#galata

Istanbul Without Sultanahmet: 48 Hours in Karaköy, the Neighborhood That Took Over the Scene

There is an Istanbul that fits into four photographs: Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapı, Grand Bazaar. It's the cruise ship Istanbul, double-decker bus, 90-minute queue in August heat. It works—if you've never been before. But those returning for a second time leave Sultanahmet, walk across the Galata Bridge, and descend the hill to Karaköy. Here, under the stone arches of an old Ottoman warehouse district, the country's best contemporary art museum, the city's oldest baklava shop, a hidden mosque in the basement of a Genoese warehouse, and a third-wave coffee scene rivaling Melbourne have settled in the past decade. This is the 48-hour itinerary that swaps the postcard for the real city.

Curadoria Voyspark · May 10 · 🇹🇷 Istambul