Istanbul - A Companion Guide and Map for the Best City Tours

Straddling Europe and Asia, Istanbul is located on both the European (in Turkish, Rumeli) and Asian (Anatolia) side of the Bosphorous strait and is the only large city on Earth which is located on two continents. Istanbul is a city with a long history, having been the capital of the Roman Empire (from 330-395 AD) and is also the center of the Greek Orthodox Church.

Istanbul has one of the richest cultural histories of any world city and contains some of the most breathtaking displays of art and wealth to be seen anywhere. Istanbul is home to more than 14 million people and is the most populous city in Europe, the world's 3rd largest city proper and 21st largest metropolitan area.

The city is the financial and cultural center of Turkey, with some of its 27 districts being UNESCO World Heritage sites. The city's 2,500 year history is readily apparent in the Old City, also called Old Stamboul or Sultahmet. Roman era hippodromes, aqueducts and peristyles, the opulence of the Byzantine era and the majesty of the Ottoman Empire are all on display here.

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Istanbul Design Week

16 - 20 Oct (annual)

Innovative designs on show at Istanbul Design Week ,Attracting businesses and individuals from all over the world, Istanbul Design Week at the old Galata Bridge provides a space to unleash creativity, compare ideas and pick up on new trends through a range of exhibits, shows and events.The event is held around the iconic landmark connecting the Asian side of Istanbul to the European one. Workshops, lectures, talks, awards and competitions run alongside the main event.

Filmekimi

Oct (annual)

Filmekimi is an annual film festival featuring more than 20 films that have been previously screened at festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Sundance and Venice.

Istanbul Houseware & Gift Fair

22 - 25 Aug (annual)

Opening Hours:9.30am-7pm,This annual fair at the Tuyap Istanbul Exhibition Palace offers a plethora of gift ideas for all occasions. The event is open to both trade and the public, offering everything from glassware to tie-dye products, ceramics, beads, lace, leather goods and handwoven Assamese products

Istanbul International Film Festival

May (annual)

The Istanbul Film Festival attracts 85,000 visitors every year with a programme covering everything from art, culture and feature films to literature, music and theatre. Films include brand-new productions as well as unforgettable classics and an elite selection of masterpieces by world-famous cinema gurus. In total there are 235 screenings in 20 different categories.

Formula One: Turkish Grand Prix

May (annual) Formula One is the king of motor sports. Since its inauguration in 1950, it has attracted the very best talents in the world of motor racing, hungry for the fabulous riches and unrivalled prestige it offers. As a spectacle it is unsurpassed. The sheer speed of the cars is hard to comprehend, and the noise from the track is almost deafening. It represents the pinnacle of man's motoring achievement and the epitome of his love affair with speed.

International Istanbul Fashion Festival

Aug (various dates)

Hosts its international fashion festival twice a year, showcasing trends for the coming season.The breadth and depth of the Turkish clothing industry is revealed in the collections on display, including sections for menswear, womenswear, childrenswear, lingerie and accessories.Everyone who's anyone in the Turkish clothing industry attends - designers, manufacturers, major importers, global brands, retailers and department chains. Young blood is often injected into the proceedings, with budding talent from international fashion schools

Wine Istanbul

Jan (annual)

Wine Istanbul, at the Istanbul World Trade Centre, is quickly gaining international recognition. Trade visitors and wine lovers can sample domestic and imported wines, check out new wine production equipment and pitch new business initiatives to a receptive crowd.

Phonem by Miller

Nov (annual)

Held at various locations in Istanbul, including the Yeni Melek, Babylon and Indigo, Phonem by Miller features electronic music, alternative rock and indie-pop, bringing the most innovative names in music to the city.

Art City Istanbul

7 - 12 Oct (annual)

Art City Istanbul is Turkey's annual exhibition of contemporary art, presenting a huge selection of works from more than 100 national and international galleries, universities and other cultural organisations.The event was initially set up in 2002 to give Turkish artists a chance to promote themselves at international level. It has grown steadily over the years, attracting artists, collectors and art institutions from a number of countries.The Art Youth section is for young and promising artists, the Art Focus section is dedicated to photography, video, sound, performance and digital arts.

Chocolate Show

Jun (annual)

Turkey's chocolate, confectionery and biscuit fair.The event expects the participation of leading producers and consumers from all over Europe to celebrate the curious interaction between chocolate and human gratification. Several activities animate the three-day programme, including a workshop demonstrating the art of chocolate making, a photographic contest and exhibition, and 'sweet literature', consisting of chocolate-inspired narratives.

