Istanbul Things to Do

The 220-foot-tall medieval Galata Tower, one of Istanbul’s most iconic buildings, offers stunning panoramic views of the Old City. There are other, taller towers and buildings with sweeping vistas, but Galata Towers’s unique position in the heart of the Galata district gives it a privileged vantage point over the Golden Horn estuary and some of the oldest neighborhoods in the city.

Exploding with color and pungent aromas, Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar, or Egyptian Spice Market (so-called as the spices were originally imported from Egypt) is one of the city’s most vibrant and most-visited attractions. The historic market dates back to the 17th century and remains a fully functioning market, bustling with locals and camera-wielding tourists.

Whatever comes to mind when you think of a Hookah cafes in Istanbul – groups of Middle Eastern men getting high on smoky inhalations in shadowy teahouses or the rainbow of peculiar looking vials cluttering the stalls of the Grand Bazaar – you’ll likely find plenty to fuel the stereotype. Rest assured though, the hookah pipe, or Nargiles as they are known throughout Turkey, are far removed from the hashish-packed water-pipes of the 1960s – today’s offerings are strictly tobacco, albeit a little stronger than the average cigarette.

True to its reputation as Turkey’s most cosmopolitan and eclectic city, Istanbul certainly knows how to party, effortlessly blending the traditional with the modern, for one enormous New Year’s Eve street bash.

The ruins of Ephesus, one of the most impressive Greco-Roman settlements on the Mediterranean, are justly famous, drawing streams of visitors to Turkey year-round. Far fewer make it to Aphrodisias, the spectacular ruin of a city, largely destroyed by an earthquake in the 7th century. Its obscurity can be partly blamed on its location; it’s about 140 miles (230 km) to the largest big city, Izmir, and even further away from Istanbul.