44 places in Istanbul you walk past without knowing the story
This map holds every place in Istanbul we have told a story about: 44 of them, from 3 walks, about 2 hours of listening in all. Most are not the ones on the postcards — a doorway, an alley, a pub, the site of something that is no longer there. The list grows by itself: a place appears here once its story is written, voiced and checked against the map. Last added 12 March 2026.
The 44 newest
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Topkapi Palace Gate of Salutation
Topkapı Sarayı Bâbüsselâm (Orta Kapı), Alemdar Cd., Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul
The Gate of Salutation at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul is a 16th-century ceremonial entrance where only the Sultan and his mother were permitted to enter on…
Hagia Irene
Aya İrini Kilisesi, Topkapı Sarayı birinci avlusu, Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul
Hagia Irene, built around 330 AD in Istanbul by Emperor Constantine the Great, is the city's oldest surviving church and hosted the 381 AD council that…
Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya)
Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi, Ayasofya Meydanı No:1, Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul is a sixth-century Byzantine cathedral built by Emperor Justinian, renowned for its massive 30-meter-wide dome resting on lightweight…
Hagia Sophia Square & Fountain of Ahmed III
Sultan III. Ahmet Çeşmesi, Ayasofya Meydanı, Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul
The Fountain of Sultan Ahmed III, located between Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, was built in 1728 as the city's first freestanding public…
Kurukahveci Mehmed Efendi
Kurukahveci Mehmed Efendi, Tahmis Cd. No:66, Eminönü, Fatih, İstanbul
Kurukahveci Mehmed Efendi on Tahmis Street in Istanbul is the historic shop that revolutionized local coffee culture in 1871 by offering the city's first…
Spice Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı)
Mısır Çarşısı, Eminönü, Fatih, İstanbul
The Mısır Çarşısı, also known as the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul, is an L-shaped market commissioned in 1660 by Valide Sultan Turhan Hatice and funded by tax…
Hasırcılar Caddesi (Mat Weavers Street)
Hasırcılar Cd., Tahtakale, Fatih, İstanbul
Hasırcılar Caddesi is an ancient commercial street in Istanbul's Tahtakale district, renowned for its rich trading history and the elevated 1563 Rüstem Pasha…
Rüstem Pasha Mosque
Rüstem Paşa Camii, Hasırcılar Cd. No:62, Fatih, İstanbul
The Rüstem Pasha Mosque in Istanbul is a 16th-century Ottoman landmark famous for housing approximately 2,300 Iznik tiles in roughly 80 distinct patterns.
Tahtakale Street Market
Tahtakale, Uzunçarşı Cd., Fatih, İstanbul
The Tahtakale Street Market in Istanbul is an ancient trading district beneath the old citadel walls where Istanbul's first coffeehouse opened around 1554.
Eminönü Balık Ekmek (Fish Sandwich Boats)
Eminönü İskelesi, Eminönü Meydanı, Fatih, İstanbul
Eminönü Balık Ekmek in Istanbul serves fresh grilled fish sandwiches from three ornate, gilded boats on the waterfront, continuing a street food tradition that…
Yeni Camii (New Mosque)
Yeni Camii, Eminönü, Fatih, İstanbul
The 17th-century Yeni Camii, located on the Golden Horn waterfront in Istanbul, features 66 domes and took 66 years to complete under two Queen Mothers.
Galata Bridge Lower Level
Galata Köprüsü alt katı, Eminönü, Fatih, İstanbul
The lower level of the Galata Bridge in Istanbul spans the Golden Horn, connecting Old Istanbul to Beyoğlu while housing pedestrian walkways and restaurants…
Istanbul Archaeological Museums
İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri, Osman Hamdi Bey Yokuşu, Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul
The Istanbul Archaeological Museums in Istanbul house ancient treasures, including the late 4th-century B.C.
Çinili Köşk (Tiled Pavilion)
Çinili Köşk, Osman Hamdi Bey Yokuşu, Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul
The Çinili Köşk, or Tiled Pavilion, in Istanbul is the city's oldest surviving secular Ottoman structure, built in 1472 as a private retreat for Sultan Mehmed…
Serpent Column
Yılanlı Sütun, At Meydanı Cd., Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul
The Serpent Column in Istanbul is an 18-foot-high ancient Greek bronze monument cast from melted-down Persian armor after the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC.
Obelisk of Theodosius
Dikilitaş, At Meydanı Cd., Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul
The Obelisk of Theodosius in Istanbul's Sultanahmet district is a 3,400-year-old Egyptian pink granite monument originally erected by Pharaoh Thutmose III…
Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts
Türk ve İslam Eserleri Müzesi, Atmeydanı Cd. No:46, Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul
The Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts in Istanbul, housed in the sixteenth-century palace of Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha, holds the world's most important carpet…
Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Camii)
Sultan Ahmet Camii, Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul is a famous 17th-century landmark featuring six minarets and over 20,000 handmade Iznik ceramic tiles.
Hurrem Sultan Hamam
Hürrem Sultan Hamamı, Ayasofya Meydanı No:2, Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul
The Haseki Hürrem Sultan Hamamı in Istanbul is a 75-meter-long bathhouse designed in 1556 by architect Mimar Sinan on ancient Roman bath grounds.
German Fountain (Kaiser Wilhelm's Gift)
Alman Çeşmesi, Sultanahmet Meydanı, Fatih, İstanbul
The German Fountain in Istanbul is an octagonal structure presented by Kaiser Wilhelm II to Sultan Abdulhamid II following negotiations for the Berlin to…
Arasta Bazaar
Arasta Çarşısı, Torun Sokak, Sultanahmet, Fatih, İstanbul
The Arasta Bazaar, located along the southern flank of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, sits directly above an 80-million-piece Byzantine mosaic floor discovered…