Istanbul Guide

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What’s New

PLAN YOUR TRIP What’s New

All-Night Public Transport One of the first announcements made by Ekrem Imamoğlu when he was elected mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in 2019 was that some metro lines in the city – including the handy M2 line from Yenikapı to Hacıosman – would function for 24 hours every Friday and Saturday. Cooking Alaturka Food Tours This well-known Sultanahmet cookery school now offers guided food tours visit ing produce and spice markets, sampling street food and even visiting an historic brewery. (p89 ) Dormitory of the Corps of the Palace Guards, Topkapı Palace One of the hidden treasures of Topkapı, this tile-adorned military dormitory located next to the entrance of the Harem can now be visited after a long and After a long closure, the Balat and Fener iskeles (ferry docks) have finally reopened, making exploration of the Haliç (Golden Horn) suburbs much easier. (p170 ) Museum of Turkish Jews Celebrating its move to a new building at tached to the Neve Shalom synagogue, this excellent museum in Galata uses multi- media displays to document the long his tory of the Jewish people in Turkey. (p127 ) Nuruosmaniye Mosque The restoration of this baroque mosque took years, but has been well worth the wait; don’t miss the unique polygonal rear courtyard. (p100 ) painstaking renovation. (p61) Golden Horn Ferry Stops

Hünkâr Kasrı Sultans once rested in this elevated pavilion attached to the New Mosque, and now its gorgeous tile-encrusted interior is open to the rest of us for two weeks every month. (p99 ) Palace Collections Museum Housed in the recently restored Matbah-ı Amire (former kitchens) of Dolmabahçe Palace, this museum showcases costumes, furniture, porcelain, textiles and many other objects from the palace collection. (p150 ) Babylon Bomonti The city’s best-loved live-music venue has moved to new digs in a converted beer fac tory in the arty enclave of Bomonti, north of Taksim Meydani (Taksim Square; p154 ). Tophane Design Precinct The Depo cultural centre (p129) and Hiç design store (p144) led the way, and now the streets north of the Tophane tram stop have become a magnet for designer boutiques. Yeldeğirmeni Street art, cultural venues, boutiques and cafes are sprouting in this once-dishevelled quarter near Haydarpaşa, reinforcing Kadıköy’s claim to the title of İstanbul’s hippest neighbourhood. (p155 )

For more recommendations and reviews, see lonelyplanet. com/Istanbul