Istanbul, where history and beauty have the licence to thrill

The Galata Bridge, linking Beyoğlu with the area that was once Constantinople, gives the visitor a sweeping view from which to understand the geography of a city that famously straddles Europe and Asia.


On this side of the Bosphorous, the European side, the Golden Horn bisects two swathes of Istanbul that have a similar feel. We visit the Asian side later and it has a distinctly different atmosphere.

The Galata Bridge is alive with activity, even at this late hour. Rows of fishermen cast off into the cavernous night while diners chatter in the restaurants that line the floor below the walkway. Space is a premium here and none is wasted.

It is a five-minute walk from where the Aya Sofya, or Hagia Sophia, rolls up to the sky in curves of masonry, a reminder of the city's chequered Byzantine past.
Across the square, the dramatic Blue Mosque, with its six minarets, calls the faithful to prayer. Tourists make their devotions, too, jaws dropping at the intricate blue Iznik tiles within.
Restaurants serve an abundance of the delicious Mediterranean dishes you might expect - creamy houmous and stuffed aubergine - while stray cats and dogs wait patiently for their share.
Istanbul is among the most populous cities in Europe and the streets are a rush of people. 

Once a church, then a mosque and now a museum, its scale is stupefying. For a millennium, its domed and golden interior was the largest enclosed space in the world. It is tantalising to stand where Justinian's Empress Theodora (legend has it that she was a former courtesan who rose up the ranks of the imperial court) stood watching her husband below. I found the mosaics almost meditative in their beauty, from the swathe of golden tiles adorning the entrance to the scant, surviving patches on secluded arches. Handsome architecture is not confined above ground either.

I also visited the 6th century Basilica Cistern, which once supplied fresh water to the Emperor’s palace.

Hundreds of marble columns and arches create colonnades that run off into the distance. Moody lighting catches the water, now inhabited by fish, which casts rippling shadows on the ceiling.

You must look out for the antique Medusa and Gorgon heads at the bottom of two columns, a symbol of Christianity’s triumph over paganism. 

Back in the fresh air, on the other side of Sultanahmet Square is the former hippodrome, where Justinian slaughtered thousands of Constantinople’s residents after riots in 532 AD.

Little remains now but you can imagine chariots racing around the monuments that have remained in the centre. We make our way to the Blue Mosque and respectfully leave our shoes at the door. 

The soul sated, our minds turn again to our stomachs. It is Sunday and the nearby Spice Market is heaving with Istanbulites and visitors alike buying exotic goods such as jasmine flowers and rose oil. 

Strings of dried chilies hang like stalactites above piles of wrinkly figs and dates. Spices are mounded up in pyramids and cheery shopkeepers hand children stringy cheese.

For less edible goods, we head to the Grand Bazaar, a warren of shops selling everything from high-end jewellery to leather goods.

Lots of artifacts are on show including extravagant jewellery, beautiful clocks, weapons and the clothes of the sultans and their sons.

We pass through pavilions built to commemorate conquered territories and rooms where heirs were circumcised with great ceremony.

Yet it is the harem that we most want to see, that mysterious enclave of concubines and eunuchs that has excited the Western imagination for centuries.

Although there is little furniture to bring it to life, you can fully picture the intrigue, ambition and plotting that took place in its succession of courtyards and halls.

The sweet black tea is a tonic. As the Bosphorous washes the shore and we gaze towards the Topkapi rising out of its lush gardens and the sea of Marmara beyond, I think of James Bond on those rooftops. He's missing out. Before I forget the scene before me, I write it down...
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