January 11, 2016

Fil (elephant) bookshop and cafe is such a cutie-pie, and does a perfect macchiato too. They have an eclectic selection of photographic books and stationery and a counter full of homemade cakes too.

Istanbul is everything you ever imagined it to be and more.

It crams in a pot-boiler history, more grand buildings, mosques and monuments than you could ever hope to see and a gob-smackingly gorgeous location that sprawls over Asia and Europe, divided by its busy waterways. It is also a modern, high-octane city with dynamic street art, tiny coffee shops, showy rooftops bars, mega clubs and contemporary art galleries.

After two months living in an apartment just below the 1348 Genoese Galata Kulesi (Galata Tower) in Galata, here is my list for one epic day in the city.

5AM

Give up the fight to open your eyes, lie back and let the first call to prayer of the day wash over you (there are four more to punctuate the day). Broadcast by loudspeaker from your local cammi or mosque, it’s the evocative base to the city’s hypnotic soundscape and will become part of your memory of this bewitching place.

7AM

Breakfast and çay (tea) at Sirin Firin, a Galata neighborhood bakery that’s open in summer from 6am through to midnight. Eat a traditional Turkish breakfast with fresh bread, jam, cheese, vegetables, herbs, eggs and sausage or stick with the spiral, flaky börek they’re famous for – choose from cheese, meat, potato or spinach and watch them cut it to order.

8AM

Amble down cobblestone Galipdede Caddesi beneath the Galata Tower past shops stuffed with musical instruments or striped cotton towels and napkins. Cross Galata Bridge at the point where the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus meet, passing sellers of fresh squeezed orange or pomegranate juice, and crispy simit, the bagel-like sesame seed crusted rolls, and on past men fishing for hamsi (anchovies). Look out for the “fishing boats” on the Eminönü side where at any hour of the day you can pull up a plastic stool and eat balik ekmek (fried mackerel with sumac, onion, and rocket on a half loaf of soft white bread) with a squeeze of lemon juice for 8TL.

9.30AM

Pop in to the Spice Market, also known as the Egyptian Bazaar because it was built in 1660 with money from the Ottoman eyalet of Egypt as part of the New Mosque compound. A covered market like the nearby Grand Bazaar, it’s smaller in scale and although still touristy has some charm. Poke around the 85 stores that sell everything from saffron, pomegranate molasses and dried figs stuffed with walnuts to Turkish delight, cheese, baklava and cured pastirma – and make sure to taste anything you’re offered.

11AM

Take the ferry from Eminönü on the European side of the city to Kadiköy on the Asian side and sit on the top outdoor deck. You’ll pass the sprawling Ottoman Topkapi Palace on Seraglio Point, the whimsical Maiden Tower built on a tiny islet 200 metres off the shore of Üsküdar and the neoclassical, castle-like Haydarpaşa railway station just before you dock at Kadiköy Iskelesi. Look back to the European shore and you’ll see the minarets and domes on the seven hills of Istanbul, and then some.

12PM

Take a stroll around Kadiköy Pazar (market) in the streets around Güneslibahçe to buy, try or just ogle the fresh produce. In summer you’ll find cherries, figs from Southern Turkey, beef heart tomatoes from Çanakkale, baby okra the size of a pinkie finger, and acorn-like hazelnuts. Stop by Etabal honey shop for a serve of creamy yoghurt topped with honeycomb, Fazal Bey for Turkish coffee and at least look in to Baylan Pastanesi, even if you don’t try their famous Kup Griye, a concoction of vanilla and caramel ice-cream, whipped cream, honey-almond and caramel sauce.

1.30PM

Lunch at any one of the three adjacent Ciya locations for traditional Anatolian food. At Ciya Sofrasi pick from meze such as stuffed dolma that’s weighed and priced by the kilo and then let your waiter guide you to the main dishes being served that day – they might include stuffed intestines (you won’t regret it), meatballs with cherries, spinach cigars, slow-cooked lamb and pilaf.

3PM

Take the ferry back to Kabatas (near Karaköy) on the European shore and make your way up the hill to Istiklal Caddesi walking through the antique and junk shop neighborhood Çukurcuma, where you can fossick through china, glassware, German botanical prints, Omega watches and furniture. For more antique, less junk, stop by the small shop Aslı Günşiray, on Çukurcuma Caddesi crammed with beautiful architectural items and baubles from gates and urns, to chandeliers and kilims.

A detail from a tapestry in the Grayson Perry exhibition at the Pera Museum. His work includes ceramics, drawings, maps and highly coloured and intricately detailed tapestries that explore identity and with a particular interest in class. Grayson Perry won the 2003 Turner prize and accepted his prize dressed as his altar ego Claire Perry and accompanied by the teddy bear Alan Measles, his lifelong companion.

4PM

For some of the best contemporary art, visit (for free) the not for profit galleries SALT and Arter on the famous shopping boulevard Istiklal Cadessi. Each gallery is housed in a former mansion with regularly changing exhibitions of traditional and modern media spread over three or four floors and linked by sweeping marble staircases. Start at the top and work your way down. Pop in to Robinson Crusoe on the top of SALT to flick through the art books in a library-like space complete with rolling ladders.

7PM

Make your way to the bar of Mikla, the rooftop aerie to beat all others with a 360 degree view of the city, taking in the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the European and Asian shores of the city. Get there before dark so you can pick out all the places you’ve been (you will see Galata Tower, Aya Sofya, Blue Mosque, Süleymaniye Mosque and Topkapi Palace), watch the ferries making the Bos-cross and eyeball the free-wheeling seagulls up close. Make sure you stay long enough to see the lights twinkling after dark and to hear the call to prayer ring out from hundreds of mosques across the city.

9PM

At Ünter in newly “renewed” Karaköy the views are all street level, with doors that open directly onto the pedestrian-only cobblestone street at a crossroad overhung with grapevines, and the mood is East Village style gastro pub with a mix of Istanbul hipsters and international art types. Book ahead for a shady table outside to watch the passing foot traffic. The food draws on both Turkish and European style, and there’s an excellent wine list, microbrews on tap, and the sourdough bread is baked in-house.

11PM

After the tables are cleared, and the DJ takes over the house, stay on dancing at Ünter until 3am. Or if you’re in the mood for something sweet, swing home via nearby Karaköy Güllüoğlu for a portion of the city’s best walnut or pistachio baklava and çay.

STAY

Stay in Galata or Cihangir (both in Beyoglu) for proximity to bars, restaurants and galleries and easy access (across the bridge) to the big-ticket sights of the Sultanahmet (Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya and Basilica Cistern). Rest your head at Witt Istanbul, designed by Autoban, the über architects that are styling the city’s hip bars, eateries and inns. The Witt’s oversized suites, gigantic marble bathrooms and kitchenettes are a pleasure to return to after walking the city.

WEEKEND AWAY

Take the ferry from Eminönü to Büyükada, the largest island in the Princes’ Islands group, only 20km from Istanbul but seemingly eons away thanks to its sleepy pace. Here you get around on foot, by horse cart or on bike. Hire a bike and ride the island – you’ll pass old timber villas painted in ice-cream colours, head through pine forests, look down on the sparkling Mamara Sea and smell fresh thyme growing by the roadside. If you fancy a swim, stop in at one of the Euro-style beach clubs with house music, astro turf, canvas day beds and comparatively cheap entry fees.