Located in the same building as one of the city’s most prominent Turkish bath houses, Lokanta 1741 offers a slightly more sophisticated and gourmet take on traditional regional cuisine than any of the other restaurants on our Istanbul favorites list. The rooftop terrace is pleasant but doesn’t offer much of a view as it’s nestled in between surrounding buildings and the indoor dining is nice but inferior to the terrace experience. Service is particularly good.
Regarded by some as the world’s first shopping mall, the Kapalıçarşı (aka the Grand Bazaar) in Istanbul is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city. Everything from gold and Turkish rugs to t-shirts and lamps are peddled in this historic old bazaar. One of the two original building dating back to the 15th century shortly after the Ottoman conquest of the city was recently remodeled and contains high-end luxury products and the region’s renowned steakhouse, Nusr-et.
After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, Sultan Ahmed converted the city’s Christian church to a mosque, removing or plastering over Christian icons and adding minarets a mihrab and other elements characteristic of Muslim mosques. The mosque was then used as Istanbul’s primary place of prayer for several decades until the completion of the Blue Mosque.
After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, Sultan Ahmet Camii became and still is the city’s principal mosque and is the center of Islamic faith in the region. It’s English name, the Blue Mosque, derives of the intricate ceramic tiles on the interior walls of the mosque. The mosque is closed to the general public only during the periods of Islamic prayer.
The Karaköy Tram Station is the hub for traveling from the tourist-centric Sultanahmet station in Fatih to hotels and restaurants lining the Istaklal Caddesi between Sishane and Taksim Square. It’s just a few paces from this tram stop to the funicular station that takes you up the hill to Istiklal Caddesi.
The Karaköy Tram Station is the hub for traveling from the tourist-centric Sultanahmet station in Fatih to hotels and restaurants lining the Istaklal Caddesi between Sishane and Taksim Square. It’s just a few paces from this tram stop to the funicular station that takes you up the hill to Istiklal Caddesi.