CityPages Kuwait June 2016 Issue June 2016 | Page 78

Istanbul

Istanbul is a city in Turkey that straddles Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait. The Old City reflects cultural influences of the many empires
that once ruled here. In the Sultanahmet district, the open-air, Roman-era Hippodrome was for centuries the site of chariot races, and Egyptian obelisks
remain. The iconic Byzantine Hagia Sophia features a soaring dome and Christian mosaics.

WHERE TO STAY

THINGS TO DO

This boutique hotel is on the Bosphorus's Asian
shore in Kanlica, a 35-minute boat ride from
the old town. It is a minimalist, white-wood-clad
19th-century yali (seaside mansion). There are 16
bedrooms, including three mezzanine suites with
Philippe Starck baths next to the beds, and five
with terraces and outdoor decking.

There are many important monuments in İstanbul,
but this venerable structure – commissioned by the
great Byzantine emperor Justinian, consecrated as
a church in 537, converted to a mosque by Mehmet
the Conqueror in 1453 and declared a museum
by Atatürk in 1935 – surpasses the rest due to
its innovative architectural form, rich history,
religious importance and extraordinary beauty.

AJIA

Aya Sofya

WHERE TO DINE
Arch Bistro

AYASOFYA PANSIYONLARI

This superior pension is comprised of a row of
nine vine-clad wooden houses, all impeccable
copies of Ottoman residences, and furnished in
a 19th-century Turkish style. as well as Sarnic,
a subterranean restaurant in a Roman cistern lit
only by candles.

Blue Mosque

İstanbul's most photogenic building was the grand
project of Sultan Ahmet I (r 1603–17), whose
tomb is located on the north side of the site facing
Sultanahmet Park. The mosque's wonderfully
curvaceous exterior features a cascade of domes
and six slender minarets. Blue İznik tiles adorn
the interior and give the building its unofficial but
commonly used name.

Olive Anatolian Restaurant

BOSPHORUS PALACE

The Bosphorus Palace, on the Asian side of the
city, is your chance to stay at a yali, or seafront
house, albeit one that is heavily restored. From
here, you can take a ferry into the old city or nip up
the road to Bosporus Bridge. The interior could do
with being a little bit less stuffy.

Grand Bazaar

The colourful and chaotic Grand Bazaar is the
heart of İstanbul's Old City and has been so for
centuries. Starting as a small vaulted bedesten
(warehouse) built by order of Mehmet the
Conqueror in 1461, it grew to cover a vast area as
lanes between the bedesten, neighbouring shops
and hans (caravanserais) were roofed and the
market assumed the sprawling, labyrinthine form
that it retains today.

Old Ottoman Cafe & Restaurant

CIRAGAN PALACE KEMPINSKI

Once home to the last sultans of the Ottoman
empire, this sumptuous hotel has 280 rooms and
33 suites in the restored palace and a contemporary
building next door. The charm of staying here is
waking up in a spacious room with a view of one of
the most exciting waterways in the world.

Harem Istanbul Cafe & Restaurant

Basilica Cistern

This subterranean structure was commissioned
by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest
surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was
constructed using 336 columns, many of which
were salvaged from ruined temples and feature
fine carved capitals. Its symmetry and sheer
grandeur of conception are quite breathtaking,
and its cavernous depths make a great retreat on
summer days.

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JUNE, 2016

Bon voyage!