#123: Postcard from Istanbul
Four-ish days of seeing, eating, and buying shiny objects.
I didn’t appreciate the scale of Istanbul when I went for the first time in 2019. The density of smaller, nearby things warps your depth of field: teal painted tiles and gold mosaics; meze displays dizzying in their many yoghurt and eggplant variations; more street cats than you can shake a simit at. The bigger picture—almost 16 million people; a footprint three times the size of London—escapes you easily.
Last week I went back with Ivan and our friends Simon and Zeynep (longtime subscribers will know they are two of our favourite people to go places with) before spending a few days swimming in the Aegean. Both returning and having Zeynep, knickknack loving kindred spirit that she is, as our Istanbul-fluent captain enriched the trip in every way. Really, this email almost exclusively consists of her spots; I am but the messenger and greedy beneficiary.
It was Ivan’s first time so I got to see some sights again, but there were many gems I wouldn’t have otherwise found. I’ve detailed the best ones below for your future travels.
There aren’t many cities where you’ll spend more time craning your neck upward, to better admire the elaborate domes.
In the years since I first visited, control of Istanbul’s top historic sights has been centralised under Erdoğan’s government. As a result, they’re much more expensive to see if you aren’t a local.
If you also have limited time, I would focus on visiting Topkapi Palace, specifically the harem, which was even better the second time around; Süleymaniye Mosque, by imperial architect Mimar Sinan (whose student Sedefkar Mehmed Agha went on to design the Blue Mosque)—access is free and the courtyard has a wonderful view of the Bosphorus); and Kariye Mosque, which lives on the site of a 6 AD church and houses some of the most beautiful and painstakingly restored Byzantine mosaics and frescoes I’ve ever seen. The latter is out of the way but worth it; make sure you check prayer times.
While in town you must also have all your dead skin sloughed off at a hamam. Last time I went to Kılıç Ali Paşa Hamam, which I also recommend, but this trip Zeynep’s friend Alca took us to Zeyrek Çinili Hamam, which runs a gallery space in its cistern and a museum focussed on Turkish bathing rituals. The hamam was originally designed 500 years ago by Mimar Sinan, and re-opened in 2024 after a 13-year restoration.
Is there anything more purely joyful than having a cloud of bubbly foam blanketed over your almost-naked body? I think not. We emerged from the baths baby-soft and smiling, like strands of tel peyniri, or Turkish string cheese.
We ate so well, the below reads more like a full play-by-play than a list of favourites. Memorable mouthfuls include but aren’t limited to:
Shared fish durum at Mehmet Usta post-hamam. It was sweeter than I expected, thanks to the pomegranate molasses, and all the textures worked so well together. If they made fish durum of a similar quality in London, I would want one every week at least;
A dream breakfast of pickles in brine at Asri Turşucu, which should surely be more of a thing;
