# Istanbul Current

> An independent guide to Istanbul


## Posts

- [Istanbul Bookshops](https://istanbulcurrent.com/bookshops/): Leave a little space in your bag for Istanbul. A novel, an exhibition catalogue or a book about the city can be a useful companion while you are here and something to return to afterwards. The question is where to look, especially if you read in English.
- [Day Trips from Istanbul](https://istanbulcurrent.com/day-trips/): A day outside Istanbul can mean lunch beside the Black Sea, a walk through woodland or a visit to another former Ottoman capital. The question is how much of that day you want to spend getting there.
- [Shopping and Local Design in Istanbul](https://istanbulcurrent.com/shopping/): A good Istanbul shopping day starts with a small decision: what would you actually like to bring home? A useful cotton towel, a piece by a contemporary jewellery designer and a bag of spices lead to different streets, different shops and different conversations. Treating them as one big souvenir hunt makes the city harder to navigate than it needs to be.
- [Princes’ Islands](https://istanbulcurrent.com/princes-islands/): The ferry crossing is part of the appeal: Istanbul spreads along the shore, the water opens out, and the day starts to feel less crowded. The Princes’ Islands, known in Turkish as Adalar, offer a different side of the city, with residential streets, waterfront tables, historic houses and hills that reward a little effort.
- [Moda](https://istanbulcurrent.com/moda/): Residential streets, a musician’s home and time beside the Sea of Marmara.
- [Kadıköy](https://istanbulcurrent.com/kadikoy/): Market streets, a long lunch and an evening at the opera on Istanbul’s Asian shore.
- [Beyoğlu and Its Side Streets](https://istanbulcurrent.com/beyoglu/): Art, antiques and café tables around İstiklal, with plenty of reasons to stay for the evening.
- [Galata](https://istanbulcurrent.com/galata/): A tower above the rooftops, music shops on the slope and streets worth following beyond the familiar photograph.
- [Istanbul Essentials](https://istanbulcurrent.com/essentials/): Airports, ferries, payments and tickets: the details that make arriving in Istanbul easier, whether you are staying for a weekend or settling in for longer.
- [Your First Ferry Ride in Istanbul](https://istanbulcurrent.com/ferries/): A practical introduction to the city from the water, with routes worth taking and neighbourhoods worth arriving in.
- [Karaköy](https://istanbulcurrent.com/karakoy/): Art spaces, old banking halls and a waterfront that still sets the pace of the neighbourhood.
- [Six Istanbul Museums and Art Spaces](https://istanbulcurrent.com/museums/): An afternoon with paintings, manuscripts or contemporary art can change how you see Istanbul outside the gallery. The useful question is which collection will stay with you, rather than how many museums you can fit between lunch and dinner.
- [Istanbul Architecture and Historic Places](https://istanbulcurrent.com/architecture/): Istanbul's buildings become more interesting when you look at what they were designed to do. A dome gathers people into a shared space. A palace gate decides who may go farther. A cistern keeps a city supplied with water. A bank announces the importance of the business inside.
- [Three Days in Istanbul](https://istanbulcurrent.com/three-days/): From Sultanahmet’s great interiors to Beyoğlu’s side streets and the ferry to Kadıköy, a first visit with room for discovery.

## Pages

- [Contact](https://istanbulcurrent.com/contact/): Questions, corrections or a good Istanbul tip? We would like to hear from you.
- [Photo credits](https://istanbulcurrent.com/credits/)
- [All city guides](https://istanbulcurrent.com/guides/)
- [Map & places](https://istanbulcurrent.com/places/)
- [Events](https://istanbulcurrent.com/events/)
- [Your guide to Istanbul.](https://istanbulcurrent.com/welcome/): Explore Istanbul’s neighbourhoods, museums and historic places. Find practical guides, selected events and a map to help plan your visit.


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