Audio walks in Istanbul

Three walks, all of them in English, all of them working the same ground between the Spice Bazaar, the covered streets and the imperial mosques — and all three choosing different stops within it. That overlap is the interesting part: the same half-kilometre of Eminönü produces three different routes depending on whether you ask about sultans, about trade, or about what is above your head. These are dense walks. The distances are short and the stop counts are high, which means a lot of standing and listening rather than walking. Come with time rather than with a schedule, and expect the market noise to be part of it.

• 3 walks
• 45 places with a written story
• 25 km of routes in total
• 1.8-5.3 hours per walk
• written in EN
• last walk added 2026-03-20

Walks in Istanbul

1. Sultans, Spices & Covered Streets

   A walk through the beating commercial heart of the Ottoman Empire

   16 stops · 5.5 km · ~1.8 h · EN

2. Spice, Stone & Sultans

   A half-day walk through Istanbul's bazaars, food streets and Ottoman legacy

   33 stops · 6.9 km · ~2.0 h · EN

3. Sultans, Spices & Hidden Streets

   Half a day through Ottoman Istanbul — from the Hippodrome to the Golden Horn

   44 stops · 12.4 km · ~5.3 h · EN

Stories from Istanbul

• Eminönü Square & Golden Horn Waterfront — Eminönü Meydanı, Eminönü, Fatih, İstanbul

  Eminönü Square, located on the Golden Horn waterfront in Istanbul, served for centuries as the central hub of the city's import trade.

• Sultanahmet Hippodrome (At Meydanı) — Sultan Ahmet Meydanı, Sultanahmet

  The Hippodrome of Constantinople in Istanbul was the vast sporting center of the Eastern Roman Empire where Emperor Justinian's forces suppressed the 532 AD Nika Riots by slaughtering 30,000 spectators.

• Sultanahmet Köftecisi (Selim Usta) — Tarihi Sultanahmet Köftecisi Selim Usta, Divan Yolu Cd. No:12A, Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul

  Sultanahmet Köftecisi, located on Divanyolu Street in Istanbul, is a historic restaurant founded in 1920 that serves a signature Turkish meatball recipe unchanged for over a century.

• Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı) — Yerebatan Sarnıcı, Alemdar Cd. No:13, Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul

  The Basilica Cistern in Istanbul is a 9,800-square-meter underground Byzantine reservoir built in 532 AD by Emperor Justinian I, supported by 336 marble columns.

• Kalpakçılar Caddesi (Gold Street) — Kalpakçılar Caddesi, Kapalıçarşı, Beyazıt, Fatih, İstanbul

  Kalpakçılar Caddesi is the main gold-trading street of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, named after the Ottoman fur hat makers who originally occupied it before goldsmiths took over.

• Mahmutpaşa Bazaar — Mahmutpaşa Yokuşu, Fatih, İstanbul

  The Mahmutpaşa Bazaar is a historic open-air market sloping between the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul, established in 1462 as a major Ottoman commercial hub.

• Stoa of Basilica Cistern Entrance Street (Soğukçeşme Sokağı) — Soğukçeşme Sokağı, Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul

  Soğukçeşme Sokağı is a cobblestone lane in Istanbul framed by Hagia Sophia and Topkapı Palace, famous for its pastel-colored, reconstructed 19th-century Ottoman wooden mansions.

• Gülhane Park & Tanzimat Stone — Gülhane Parkı, Alemdar Cd., Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul

  Gülhane Park in Istanbul is a historic ten-hectare park where Mustafa Reshid Pasha read the groundbreaking Edict of Gülhane on November 3, 1839.

• Çemberlitaş Hamamı — Çemberlitaş Hamamı, Vezirhanı Cd. No:8, Fatih, İstanbul

  The Çemberlitaş Hamamı in Istanbul is a historic bathhouse built in 1584 that has operated continuously for over 440 years.

• Çemberlitaş Column — Çemberlitaş Sütunu, Divan Yolu Cd., Fatih, İstanbul

  The Column of Constantine, known as Çemberlitaş in Istanbul, is the city's oldest surviving monument, erected in 330 AD as a 50-meter pillar.

• Nuruosmaniye Gate of the Grand Bazaar — Kapalıçarşı Nuruosmaniye Kapısı, Nuruosmaniye Cd., Fatih, İstanbul

  The Nuruosmaniye Gate in Istanbul serves as an entrance to the Grand Bazaar, the world's oldest covered market, established by Sultan Mehmed II in 1455.

• Nuruosmaniye Mosque — Nuruosmaniye Camii, Vezirhanı Cd., Fatih, İstanbul

  The Nuruosmaniye Mosque in Istanbul is an 18th-century imperial mosque distinguished as the first sultanic mosque designed by a non-Muslim architect, Simeon Kalfa.

