I’ve been super lucky to have traveled the world and seen a good many places. I try my best not to play favorites, but like any honest high school teacher will tell you, you always do have favorites. Istanbul easily falls into my top four cities worldwide (shout-outs to Cape Town, Toronto, and Reykjavik). The world has passed through and ruled from this city.
The history of Istanbul is fascinating, but it hasn’t stunted the city’s development. I’ve seen some cities so caught up in preserving historical buildings in an attempt to hold on to past glory that modern life is sacrificed and held back because of it. In Istanbul, this isn’t the case, as the modern and ancient exist side by side.
I love Istanbul, so when I had the chance to spend four more days this recently, I was beyond excited! I’ve visited several times before but never taken the time to really photograph the city. This was my chance! Before going, I did some research and identified a few spots I wanted to shoot. This write-up is an attempt to share what knowledge I learned both in planning my shots and functionally shooting them. The dream is when you have your chance to go to Istanbul, you’ll be able to spend a little less time planning (like I had to do) and a little more time soaking in this stunning city!
The main spots I decided I wanted to shoot were:
- The Ortakoy Mosque
- The Blue Mosque
- The Haggia Sophia
- Maiden’s Tower
Setting Up Home Base
The first thing to understand is the lay of the land and where to set up your home base. I’m going to overgeneralize and offend people here, but below is my take on Istanbul.
Now that I’ve offended everyone in Istanbul with this reductive map, I will say I think the best part of the city to stay in is the “Old European and touristy part of the city,” which is actually called “Sultanahmet.” Pretty much anything you could want to do in Istanbul is either here or can be booked at the many tour offices here. There are plenty of places to stay. English a more prevalent in Sultanahmet since it’s centered on tourism. There are seemingly non-stop great restaurants. And it’s easy to get to and from the airport.
Pro Tip: I used this blog to figure out how to get from the airport to Sultanahmet. Scroll down to the subheading “Havaist bus from Istanbul Airport to Sultanahmet.” The article has photos to help you navigate the airport and everything. I found the Havaist buses to be great and easy, but if you want to try one of the other options, go for it!
1. The Ortakoy Mosque
The Ortakoy Mosque (also known as the Grand Mecidiye Mosque) is a mosque (roughly 175 years old) on the Ortakoy Pier along the Bosphorus River. This was easily my top photo destination on this trip to Istanbul. My wife has this tradition she loves, and has included me in on, where we pick up a fridge magnet from every country we go to.
On our last trip to Istanbul, we picked up this beautiful little magnet that had a photo of a mosque with the sun in the background and some birds flying. I had never seen this mosque before, but I loved the scene! When we got home, I took a photo of the magnet and did a reverse image search to learn it was the Ortakoy Mosque, and that’s when this spot got added to my dream photo list!
As for shooting this mosque, I decided to go for sunrise one morning. I’m generally more of a sunset guy, but with this mosque located on the west bank of the Bosphorus, it worked best for sunrise. Remember, the sun rises in the east, so that means I could get the sun rising in the background behind the mosque. A good general rule of thumb is to look up the sunrise time on Google and then make sure you’re there a solid 30 minutes before that time. In my experience, the rising sun lights up the sky most spectacularly about 15 minutes before the listed sunrise time. Then after that, you also have the chance to have the actual sun rising behind whatever you are shooting.
For the time I was there in Istanbul, sunrise was listed at 8.04am, meaning I wanted to be there no later than 7.30. Google told me the combo of walking and public transportation would take me about an hour. So, not wanting to take any chances, I woke up at 5.30 and was on my way. After a slight hiccup buying an Istanbul Public Transportation Card (Istanbulkart) and missing a bus, I did indeed make it with time to spare. In all honesty, the sky didn’t have the best colors I’ve ever seen on this particular morning, but it was an absolute pleasure getting to just sit there and watch this one small part of town wake.
I quickly learned that my composition of this mosque photo needed some motion. I tried using various seagulls, but they were too small and didn’t really make an impact in the frame. But luck struck when a bread delivery van rolled down the road beside the harbor and scared a flock of pigeons into flight. These pigeons rose up and flew behind me before circling back to their spot on a path that led them directly between my camera and the mosque! This little piece of luck easily gave me my favorite shot of the mosque (below).
I stayed probably another hour after this shot, and I did try quite a few more compositions, but really I spent most of that time people watching. I had picked up a Turkish coffee from one of the restaurants off to the left of the frame and just enjoyed being there in the (relatively) early morning.
2. The Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque (also known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque) is a roughly 400-year-old mosque that is located right in the heart of the Sultan Ahmet part of town. We stayed about three blocks away from this mosque, so I had no shortage of opportunities to shoot this mosque. I’ve had the opportunity to visit the mosque several times now, but just the sheer size of it makes capturing its essence in a single shot almost impossible. There are absolutely stunning photos of this mosque out there, but they often use drones or aerial photography to capture the photos. For me, it’s always been a struggle.
But this time in Istanbul, I had a minor breakthrough and I now have a new favorite spot to the Blue Mosque: the Seven Hills Restaurant.
The Blue Mosque is denoted here as “Sultanahmet Camii” which is just Turkish for Sultan Ahmet Mosque. I’m sure you figured that out already, but I thought I’d be uber clear.