Asitane

Cuisine Ottoman

Taking recipes directly from records of meals at Topkapi Palace. The apple stuffed with lean diced lamb, rice, currants, pistachio, and rosemary makes your mouth wate.There's a menu in honor of Fatih Sultan Mehmet (the Conqueror) May through June, while vegetarian main-course selections are on the menu year-round.

Carne

Cuisine Mediterranean

You can get a kosher meal. romantic atmosphere, geared toward clients willing to have a go at the cappuccino pumpkin soup (admittedly an acquired taste). The list of appetizers does little to leave room for the main course, as who can resist a plate of salmon tartar or falafel served with your choice of humus or tomato sauce? For those with religious dietary restrictions, Carne is kosher.

Galata House

Cuisine Georgia

At first, the menu selections appear Turkish but arrive with an unexpected twist of flavor: chicken and pea salad with yogurt and dill, chicken with saffron and walnut, and lamb stew with tarragon -- and the result is a light and pleasant alternative to heaps of kebaps.

Yesil Ev

Cuisine French, Turkish

Located in a rebuilt historic Ottoman mansion, the Yesil Ev restaurant takes full advantage (in the summertime) of the luxurious setting provided by the garden and grand fountain.although reputed as one of the top restaurants in Istanbul, meals here sometimes get mixed reviews. The elegant orangerie is open in good weather only (in winter for groups of eight or more), and on a balmy summer's eve, you won't even notice the check.

Sofra

Cuisine Traditional

Turkish Having made a name for itself in London, this British-based chain of Turkish restaurants waited for the right climate to open a branch on native soil. Don't miss the sun-dried apricots filled with clotted cream and sprinkled with almond and pistachio crumbs. Warm weather invites diners to the spectacular roof terrace, which enjoys views of Taksim from underneath the hotel's neon sign.

Refik

Cuisine Black Sea

Specialties Refik is unassuming, even unimpressive, from the outside. But this little restaurant has been an institution in the neighborhood since its inception in 1954. Success lies equally with the unfailing quality of the ingredients and the pride that goes into the preparation. The earliest shifts arrive at 6am to start the preparations for a menu that is distinct to the Black Sea region, and therefore, heavy on dishes with black cabbage.

The hamsibugulama (fish steamed in season) along with the arnavut cigeri (sautéed Albanian liver and onions) are house specialties, as is the kara lahana dolmasi (stuffed cabbage). Mezes change seasonally, and in the summer, tables spill onto the narrow street. Bonus: A ventilation system sucks the cigarette smoke up and away from diners.

Orient Express Cafe

Cuisine Turkish, Ottoma

Good food, and nostalgia. The elegant niches with their large stained-glass window insets and the handsome clapboard ceiling take you back at least a century, although the decorator would have done well to scrap the enormous Shining Time Station oil-on-canvas on the wall.The crème caramel was a formidable substitute to an empty coffer of rice pudding, and the service was black-tie and flawless

Seasons Restaurant

Cuisine Mediterranean

There are menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, each adapted to seasonal offerings approximately every 3 months. you can also find Oriental-leaning dishes such as wok-fried Japanese soba noodles with sweet chile, bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms, or the seared scallops with shrimp rolls and ginger. A popular event is the Sunday brunch buffet, a display of excess that attracts a clique of Istanbul's food and beverage connoisseurs.

The Pudding Shop

Cuisine Turkish

Today The Pudding Shop fades into history alongside the other fast-food restaurants on Divanyolu Caddesi, with fluorescent backlit menu displays and stacks of ex-pat publications. When the turnover is high, the traditional Turkish fare is worthy of the joint's original popularity, but when in doubt, stick to the eggplant dishes and avoid things that tend to overcook. Or do a comparison with Can's cafeteria-style lokanta next door.

Enginar

Cuisine Turkish Bistro

Enginar cafe is like a shiny new penny on this scrappy stretch of street, making it obvious that more people should take care of the neighborhood's heritage. Enginar is a chic and quiet place for a drink, and the food, seemingly simple by the looks of the menu, is quite good, too, although the portions are miniscule. Try their vegetable crepe for a lighter lunch, or the sesame chicken salad.

Mosaic Museum

In 1933 excavators discovered a series of mosaics below what is now the Arasta Bazaar, identified as the floor of a peristyle courtyard (open court with porticos) of Constantine's Great Palace. This museum is worth an hour of your time, representing an earlier artistic era absent of religious motifs, showing instead hunting scenes and scenes from mythology.

