istanbul illustrated | a living map of the city
this map & accompanying post is a work in progress, with no end.
last updated: april 29.2022
i emerge from my post-wisdom tooth extraction stupor to share with you, today, a tiny slice of istanbul on a map - fragments to capture the istanbul of my living imagination - initially collected for my friend, who visited me this april.
an intro to the map
this map feels like 1% of istanbul - a city with a scale, density, and chaos that reminds me of shanghai, but without the skyscrapers, with thousands of mosques — a city which still feels like a village, or thousands of them, interconnected. i still have a lot of work to do on this map, but consider this initial deposition, version 1.0. my istanbul, 6 months in.
a legend to reading the map
neighborhoods - of interest are outlined and labeled.
steep stairs - a warning that 10 minutes is not “10 minutes”
blue circles - places i enjoy and recommend
yellow circles & x’s - places of interest & crowded as hell
parks & open spaces - places for breathing
ferry docks - the veins of the watery ecosystem
(ongoing) notes on places of interest
1) karaköy docks
i feel the soul of istanbul most strongly here, with its dockside energy and view of historical istanbul. i used to roll down from the hills of galata and sit here at the benches at night, watching the black bosphorous and the ferry boats, and a distant glimmer of the skyline across.
2) galata
i lived in an airbnb here for 1 month, right above old java coffee roasters, which i went to everyday. the area around the tower is suffocating and crowded, but i suggest wandering the tiny back alleyways for cute shops and cats.
3) galata bridge
this bridge is beautiful at all hours. i walk it to watch fishermen fish, and the skyline across.
4) eminönü
like entering a spiderweb maze. in fact, the entire city is like this, but in eminönü, everything feels 100x. do not go on weekends.
5) historical landmarks: hagia sophia, topkapi palace, the blue mosque
awe-inspiring places, of course.
6) balat
a very colorful, cute neighborhood
7) taksim
headache central.
8) cihangir
hilly & hipster.
9) beşiktaş
i’m not sure how to describe my own neighborhood - it’s less touristy but very vibrant.
10) yildiz park
an expansive place for breathing and laying down on the hilly grass and imagining istanbul before there were buildings
11) ortaköy
full of nostalgia, the most beautiful mosque, seagulls. recommend sitting by the water. eating kumpir and cold baklava
12) kuzguncuk
a neighborhood which feels like an artist village, located in an otherwise conservative part of the city
13) Üsküdar
a crowded waterfront, relatively conservative area
14) kadikoy
i lived here for 1 month. cute streets with LOTS of cafes.
15) moda park
i like to sit on the rocks here and just… breathe.
16) prince islands
very necessary escapes from the city.