Lonely Planet - Istanbul

book cover If you're exploring Istanbul, be sure to check out these highlights, brought to you courtesy of our friends at Lonely Planet Publications

1. Marvelling at Aya Sofya, one of the world's great buildings

It's just before midnight on 28 May 1453, and the smoke of war hangs over a city bowed for its inevitable demise. Emperor Constantine XI enters Haghia Sophia and prostrates himself at the altar among the silenced thousands seeking salvation in this mighty church of Christendom. The Ottoman army is amassed at the city's walls and it's only a matter of hours before the attack begins. By lunchtime on the 29th, the city is taken in a blood bath; Constantine dies fighting on the city walls.

The triumphant Mehmet the Conqueror, a mere 21 years of age, enters the city and heads straight to Haghia Sophia, a building as renowned to Muslims as it is to Christians, and falls to his knees. He sprinkles a handful of soil over his turban as a gesture of humility and orders the church be cleansed of its Christian liturgical adornments and renamed Aya Sofya Camii.

A temporary wooden minaret, mimber (pulpit) and mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca) are hastily added, and the sultan worships here a mere three days after the last emperor of Byzantium.

Modern visitors to Aya Sofya will immediately understand why this particular building was so revered by Constantine and Mehmet - if anything, the intervening centuries have enhanced its magnificence. The somewhat squat exterior does not promise much, but the interior remains mesmerising.

Entering through the imperial door, you soon realise that visiting this place is as much about indulging the senses of sight and sound as viewing the building's physical form. Your gaze is drawn irresistibly to the dome, which seems to hover overhead. You hear the whisper of countless feet on the marble floor. In the diff used half-light, with the echoes raising skywards, it's not hard to imagine that the shadowy corners and mighty dome still host the ghosts of the building's past.

Indeed, history remains palpable here. Byzantine motifs, a few remnant - yet startling - mosaics, medallions inscribed with Arabic calligraphy and perennial scaffolding (in a gaudy shade of orange) sit together in happy juxtaposition, each quietly attesting to the various incarnations of the building: cathedral, mosque, museum and architectural treasure. And here you encounter a microcosm of modern Turkey - bored cadet conscripts smoking in the gallery, excited schoolchildren scampering across the flagstones, Anatolian women in gabardines, and patriarchs with neat moustaches and grey cardigans. They come, as all visitors do, to appreciate this venerable building, the product of a long, tumultuous history.

2. Uncovering the sordid secrets of the Seraglio at the opulent Topkapi Palace

Home to Selim the Sot, who drowned after drinking too much champagne, Ibrahim the Mad, who lost his reason after being locked up for four years in the infamous palace kafes (cage), and Roxelana, the malevolent consort of Suleyman the Magnificent, Topkapi Palace (Topkapi Sarayi) is the subject of more colourful stories than most of the world's palaces put together. All around the palace are extravagant relics of centuries of folly, intrigue, excess and war: extensive gardens once lit by candles riding on tortoises' backs, sparkling jewels from the spoils of conquests, Ottoman art at its zenith.

The Harem, beautifully brought to life in John Freely's Inside the Seraglio: Private Lives of the Sultans of Istanbul, is such a visual feast that it's easy to forget that life under lock and key here must have been bleak, to say the least. Legend has it that Ibrahim the Mad had his entire harem of 280 women tied in sacks and thrown into the Bosphorus when he tired of them.

You need to allow at least half a day to view the palace. Don't miss the Imperial Treasury - including the jewel-encrusted Topkapi Dagger, the object of desire in the film Topkapi (1964) - the Harem and the richly decorated buildings surrounding the reflective pool.

3. Enjoying Mod-Turkish cuisine in the city's best restaurant-bar, 360

Contemplate the contradictions of this city over a meal of the best new Turkish cuisine while you gaze over to the solemnity of Old Istanbul. Balmy evenings at 360 see polished bar patrons propped on stools, their chatter swept away by a cooling breeze, watching as the orange haze beyond sets low over Asia. Inside it's a different story: large groups huddle, heads bent to divulge the latest secret, with raucous laughter growing as the night wears on. The waiters - matinee idols all - are unflappable. Come just before dusk so you can enjoy the view by day and the twinkling of lights by night, as well as the changing of the guests: after dark, sultans in chichi suits make way for Istanbul's gorgeous fashionistas.

After your meal take the stairway down through the superb 19th-century apartment block to the ground-level bustle of Istiklal Caddesi. Beyoglu's superb bars and clubs - including Dulcinea, Indigo and Babylon - await.

4. Joining the crush and losing yourself in the ancient bazaar district

Istanbul at its most chaotic and colourful, the bazaar district - stretching from the Grand Bazaar (Kapali Carsi) down to the Golden Horn (Halic) at Eminonu - evokes the flavour of Constantinople in every corner. While glitzy Kanyon may be ground zero for sophisticates over the Golden Horn, serious bayans (ladies) bring their sharpened elbows here. Stroll through the hidden Ottoman hans (caravanserais) and labyrinthine markets, with the waft of cinnamon intensifying with every step towards the Spice Bazaar (Mysyr Carsisi).

You'll see women struggling with overburdened plastic bags, men heaving loads through the crowds, circumcision robes, pardesus (long jackets worn by devout Muslim women), wedding dresses, shoes, spices, nuts, fruit, fish - you name it, it's there.

By the shore at Eminonu the call to prayer is muted by the din of the crowds and the honk of horns as drivers jostle to cross Galata Bridge (Galata Koprusu). Ferries belch grey clouds over seagulls circling for scraps of simit (small rings of bread decorated with sesame seeds), and even the ugly scar of the roadway adds to the visual mayhem of this waterside transport hub.

