Conclusions
Istanbul is a huge city full of things to do and visit. By planning your travels and visits well, in three days you can get a good smattering of what the city has to offer. Having to choose the most beautiful neighborhoods, I would definitely put the Old City in first place, followed by the Bazaar and the Golden Horn. On the other hand, I was not particularly thrilled with the New City. The podium of attractions that I enjoyed the most is particularly the following:
- Gold medal to Hagia Sophia, not so much for the exterior, although very appreciable, but especially for the interior, which is very rich and striking.
- Silver medal to the Blue Mosque, beautiful both externally and in terms of interior decoration.
- Bronze medal to the Church of St. Savior in Chora, the mosaics you get to see are really beautiful.
Having less than three days at my disposal, I would speed up my visit to the new city, limiting myself to Dolmabahçe Palace and Taksim Square, and I would probably avoid the Bosphorus cruise, also not particularly unmissable from my point of view.
Costs note: In general, Istanbul is not a city in which you spend a lot, partly because there is quite a wide range on offer. Where possible, it pays to get around on foot or by transport, but even cabs are generally more than acceptable prices.