Istanbul

Previous reviewers have already covered the main points of visiting Istanbul, so I'll stick to the specific angle of visiting the city on an intraday layover. In November of 2019, while flying to Israel from the United States, I used the connection in Istanbul to plug a gap on my travel résumé, if only a little.

I had under five hours to explore central Istanbul. That is about enough for a “scratching the surface” type of tour. I visited the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cisterna, Nuruosmaniye Mosque (which has a separate tentative entry on the WH list), the Grand Bazaar, Suleymaniye Mosque, and the Galata Bridge and the surrounding waterfront area, interspersing that with stops at rooftop cafés for coffee, sweets, and views, as well as one döner stop. Topkapi Palace, unfortunately, could not fit into that timeframe, since I am told it requires at least a couple of hours by itself. I suppose overall that is sufficient to firmly consider the WHS site as "visited", but I certainly did not come anywhere near getting to know Istanbul on par with my familiarity with other great European capitals. I suspect that two or even three full days must be the absolute minimum to achieve that level of exposure to Istanbul.

The new Istanbul airport is located much further out of the city than the old Ataturk Airport was – the ride between the airport and the city takes no less than 40 minutes and can last over …

Between the 5 new WHS in north-eastern Bulgaria and the next one in Bursa (Asiatic Turkey), I had planned a full day to spend in Istanbul. I had been in this city once before: that was already in 1992 during my aptly named All Turkey Tour. So I gave myself a leisurely program this time, including only a few sights not too far from my hotel. I skipped the biggest crowd magnets such as the Hagia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace and I also entered places selectively.

My first stop was the Sirkeci train station. This used to be the final destination of the Orient Express, the train that travelled from London to Istanbul in some form between 1883 and 1977. The old station has been preserved as a monument, next to it lies a new station that is in full use. The abandoned station is now ‘owned’ by stray dogs and cats. I found one cat even entrenched on the dashboard of an old locomotive and another one sleeping on a table in the railway museum. Nevertheless, the building is well maintained and the stained-glass windows in the waiting areas are still beautiful.

Walking towards the most historic part of the city of Istanbul, you encounter a historic building every 100 meters or so. Each of these are explained by a handy column with information in 3 languages. One example is Paşakapısı, the gate of the Pasha. This beautiful entrance from 1799 led to the …

Erdogan must have had a master plan to spoil my trip to Istanbul as much as possible. Now I am not referring to the recent escalation of the conflict with the Kurds and in Syria or the overall political situation in Turkey, both of which had me postponing my long planned trip to Turkey for a year or two. No, I am referring to the (re)construction frenzy that has gripped most of Istanbul.

While I couldn't care less about another skyscraper being built in the suburbs, it felt as if each and every key tourist site of Istanbul was hidden in scaffolds. Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Hagia Irene, the Harem of the Topkapi Palace and the Chora Church, all were only partially accessible. If I were running the joint I would focus on one or two sites, finish and move to the next sites. My Turkish hairdresser back in Germany only rolled his eyes at my suggestion: Construction sites are good for your pocketbook, the more the merrier, the longer the better.

The scaffolds may have been one of the reasons why Istanbul didn't come together for me. Another was the traffic which makes it hard to just wander around in Istanbul as a pedestrian. Last but not least, I was left wondering how much had been lost when the city first fell to the 4th Crusade in the 13th century and finally to the Ottomans in the 15th century. This is best exemplified by the Hagia Sophia.

Certainly this is one of Europe's most impressive cities, with an astonishing history displayed in one of the greatest built environments on the World Heritage List. Throw in a welcoming atmosphere, some excellent food and bustling nightlife it really was a rewarding four day stay for us.

However things changed a fair bit after we left. Within hours of us flying home a bomb went off just outside the Grand Bazaar, a week later an explosion hit the International airport. Within a month there had been an attempted coup and subsequent clampdown on civil liberties. I wonder how much this would affect the visiting experience.

The sights in Sultanhamet have been covered here extensively. Though I will say, amazingly the Topkapi Palace managed to be a distinct highlight for me, even with my renowned loathing of such complexes, the Harem really was a bit special and well worth making the time to visit.

Additionally I wanted to point out the review of Tony H, who inspired perhaps the best patch of our whole trip. We headed up to the city walls for these sweeping panoramic views.

From there it was on to the Chola Church and staggeringly beautiful pearl of byzantine art and certainly it should not be missed. We ventured on a walk in vain to try and catch a ferry, but unexpectedly ended up in a surprisingly hip and trendy area of Fener. Istanbul felt very human in scale and finding distinct and intriguing neighbourhoods made the …

My highlight of the Istanbul site is definitely the juxtaposition of the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia.

The two buildings look across the crowded square at each other. Like Istanbul itself, they both divide and join the citizens and their history. Represented within these two great landmarks is the core of the city’s heritage. If the buildings were people, historical figures even, they would be eyeing each other off with an acceptance of contemporary diplomacy but with memories of a violent past.

A wonderful WHS that captures the history of this region so perfectly!

I went to Istanbul with friends in January 2014. Due to a lack of preparation we ended up only visiting 2 of the 4 inscribed components. The first was the beautiful Süleymaniye Mosque. A prayer had just finished, so we went up to the entrance, took off our shoes and went inside. You don’t have to pay to get into the “working mosques”, and it is well worth doing – don’t just go to the inactive Hagia Sofia! Inside the mosque the floor is covered in a rich carpet, and the walls and ceilings are exquisitely detailed.