• Tiryaki Çarşısı (Addicts' Bazaar Ruins) — Tiryaki Çarşısı, Süleymaniye Cd., Fatih, İstanbul

  Tiryaki Çarşısı, or the Addicts' Bazaar, is a row of 35 stone shops built into Istanbul's Süleymaniye complex in 1557 that transformed from an Ottoman opium marketplace into a hub of famous baked bean restaurants.

• Büyük Valide Han (Grand Caravanserai) — Büyük Valide Han, Çakmakçılar Yokuşu No:36, Fatih, İstanbul

  The Büyük Valide Han in Istanbul is the city's largest caravanserai, commissioned in 1651 by the powerful Ottoman Regent Kösem Sultan to fund her charitable endowments.

• Zincirli Han (Hidden Courtyard Inn) — Zincirli Han, Kapalıçarşı, Beyazıt, Fatih, İstanbul

  Zincirli Han is a three-century-old caravanserai inn tucked inside Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, built by Nasuh Pasha in 1708 to securely store precious jewels behind heavy iron entrance chains.

• Beyazıt Mosque — Beyazıt Camii, Beyazıt Meydanı, Fatih, İstanbul

  Beyazıt Mosque in Istanbul is the city's oldest imperial mosque complex preserved in its original form, constructed between 1500 and 1506 over the ancient Roman Forum of Theodosius.

• Beyazıt Square & Istanbul University Gate — İstanbul Üniversitesi Ana Kapısı, Beyazıt Meydanı No:1, Fatih, İstanbul

  The Istanbul University Gate at Beyazıt Square in Istanbul was designed in 1867 by French architect Marie-Auguste Antoine Bourgeois as the monumental entrance for the Ottoman Ministry of War.

• Sinan's Tomb — Mimar Sinan Türbesi, Mimar Sinan Cd., Süleymaniye, Fatih, İstanbul

  The Tomb of Mimar Sinan in Istanbul is a modest six-column open tomb designed by the master Ottoman architect himself before his death in 1588.

• Süleymaniye Mosque — Süleymaniye Camii, Profesör Sıddık Sami Onar Cd., Fatih, İstanbul

  Commissioned in 1550 by Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, the Süleymaniye Mosque stands on the Third Hill of Istanbul as one of architect Mimar Sinan's greatest achievements.

• Vefa Bozacısı — Vefa Bozacısı, Katip Çelebi Cd. No:102, Vefa, Fatih, İstanbul

  Vefa Bozacısı is a historic shop in Istanbul that has been serving a traditional thick, fermented millet drink made using the same family recipe since 1876.

• Şehzade Mosque — Şehzade Camii, Şehzadebaşı Cd., Fatih, İstanbul

  The Şehzade Mosque on Istanbul's third hill is the first imperial commission of architect Mimar Sinan, built between 1545 and 1548 to honor Sultan Suleiman's deceased son Prince Mehmed.

• Tarihi Bakırcılar Çarşısı (Coppersmith's Bazaar) — Tarihi Bakırcılar Çarşısı, Çukur Çeşme Cd., Beyazıt, Fatih, İstanbul

  Tarihi Bakırcılar Çarşısı, or the Coppersmith's Bazaar, is a historical market in Beyazıt, Istanbul, where artisans continue a 7,000-year-old Anatolian craft of hand-hammering and tin-lining copper cookware.

• Sahaflar Çarşısı (Old Book Bazaar) — Sahaflar Çarşısı, Beyazıt, Fatih, İstanbul

  Sahaflar Çarşısı is an ancient book market in Istanbul located between the Beyazit Mosque and the Grand Bazaar, operating as a trade hub for over 1,500 years.

• İç Bedesten (Inner Covered Market) — İç Bedesten, Kapalıçarşı, Beyazıt, Fatih, İstanbul

  The İç Bedesten is the oldest stone trading hall in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, commissioned by Sultan Mehmed II between 1455 and 1461 to fund the upkeep of the Hagia Sophia.

How long do you want to walk?

• Quick — about an hour
• Deep Dive — half a day
• City Epic — a full day

Can I do these walks during prayer times?

The routes pass mosques rather than entering them, so the walk itself is unaffected. If you plan to go inside, mosques close to visitors during the five daily prayers and for longer on Fridays; times shift through the year. The stories work from outside, and the stop tells you what you are looking at whether or not the door is open.

How much walking is involved?

Not much, by distance — these are the shortest routes per stop on the site, often under a kilometre between the first stop and the last. Most of the time goes on standing still and listening. That makes them practical in summer heat and awkward in a crowd, so an early start in the bazaar district is worth more here than on any other walk.

Are the walks available in Turkish?

Not yet — all three Istanbul walks are in English. Place names, addresses and opening hours are in their local form regardless of the story's language, because those come from Google Maps rather than from the text. If you would like an Istanbul walk in another language, creating one takes a sentence describing the route you want.

How much does it cost?

The first story of every walk is free, and the written text of every story stays free for everyone permanently. Paying writes the rest of one walk's stories, from £4.99, after which those stories are free for the next person too. Nothing to install, no account required — the walk is tied to the browser you made it in.