Istanbul

Despite having ruled over two empires, Istanbul (née Byzantium, née Constantinople) often feels like a city that’s only just finding its feet. But then, it’s barely 80 years since the country was overhauled by Atatürk, ‘the father of the Turks’, who presided over the founding of the Turkish Republic, and whose image is still ubiquitous.

Sultanahmet is the Istanbul of postcards and history. This small peninsula has witnessed more history than most countries. If you see only one building while here, make it the Haghia Sophia (‘Holy Wisdom’, Sultanahmet Square, +90 212 522 1750). After close to 1,000 years as a church and then 500 years as chief mosque of the Ottoman Empire, it’s now revered by Christians and Muslims alike. Directly north of Haghia Sophia is the imperial enclave of Topkapı Palace (Bab-ı Hümayün Caddesi, Gülhane, +90 212 512 0480, closed Tue). The palace was the hub of Ottoman power for more than three centuries, and for lavish decor and exquisite setting, it is a must-see.

The Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque (Meydanı Sokak 17, Sultanahmet, +90 212 458 0776) is the obvious mosque to visit, but try also to see one designed by Mimar Sinan, such as Suleymaniye, behind the Grand Bazaar, or Rüstem Pasa near the Galata Bridge.

The Grand Bazaar is often claimed to be the world’s oldest shopping centre. The streets around it now host most of the real trading but the bazaar is still the centre for jewellery and the top place for fabrics.

Downhill from the bazaar quarter is the Golden Horn, lined by long-neglected neighbourhoods that are now candidates for gentrification. The water is spanned by the modern Galata Bridge, which links the old city with the new to the north. Beyoglu is the commercial and cultural centre of town, concentrated around pedestrianised Istiklal Caddesi.

One of the city’s newest attractions is the Istanbul Modern (Meclis-i Mebusan Caddesi, Antrepo 4, Karaköy, +90 212 334 7300, www.istanbulmodern.org), a good collection of modern local art.

Local history

The ‘meeting of two worlds’ idea was already well established in the fifth century BC by the time of Herodotus, and Istanbul has always been perceived as strategically and psychologically important for that very reason. The Greeks understood this, so did the Roman emperor Constantine, creating a new world capital to rival Rome in the fourth century AD. Then the Ottomans, in their turn, lavished the city with much of the architecture you see today.

Local politics

The watchword of Turkish politics these days is ‘Europe’, and Istanbul is seen by many as an eminent example of why the country should join the EU. The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, even went so far as to quote Napoleon Bonaparte, who once said, ‘If the world were a single state its capital would be Istanbul’. Although there are many who are uneasy about this ‘Asian’ presence within the EU, the official screening process is now underway.