The real Istanbul
About 4,100 buildings from OpenStreetMap on the old peninsula, from Sultanahmet down to the Golden Horn, with the sea round its tip. More of the city comes later.
Instant Istanbul BETA
Explore or race by bike, on foot or on horseback between the mosques and bazaars of Istanbul!
The old peninsula of Istanbul in 3D, between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara: the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar and the quays of Eminönü, every building from OpenStreetMap.
Free · no account · works on PC, tablet and phone
What there is to do
Domes, bazaars and the Golden Horn
The Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome, the Basilica Cistern, the gate of Topkapı Palace, the Grand Bazaar, Sirkeci Station, and the New Mosque and the Spice Bazaar at Eminönü.
A race: Sultanahmet
From the Hagia Sophia along the Divan Yolu to the Column of Constantine and the Grand Bazaar, down the Ankara Caddesi to Sirkeci, and back past Gülhane Park and the gate of Topkapı Palace.
This is Istanbul
Istanbul lies on both banks of the Bosphorus, the strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, half in Europe and half in Asia. For sixteen centuries it was a capital, of the Roman and Byzantine emperors as Constantinople and of the Ottoman sultans after them. Its old peninsula, between the Golden Horn and the sea, holds the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapı Palace and the Grand Bazaar. Today it is the largest city of Turkey, with more than fifteen million people.
- The Hagia Sophia, a church for nine hundred years, then a mosque
- The Blue Mosque and the skyline of domes and minarets
- Topkapı Palace, home of the Ottoman sultans
- The Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar
- The ferries across the Bosphorus, between Europe and Asia
- Simit, Turkish tea and Turkish delight
Places, elements and landmarks
Hagia SophiaJustinian’s great church of 537, with its dome 55 metres high: a church, then a mosque, a museum and a mosque again.
Blue MosqueThe mosque of Sultan Ahmed I, with six minarets and some twenty thousand blue tiles from İznik inside.
HippodromeThe long square where Byzantium held its chariot races, with an Egyptian obelisk and a bronze serpent column still on it.
Basilica CisternThe underground water store of Justinian, a forest of 336 columns standing in the water.
Topkapı PalaceThe palace of the Ottoman sultans for almost four hundred years, on the tip of the peninsula above the Bosphorus.
Grand BazaarOne of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world, some sixty streets and four thousand shops under one roof.
Spice BazaarThe L-shaped covered market by the New Mosque, full of spices, dried fruit, tea and Turkish delight.
New MosqueThe great mosque on the water at Eminönü, begun in 1597 and finished 68 years later.
Galata BridgeThe bridge over the Golden Horn from Eminönü to Karaköy, lined with anglers on top and fish restaurants below.
Ready to go?
Play Instant IstanbulStill in development: expect some rough edges.