With one foot in Europe and one in Asia, Istanbul is a city with a dazzling fusion of culture, modern art, history, and energy. Echoes of empires linger, as towering mosques, crumbling Roman walls, and Ottoman palaces weave a rich tapestry of the past. Once the prized seat of power for emperors and sultans, Istanbul has long captivated the imagination. In more recent times, it’s drawn artists, writers, and icons — Jennifer Lopez reportedly owned a home here, Agatha Christie found inspiration to write Murder on the Orient Express while staying in its grand hotels, and Jackie Kennedy once spent time exploring its ancient streets. I followed in those well-trodden footsteps to experience just a few of the city’s wonders.
In Istanbul, mosques come in various sizes, and you can’t miss the myriad gold minarets gleaming in the sun. The most famous and historic are the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, both located in Sultanahmet Square, the former site of the Hippodrome of Constantinople, which dates back to the third century and was used for events like chariot racing.
I visited Hagia Sophia, which was first consecrated in 360 CE as a Christian Orthodox church. Over the centuries, it has been damaged by riots and earthquakes, converted to a mosque and then a museum, and finally re-designated as a mosque in 2020. Hagia Sophia is a stunning sight with a fascinating history, and the scars of each encounter are etched into the fabric of the beautiful building.
When it was transformed into a mosque under Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, the original Christian golden mosaics and frescos were painted and plastered over, replaced by Islamic patterns and motifs. During periodic restorations over the centuries, many have been uncovered and having been preserved by the plaster, can be seen today cheek-by-jowl with Islamic motifs.
Visitors are welcomed into the mosque
daily, but the doors are closed during prayer times. As it is an active place of worship, there is a dress code — it is requested that shoulders and knees are covered, and women are required to wear a headscarf, but there are stalls close by where you can purchase a suitable covering relatively cheaply. Some also have them available to borrow on the way in, which is a welcoming and inclusive gesture.
With a long and complex history, Hagia Sophia has much for visitors to absorb. Just a few minutes’ walk from the mosque is the Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum, which is worth a visit to gain a little more insight. Here, the history of Hagia Sophia is presented in an audiovisual tour, walking visitors through the site’s 1,700-year history. Spread across three floors, the museum depicts the history through immersive technology and more traditional artefact-based displays.
Leaving behind the solemn grandeur of Hagia Sophia, I made my way to a very different kind of Istanbul icon: the Spice Bazaar. Is it a tourist trap? Honestly, yes, but it is an experience full of joy and colour, and will introduce you to blends of herbal teas you never knew existed.
The bazaar, built in the 17th century, was the last stop for caravans travelling on the Silk Road from China, India, and the East. The vaulted ceilings are beautifully decorated, giving the L-shaped building a bright and airy feeling. More than once, I found myself walking along, gazing at the ceiling rather than paying attention to what was happening ahead, but with most of the shoppers around me being tourists, too, I certainly wasn’t alone.
The stalls were packed with a bewildering array of fragrant spices and other goodies to buy, and if you have the nerve, you can haggle to your heart’s delight. Samples of sweet treats, snacks and drinks were thrust at me from every angle, and while the stallholders were pretty persistent, it was all well-mannered and polite, so I wasn’t afraid to say no.
Having scratched the retail therapy itch, it was just a minute’s walk to the New Mosque. Like the Spice Bazaar, it was built in the 17th century, so I suppose new is relative. The plain white exterior of the New Mosque was, by comparison to the other mosques I’d seen, understated. Inside, though, the high, bright domes were filled with light, colourful mosaics that gave a feeling of space. Every surface was covered with incredibly detailed patterns, and natural light flooded through the stained glass arched windows around the building.
Hagia Sophia was impressive, but the New Mosque was simply beautiful. It exuded an air of calm, tranquillity, and peacefulness that completely contrasted with the busy city, bringing a brief but welcome respite.
With its wealth of history, I hadn’t fully considered the more contemporary side of art in Istanbul, but as it turns out, there’s a good deal of it to be seen. Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, known as Istanbul Modern, first opened its doors in 2004. It was the first contemporary art museum in the country, and brings together works from both Turkish and international artists. In 2023, the gallery opened on its current site, taking up residence in the purpose-built space designed by award-winning architect Renzo Piano.
With permanent and temporary exhibitions made up of sculpture, portraits and abstract paintings, there were plenty of interesting works to spend an hour or so wandering around. I have to admit, modern art isn’t my favourite genre, but there were some beautiful pieces that I was very taken by. There were some others that my tiny mind struggled to comprehend, too, but art is a subjective experience, after all.
Chiharu Shiota’s solo exhibition Between Worlds is an unusual work which fills a room with a web of intertwined red strings, creating a pathway through it. The work is said to represent the weaving of connections between the Japanese-born artist, Istanbul’s location between continents, the ships docking and departing from the nearby harbour, the passengers and their stories, and Shiota’s own migration story. It certainly had an otherworldly beauty that drew me in, quite literally, to walk within the woven cords.
With art on my mind, I headed to Istiklal Street, a Byzantine avenue that forms a social and entertainment hub of the city. The street is also home to Türkiye İş Bankası Painting and Sculpture Museum. The museum, owned and run by the largest private bank in Turkey, opened in 2023 to commemorate the republic’s 100th anniversary and houses a curated collection of works by Turkish artists.
Taste and Art: Delicious Paintings is a temporary exhibition within the museum that focuses on food, whether it be the food itself or how it is caught, prepared, or sold. This interesting collection combines colourful and detailed still-life works, with lively home, street and marketplace scenes that portray Turkish life across different centuries, and contemporary sculptures. It is a rather eclectic collection, but there are some incredibly charming works that made me smile.
During my time in Istanbul, I was struck by how it marries the past with its present. From ancient ruins to contemporary sculpture, I found something around every corner that delighted or surprised me. There is an undeniable charm to this ancient city that goes deeper than its monuments and museums. As the call to prayer echoes through the narrow cobbled streets, you realise that Istanbul doesn’t just preserve history, it thrives on it.
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