Stories
55 Stories
The meaning behind the places: why a street, a tower or a garden matters.
StoryAgatha Christie and Room 411: the key under the floorBeyoğlu · History & LayersStoryBalat and Fener: the layers under the painted housesBalat and Fener · History & Layers
StoryBasilica Cistern: why is Medusa upside down?Historic Peninsula · History & Layers
StoryBeyoğlu: the side of Istanbul that looked to EuropeBeyoğlu · History & Layers
StoryBlue Mosque: why six minarets?Historic Peninsula · History & Layers
StoryThe Bosphorus villages: Arnavutköy, Bebek and Ortaköy, three names, three storiesBosphorus villages · Water & GreenStoryByzantium: the city "opposite the blind"Istanbul · History & LayersStoryThe call to prayer: how to listen to it in IstanbulHistoric Peninsula · Listen to the CityStoryConstantinople: 11 May 330, and the one column left from itHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStoryDolmabahçe Palace: one clock stopped at 9:05Bosphorus villages · History & Layers
StoryThe Istanbul ferry is the best museum ride in townIstanbul · Water & GreenStoryGalata Tower and the man who flew from itBeyoğlu · History & LayersStoryThe Golden Horn chain: 21 metres of it, and nobody's sure which siegeHistoric Peninsula · History & Layers
StoryGrand Bazaar: a city, not a marketHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStoryGreek fire: the secret even its captors couldn't useHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStoryHagia Sophia: one building, how many lives?Historic Peninsula · History & LayersStoryHammam: the bath that's older than the sultans' palaceHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStoryThe Hippodrome: the riot that nearly toppled an emperorHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStorySultanahmet and the historic peninsula: the museum is stacked, not spread outHistoric Peninsula · History & Layers
StoryHürrem Sultan: the captive who became the first HasekiHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStoryIstanbul's cats: Tombili, Gli and the seven stars of KediIstanbul · Listen to the CityStoryIstanbul for first-timers: six zones, plus the islandsIstanbul · History & LayersStoryİstiklal Avenue and the red tram: one street, three namesBeyoğlu · History & LayersStoryJanissaries: why a soup pot meant revoltBeyoğlu · History & LayersStoryKadıköy and Moda: the Asian side's everyday cityKadıköy and Moda · History & LayersStoryKösem Sultan: the sultan's mother who held power twiceÜsküdar and Kuzguncuk · History & LayersStoryLeonardo da Vinci designed a bridge for IstanbulHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStoryMaiden's Tower: a princess, a snake, and a basket that keeps changingÜsküdar and Kuzguncuk · History & LayersStoryMehmed II: 21 when the city fell, and already a sultan twiceHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStoryMimar Sinan: hundreds of buildings, and nobody agrees how manyHistoric Peninsula · History & Layers
StoryIstanbul: the city that was simply "the City"Istanbul · History & LayersStoryObelisk of Theodosius: a pharaoh's stone, 1,600 years in IstanbulHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStoryThe Princes' Islands: no cars, all ferries, and a long history of exilePrinces' Islands · Water & GreenStoryRumeli Fortress: built in about four months, closed for six yearsBosphorus villages · History & LayersStoryIstanbul's seven hills: nobody planned themHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStoryShips over the hill: the famous night of 1453, and what it hidesBeyoğlu · History & LayersStorySpice Bazaar: why do locals call it the Egyptian Bazaar?Historic Peninsula · History & LayersStorySpolia: where Rome hides inside Ottoman IstanbulIstanbul · History & LayersStorySüleymaniye Mosque: the room that caught the smokeHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStoryTheodora: the empress whose name is still carved in a mosqueHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStoryTheodosian Walls: the fans who rebuilt them in 60 daysHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStoryTopkapı Palace: four courtyards that ran an empireHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStoryIstanbul's tulips: the Ottomans loved them first, and the "Tulip Era" is a 1913 labelBosphorus villages · Water & GreenStoryTünel: the world's second-oldest underground urban railway has two stopsBeyoğlu · History & LayersStoryTurkish coffee: a cup remembered for forty yearsHistoric Peninsula · Eat & DrinkStoryTurkish delight and the shop that says it has sold it since 1777Historic Peninsula · Eat & DrinkStoryOne city, two continents: Istanbul isn't the only one, just the biggestIstanbul · Water & GreenStoryÜsküdar and Kuzguncuk: the old road to Asia, and the village next doorÜsküdar and Kuzguncuk · History & LayersStoryYenikapı: 37 shipwrecks found under a metro station, and none on showHistoric Peninsula · History & LayersStoryA raven, a dervish or a prison window?Kuzguncuk · History & LayersStoryThe mosque built on church landKuzguncuk · History & LayersStoryİlya's gardenKuzguncuk · Water & GreenStoryA neighbourhood, not a film setKuzguncuk · Listen to the CityStoryIf I can't reach Jerusalem, bury me in KuzguncukKuzguncuk · History & Layers