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48
Sultanahmet & Around
SULTANAHMET | KÜÇÜK AYASOFYA | GÜLHANE | SIRKECI | EMINÖNÜ
Neighbourhood
Top Five
KARAKÖY
Golden Horn
(Haliç)
Galata Bridge
(Galata Köprüsü)
Resadiy
e
Bosphorus Strait
(Boğaziçi)
Ca
d
Ha
m
Cad
ar
ara Cad
Ø
#
#
5
Y
mdar Cad
Al e
CAĞALOĞLU
C ad
Sarayburnu
3 Learning about the fasV
#
#
2
#
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â
3
Babı Ali
Cad
Hippodrome
Aksakal
Cad
Kadı
rg
At
m
ey
d
an
ı
BİNBİRDİREK
# #
â
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4
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â
1
d
a
C
Ø
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5
depths of the atmospheric
Basilica Cistern (p71).
Aya Sofya Meydanı
Sultanahmet
Park
CANKURTARAN
0
0
0
0
0
00
0
ß
# Blue
Mosque
aL
im
a n ı Cad
KÜÇÜK
Aksakal Cad
AYASOFYA
hil
Ken ne dy Cad (Sa Yolu)
Sea of Marmara (Marmara Denizi)
0
e
#0
cinating history of the city
in the İstanbul Archaeology Museums (p69).
4 Exploring the watery
er
eb
at
an
ALEMDAR Cad
Divan Yolu (O
rdu)
2 Uncovering the secrets
of the seraglio in opulent
Topkapı Palace (p57).
ig
An
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Yolu)
nd
ve
idiy SİRKECİ Ken nedy Cad (Sahil
eC
ad
EMİNÖNÜ
Hü
Aşir
Efe
da
ndi
Ca d
Gülhane
Eb
Park
u
HOBYAR
k ssu
ud
Ca
d
1 Standing beneath the
magnificent dome of Aya
Sofya (p50) and imagining what it would have been
like to attend a candlelit
service in this, the greatest
of all Byzantine churches.
400 m
0.2 miles
For more detail of this area see Maps p238 and p240A
5 Surrendering to the
steam and admiring the
historic surrounds in an
Ottoman-era hamam
(p85).
49
Explore: Sultanahmet
If you are spending a full
three days in the city and
plan to visit the major
museums in Sultanahmet,
the Museum Pass İstanbul
(p73) will save you money
and enable you to jump
ticket queues.
Best Places
5 to Eat & Drink
¨¨ Balıkçı Sabahattin
(p81)
¨¨ Matbah (p82)
¨¨ Hocapaşa Sokak
(p80)
¨¨ Güvenç Konyalı (p82)
¨¨ Set Üstü Çay Bahçesi
(p83)
For reviews, see p80.A
Local Life
¨Produce markets
There are weekly street markets in
Cankurtaran on Wednesday and in nearby Kadırga on
Thursday.
¨Backgammon Head to Derviş Aile Çay Bahçesi
(p82) or Cafe Meşale (p82) to join locals in
smoking nargiles (water pipes), drinking tea and
playing backgammon.
¨Promenade On weekends, follow the families who
promenade through the Hippodrome (p72) and
picnic in Gülhane Park (p79).
Getting There & Away
¨Tram
Efficient tram services link Cevızlibağ and
Bağcılar in the city’s west with Kabataş in Beyoğlu.
From here, a funicular runs up to Taksim Meydanı
(Taksim Sq). Trams stop at the Grand Bazaar,
Sultanahmet, Gülhane Park and Eminönü en route. Get
off the tram at the Sultanahmet stop to visit most of the
sights in this chapter.
Best Places
7 to Shop
¨¨ Cocoon (p83)
¨¨ Özlem Tuna (p84)
¨¨ Jennifer’s Hamam
(p84)
¨¨ Mehmet Çetinkaya
­Gallery (p84)
For reviews, see p83.A
Best
1 Museums
¨¨ Aya Sofya (p50)
¨¨ Topkapı Palace (p57)
¨¨ İstanbul Archaeology
Museums (p69)
¨¨ Museum of Turkish &
Islamic Arts (p74)
For reviews, see p50.A
Su lta n a h m e t & A ro u n d 
The fact that there are so many significant monuments
and museums in this area means that devising an itinerary is important. To do the neighbourhood justice, you’ll
need at least three days (four or five would be better).
Plan to visit one of the major museums (Aya Sofya,
Topkapı Palace, the İstanbul Archaeology Museums, the
Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts) each day and then
add the less time-intensive sights into your daily itineraries. For instance, it makes sense to visit the Archaeology Museums and Gülhane Park together on one day
and Aya Sofya, the Blue Mosque and the Basilica Cistern
on another.
The ever-present battalions of tour groups tend to
visit the museums first thing in the morning or after
lunch – you will find that queues are shorter and exhibits less crowded if you visit during lunchtime or later in
the afternoon.
This isn’t a part of town where many locals live. Restaurants, cafes and shops are geared towards tourists
and prices reflect this fact.
Lonely Planet’s
Top Tip