It was a nice day outside, so after the Süleymaniye we went for a beer on a rooftop café we had spotted from the gardens. Except we didn’t get a beer. That’s one thing we learned about Istanbul – it’s very difficult to buy a beer within sight of a mosque. Which, in a city as richly endowed with them as Istanbul, is a lot of places!

The other subsite we went to was the Archaeological Park's museum.

We also visited the Basilica Cistern, the Galata Tower, the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque.

I suppose we also saw the 'Land Walls of Istanbul', but only whilst driving past, so I don't count it as 'visited' properly.

Istanbul was Constantinople, now it's Istanbul not Constantinople, and I have to say the city is just about as addictive as the song. I visited Istanbul twice on a trip to Turkey in 2007, and once on a trip in 2014, and it ranks high on my list of favorite cities worldwide. The Ottoman architecture of the Süleymaniye Mosque and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque are extremely impressive, as is the Byzantine architecture of the Hagia Sophia, a former Orthodox basilica that was converted into a mosque and now serves as a museum. The history of the Ottoman empire can be explored through tours of the Topkapı Palace, while below the surface of the Sultanahmet neighborhood are impressive cisterns which I'm glad other reviewers have enjoyed as much as I did. A bus ride to the Edirnekapı neighborhood grants access to the exquisite mosaics of the Chora Church as well as a well-preserved section of the city walls. Perhaps the best way to see the city of Istanbul, though, is by water via a ferry ride across the Bosphorus strait. Istanbul is a city which I'd love to return to some day.

Logistics: Istanbul has an extensive transportation system, including trams, buses, and ferries. Many famous sites in the Sultanahmet neighborhood are easily accessible on foot.

I feel myself lucky as I've been able to call Istanbul my home for one year. It has given me the possibility to explore the city slowly and especially it's vast historic areas on Fatih peninsula.

The World Heritage site is made up of 4 different quarters. The most famous of them is the Sultanahmet area at the tip of the peninsula. From here you can find the biggest attractions: Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya), Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii), Topkapi Palace (Topkapi Sarayi) and Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarayi). This is the area you want to avoid visiting while you live in the city as it is overrun by tourists for most of the year and prices are higher than elsewhere in the city. After visiting the attractions (which are magnificent, there’s no denying in that) I prefered admiring this part of city from the ferries going between Asia and Europe. Interesting museum to visit in this quarter is the small Great Palace Mosaic Museum at Arasta Bazaar. In this museum you can see Byzantine pavement decorated with amazing mosaics.

2nd inscribed quarter is around Süleymaniye Mosque. Süleymaniye is the biggest mosque in Istanbul and gets also quite a lot of tourists but is much more calmer place to visit than Blue Mosque (no need to line up to get inside for example). Also I prefer myself the style and decorations of this mosque over Blue Mosque. Other bigger mosque in this quarter is Sehzade Mehmet Camii which is located next to Valens …

I visited this WHS in December 2013 before Christmas and in January 2014. The highlights of this WHS were the landmarks and unmissable Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace. Their interior and exterior beauty is sublime. Other noteworthy sites are the Basilica Cisterns, Chora Church (Byzantine jewel!), Galata Tower, Byzantine City Walls, the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar. The Sultanahmet area alone is definitely worth a visit even though there are plenty of other sites to visit.

An incredible city with a wide variety of things to see and do. Delicious food, interesting people, and exquisite Byzantine & Ottoman sites. Hagia Sophia is a magnificient work of architecture, the Blue Mosque is impressive, the intricate designs are easy to get lost in. The cisterns are worth a visit as well. For some the Ottoman Palace is a slight letdown, however I felt it was still worth my time, but I agree it was not my highlight. I enjoyed 5 days in Istanbul and I wish I only had more time. Kabab's everywhere, the Great Bazaar, the call to prayer. All good memories in experiencing a unique and beautiful city.

There has been concerns in recent years about the preservation and management of Istanbul. When I visited the iconic walls, they were in a sad state, but the remaining monuments to my untrained eye looked quite well protected.

The historic areas of Istanbul are great to visit. The Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque are obviously the center pieces, but there is more in the area; the underground cisterns, Topkapi and Dolmabahce palaces, the Chora Church. All these are nice to go to except perhaps for Topkapi, which I felt was overpriced and over-rated (The Harem is not at all worth it!). The Bosphorous is always there, and wonderfully accents all of these places. Give Istanbul at least 3 days!

We walked past a line of sidewalk vendors selling bread and pastry, fishing boats offering fish for sale, and a ferryboat terminal, disgorging crowds of people.

We had only a precious too few hours to visit Süleyman (Blue) Mosque, St. Sophia Mosque, and shop in the 4,000 stall Grand Bazaar. As we walked back to the ship we again crossed the bridge over the Golden Horn. It was meal time, the restaurants were filling with hungry patrons, fishermen were still selling fish, street stands were still selling pastries, the ferryboat terminal was still disgorging passengers.

Those street scenes will be there for us to enjoy when we return to this city, the most enthralling of the 124 ports we have arrived at, or departed from, on a ferry or cruise ship.