Lonely Planet - Istanbul

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.