Hippodrome

Watching the modestly clothed couples with their children strolling through the park on a Sunday afternoon, imagine to the centuries of rowdy chariot races, the Hippodrome was enlarged by Constantine in 324 through the help of supporting vaults and hefty stone walls on the southern portion of the tract. The lower areas (down the hill at the obelisk end of the park) were used as stables and quarters for the gladiators.There's Forty rows of seats accommodated up to 100,000 people, At the height of its splendor, the Hippodrome was crowned with a vast collection of trophies, statues, and monuments, either crafted by local artisans or lifted from the far corners of the empire.

Galata Tower and the Galata Neighborhood

The district developed into its present form in the 13th century, when Eastern Roman Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus granted the Genoese permission to settle here. The tower rises 135m (450 ft.) above sea level and stands 60m (200 ft.) high, with walls that are more than 3.5m (12 ft.) thick. From the summit of the tower, you can see the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus, and the Marmara Sea, a view infinitely more splendid in the evenings when the city takes on a spectacularly romantic glow.

Istanbul Archaeology Museum (Arkeoloji Müzesi)

The Istanbul Archaeology Museum is housed in three buildings just inside the first court of Topkapi Palace .The Istanbul Archaeological Museum houses over one million objects, the most extraordinary of which are the sarcophagi that date back as far as the 4th century B.C. The most famous is the Alexander Sarcophagus, covered with astonishingly advanced carvings of battles and the life of Alexander the Great, discovered in 1887 and once believed to have been that of the emperor himself. The newly renovated and reopened Museum of the Ancient Orient is an exceptionally rich collection of artifacts from the earliest civilizations of Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Arab continent.

Çiragan Palace

From the first wooden summer mansion built on the spot in the 16th century to the grand waterfront palace that stands today, the Çiragan Palace was torn down and rebuilt no less than five times. Now a palace of deluxe suites for the adjacent Hotel Kempinski Istanbul, the palace takes its name from the hundreds of torches that lined these former royal gardens during the festivals of the Tulip Age in the latter part of the 18th century.

Ayasofya

For almost a thousand years, the Ayasofya was a triumph of Christianity and the symbol of Byzantium, and until the 16th century, maintained its status as the largest Christian church in the world. the Ayasofya (known in Greek as the Hagia Sophia and in English as St. Sophia, or Church of the Holy Wisdom), was designed to surpass in grandeur, glory, and majesty every other edifice ever constructed as a monument to God.

The New Queen Mother's Mosque

Begun by Valide Safiye, mother of Mehmet III, in 1597, the foundations of this mosque were laid at the water's edge in a neighborhood slum whose inhabitants had to be paid to move out. The building of the mosque dragged on for over 40 years due to water seepage, funding problems, embezzlement, and the death of the sultan, which temporarily shut down operations completely. The mosque was completed by another queen mother, Valide Sultan Turhan Hattice, mothe of Mehmet IV, who is buried in the valide sultan's tomb in the courtyard.

Valens Aqueduct (Bozdogan Kemeri)

Now nothing more than a scenic overpass for cars traveling down Atatürk Bulvari, the Valens Aqueduct or "Arcade of the Gray Falcon" was started by Constantine and completed in the 4th century by Valens. The aqueduct connects the third and fourth hills of Istanbul and had an original length of about .8km ( 1/2-mile). Water was transported under various rulers to the Byzantine palaces, city cisterns, and then to Topkapi Palace, and the aqueduct served in supplying water to the city for a total of 1,500 years Yerebatan Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnici)

The cistern was first constructed by Constantine and enlarged to its present form by Justinian.The water supply, routed from reservoirs around the Black Sea and transported via the Aqueduct of Valens, served as a backup for periods of drought or siege. The cistern was later left to collect silt and mud until it was cleaned by the Municipality and opened to the public in 1987.

Leander's Tower (or the Maiden's Tower, or Kiz Kulesi)

The romance of the tower finds its root in an ancient myth along the lines of Romeo and Juliet: boy (Leander) falls in love with girl (the Aphrodite Priestess Hero); boy drowns swimming to meet girl; girl finds lover's corpse; girl commits suicide. Since as early as the 1600s, the tower has been used as a prison and a quarantine hospital. The tower is currently in service as a panoramic restaurant and tea lounge. Take advantage of the free shuttle over and get the chance both to visit the tower and enjoy a romantic meal