Text Andrew Forbes
Essential Istanbul Turkey’s pulsating cultural capital can be overwhelming – so let Andrew Forbes reveal the most important city experiences.
Iembraced Istanbul’s strategic position, and as ‘Byzantium’, ‘Constantinople’ and now ‘Istanbul’, it has been the capital to some of the world’s greatest empires. This extraordinary past has left a rich architectural legacy, including the quintessential Eastern minarets of the city’s historic mosques in the Sultanahmet district.
However Istanbul is very much a modern city. To capture the essential experience of modern Istanbul, explore the eclectic, creative districts where the locals live. ‘Beyoğlu’, for example, on the European side of the city, separated from old town by the Golden Horn waterway, is the young and innovative area. It has distinct quarters, including Tünel, and Karaköy which includes the increasingly fashionable Galata. Amongst the cobbled streets of loft units and period buildings are coffee shops, cafés, bars, restaurants and late night venues where there are more residents than tourists.
This is the area to soak up the city atmosphere during the day and then party the night away.
People are warm, friendly and talkative, eager to share the best of their city.
With the boutiques and galleries that sell works from emerging Turkish artists, and the street art and graffiti, these areas have a distinctly urban, creative buzz that reflects Istanbul’s acknowledged position as the cultural capital of Turkey. The city’s annual ‘Art Istanbul’ and ‘Contemporary Istanbul’ festivals, together with the visual arts ‘Biennale’, and international film, theatre and music festivals make Istanbul one of the most culturally dynamic centres in the world. Another truly essential experience is to visit the Asian side of Istanbul. Although a new metro-line, the first sub-sea tunnel in the world, now joins the two sides of the city, (together with two striking suspension bridges) the best way to travel is on the water.
There are a host of visitor boats trips to choose from, and standing between the many street vendors selling grilled or poached corn on the cob, there are plenty of touts willing to
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It’s the world’s only city to straddle two continents; it’s a metropolis where exotic eastern culture collides with European styles; a place where life is celebrated through art, cuisine and culture. It can only be Istanbul.
It’s crowded and chaotic, yet also sophisticated and clean, where one moment you might be walking down a European-style Belle Époque avenue and then moments later be surrounded by colourful ‘Arabian Nights’ architecture.
Istanbul is also a city of excess and luxury, and is home to many high-end hotels, including properties from all the major luxury brands from Kempinski, Four Seasons, to Ritz Carlton.
So sometimes the hardest decision is choosing which beautiful palace of indulgence to call home whilst in Istanbul. The Ritz Carlton makes a fine choice as it is housed in one of the city’s striking towers and offers stunning views across the city and the Bosphoros straits; vistas that are one of the city’s essential experiences.
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