Saturday afternoon is best for visiting this area, as the district winds down on Sunday with the Grand Bazaar closed. However, you could spend a month exploring, and still only uncover a fraction of this district's delights.

5. Wining, dining and gallery-hopping along Istiklal Caddesi, the heart of the modern city

Istiklal Caddesi is a perfect metaphor for modern Turkey. At one extremity is the seaminess of traffic-choked Taksim - where, hopefully, cars and buses will gradually give way to the clean and efficient underground.

At the other extremity are the meandering cobblestone lanes of Galata, whose streets have seen the comings and goings of umpteen imperial powers, and which has never lost its cosmopolitan flavour. In the long, bent boulevard in-between, throngs of consumers - aspiring and actual - come to ogle the boutiques, bookshops, cafes, galleries and exclusive clubs of Istanbul's golden mile. With hardly a headscarf in sight, and as European as anything east of the Champs Elysees, Istiklal (Independence) is either the promise of Turkey's future or its mirage.

Only time will tell which.

6. Savouring the sunset over old Istanbul while cruising the Bosphorus waterways

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Bosphorus was alive with caiques (long, thin rowboats), their oars dipping rhythmically into the currents as they carried the sultan from palace to palace, and partygoers between elegant waterside retreats of Ottoman aristocracy and foreign ambassadors.

The Bosphorus is still the lifeblood of the city. Spanned by two mammoth bridges, and with a third on the drawing board, these days small motorboats scoot brave commuters through the heavy earlymorning fog and between the rusting hulks of Russian tankers - sobering reminders that this beloved waterway is one of the world's busiest and most perilous transport thoroughfares. Ferries also ply the dark waters between Asia and Europe, passing thousands of commuters between the two continents daily. A sunset ferry journey against the silhouette of Old Istanbul is a quintessential Istanbul experience.

7. Calling for more raki on Nevizade Sokak, the location of the city's most convivial street party

Buried in the maze of narrow streets behind the historic Cicek Pasajy (Flower Passage) on Istiklal Caddesi, Nevizade Sokak is one of the most famous eating precincts in the city - and it's certainly the most atmospheric. On most nights of the week its taverns spill onto the narrow street, tables heaving with locals babbling over a messy spread of meze and fish, washed down with tall glasses of milky white raki (aniseed brandy). Pedlars move from table to table selling fresh almonds or roses, while clutches of fasyl (energetic folk music) musicians in a frenzied blur of clarinets, violins, darbukas (drums shaped like an hourglass) and uds (six-stringed Arabic lutes) transform the diners into dancers as they take requests and return wisecracks for tips. A sterling night out is guaranteed.

8. Witnessing prayer time at the Ottoman Empire's finest mosque, The Suleymaniye

Most visitors take a quick look-see at Suleymaniye and marvel at the splendid architecture, but miss the living energy of this place.

While being inside the mosque during prayer times for non-Muslims is inappropriate, spending an hour or so witnessing the pre-prayer ritual respectfully from a distance is simply unforgettable. Arrive at the mosque shortly before the ezan (call to prayer) and find yourself a discrete vantage point in the greater courtyard. The faithful enter the courtyard one by one and silently perform their ritualistic ablutions along the flanks of the mosque. They then make their way into the forecourt, remove their shoes and slip behind the thick padded covering over the main door. Entering the mosque after a communal prayer session, with the musky scent of hundreds of worshippers lingering in the air, you are reminded that this is a living space, not a museum or an ancient relic.

Time your visit for evening, when arc lights enhance the curves of the dome and the birds circle endlessly after insects around ghostly minarets, or witness the midday prayers on a Friday, the Muslim holy day. Attending Friday prayers delivers greater spiritual reward, and Suleymaniye's is one of the most important prayer sessions in the city; often worshippers are so numerous they spill out into the forecourt.

9. Surrendering to steam and a sudsy massage at a historic Ottoman hamam

In 19th-century Istanbul the highlight of a woman's week was her day out at the hamam (bathhouse), where she would steam, snooze, chatter and picnic. The wealthy would totter on their nalyn (wooden clogs) past the riff raff into private washing rooms, usually off the sides of the sicaklik (steam room). But all of the action was centred on the smooth marble gobektasi (belly stone), with women soaping, sudsing and scrubbing with a kese (coarse cloth mitten), lit by the steamy rays from the star-shaped peepholes of the lofty dome. And while few would deny the objective of the visit was a head-to-toe clean, everyone knew the real attraction was gossip. With socially restricted lives, the all-female domain of the hamam was the one place women could let loose.

Although modern bathrooms have reduced the need for public bathhouses, the tradition of the leisurely soak and gossip in wonderful Ottoman-era surrounds is still alive. It's an opportunity too good for visitors to pass up; succumbing to the deft hands of the masseur for a thorough ablution will leave you initially feeling slightly tender - scrubbing and massage can be vigorous - then you'll go all languid, and ultimately you'll feel invigorated. You might prefer not to think about how much dirt comes off you, but you'll be surprised how good some warm water, soap and manual handling make you feel.

10. Whiling away an afternoon drinking tea and puffing on a nargileh

The nargileh (water pipe) is making a comeback in the city. No longer solely the domain of moustached gents reminiscing about the good old days in Anatolia, today's hip nargileh devotees are budding intelligentsia, bubbling for hours on end between university classes.

Although there are many spots to sample nargilehs in Old Istanbul, the most popular nargileh hang-out is beside the Nusretiye Camii, in Tophane. Playing backgammon, drinking innumerable tulip glasses of tea and taking in the intoxicating breeze of apple tobacco is the best introduction to keyif (the Turkish art of quiet relaxation) you could ask for. And yes, the fruit-molasses-cured tobacco leaf used in the nargileh has all the health risks of other tobaccos, but it is rendered so smooth and silky that even nonsmokers enjoy the odd puff . Consider yourself warned.