This restaurant is located right on the edge of the park that surrounds the Blue Mosque. It’s also one of the taller buildings in the area, and it has an open-to-the-public restaurant on the roof. All of this makes it a great and easily accessible spot to shoot photos of the mosque!
I will warn you though, I wasn’t terribly impressed by the food in the restaurant. They seem to make their name based on the view rather than the food they serve. It wasn’t horrible, but there’s SO MUCH incredible food in Istanbul, so our meal at Seven Hills just didn’t compare.
3. The Hagia Sofia
In terms of history, the Hagia Sophia is fascinating! It started out as a church when Istanbul was the seat of the Eastern Roman Empire. It was then converted to a mosque when Islam became the in-vogue religion of the region. It was converted into a museum when Turkey went through a secular revolution after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. And it’s recently been converted back into a mosque by a Turkish leader looking to capitalize on rising Islamic nationalist sentiments in the country.
Now my tip for shooting the Hagia Sophia is actually the exact same for my time as shooting the Blue Mosque, go to the Seven Hills Restaurant. Just this time, you go to the other side of the rooftop and shoot there. The Hagia Sophia is denoted as “Ayasofya Camii” which is just Turkish for “Hagia Sophia Mosque.”
I took this above shot around noon time. The next time I go to Istanbul, I would like to return to the restaurant around golden hour (roughly an hour before sunset) and shoot it then. Considering the sun sets in the west and the Hagia Sophia is roughly northeast of the restaurant, I strongly believe the golden light of the sun approaching the horizon will beautifully light up the front of this gorgeous and storied building!
4. Maiden’s Tower
Now this spot, I discovered by flying on Turkish Airlines. Their seat TVs have a screensaver of great photos from around Turkey that play on a loop until the in-flight entertainment starts. The shot of Maiden’s Tower caught my eye and stuck with me!
Maiden’s Tower is a small lighthouse-looking building built on a tiny island in the Bosphorus River. It has existed in various since at least 1110 AD and has become an iconic sight in Istanbul. It’s located just off the coast of a part of town called Uskudar, so that’s where I went. Since I knew I’d be on the east bank of the river, I wagered that I might be able to get a pretty good sunset shot of the tower, so I chose to go in the late evening.
When I showed up, I found that a significant portion of the riverfront path was under construction, so spot number one was the closest I could get to the tower. I set up my camera on my tripod with my 24-105mm lens and started shooting to my heart’s content. I will warn you at this spot, the river waves hit the sea wall (is it still called a sea wall if it’s a river?) and do cause a significant amount of spray up onto the riverfront path. If you’re not careful, you and your camera will get soaked.
Maiden’s Tower from spot number one on the river-front path.
After shooting here for a while, I decided to see if I could find a better angle. I noticed a park across the street and a small street leading from the park up a small hill. On a hunch, I followed it, and right before it turned inland, I set my tripod up on top of a dumpster and found my favorite angle (so far) of Maiden’s Tower.
I probably spent too long up here, and I ended up shooting so many shots, it turned into an accidental timelapse showing this is indeed an active waterway!
This next part I’m still kicking myself over.
This particular day I was shooting Maiden’s Tower was a pretty cold one, and I had been outside a while. My vision had been to get a sunset shot, but it was cloudy. I was cold. And I hadn’t seen the sun all day. I figured there was no way the sun would set in a way to create the spectacular colors I envisioned, so I decided to call it a day and go to dinner.
Now, remember above, I told you the best time to capture sunrise colors is 15 minutes before sunrise? Well, the best time to capture sunset colors is 15 minutes after the listed sunset time. A lesson I’ve learned before but forgot on this day is to never write off a sunset until after this 15-minute gap is over.
So on this day, I was all packed up and walking to dinner when the sky absolutely BLEW UP! It was spectacular! Purples and pinks just lit the clouds on fire! I scrambled to get my gear back out for a shot, and I did get this photo:
But in all honesty, this shot was taken 5-10 minutes too late, after the most stunning peak colors had begun to fade. I’m still kicking myself for missing the shot I had gone all the way there for, but hopefully, I’ve learned my lesson, and next time I’m in Istanbul, I’ll be able to do it properly.
Conclusion
All in all, I loved my time back in Istanbul. I feel I could spend a lifetime learning to photograph this city and still not be able to capture the beauty here! I feel I’ve gotten better over the multiple visits I’ve had, and I’ve figured a few logistical aspects out, but Istanbul isn’t just about making rad photos. It’s a city that needs to be experienced. It’s got history, culture, and soul. Not to mention the food.
I still have a lot to learn about this city, but I get why people have been fighting over it for centuries.
When you get to visit yourself, hopefully, this guide will help ease some of the logistical challenges of what spots to go to, when to go to them, and some options of where to be to photograph them. With the logistics out of the way, my goal is that you’ll have more time to just be there and experience the magic. But please please please don’t stop after my little list. Istanbul is a treasure trove of hidden gems, each with its own unique charm and story. Take your time to explore. Get lost a little. Find something beautiful. And when you do, I’d love to hear about it! So seriously, let me know.
And if you need some daily inspiration before you can get a trip to Istanbul planned, you can buy one of the shots to hang on your wall using this link. I hope it can serve as a reminder that beauty and adventure are out there!
Turkey Alwan Travels