Hidden Istanbul: 20 secret places off the beaten track

The historic peninsula, away from the crowds

A few streets from Sultanahmet Square, several Byzantine and Ottoman monuments receive a fraction of the visitors of their famous neighbours.

1. The Binbirdirek Cistern

Its name means "a thousand and one columns": in fact 212 of the original 224 still stand, in a dry hall of more than 3,000 m² where you walk among the shafts. Dated to the 4th century, it is the city's second-largest cistern. It opens Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 17:00, according to its official website, and also serves as a reception venue, so call ahead if your visit is at a set time. Full details are on our Binbirdirek Cistern page.

2. The Cistern of Theodosius (Şerefiye)

Buried under an Ottoman mansion until 2010, this cistern from the reign of Theodosius II (408-450) lines up 32 columns with Corinthian capitals. A 360-degree projection show plays across its vaults. Open daily from 10:00, it costs TL 900 for foreign visitors, payable by bank card or Istanbulkart; see our Cistern of Theodosius page.

3. Little Hagia Sophia

Below the Blue Mosque, the former Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, built around 527-536 under Justinian, foreshadows Hagia Sophia on a small scale: a ribbed dome, a double colonnade and a carved Greek frieze. A mosque since around 1500, it can be visited free of charge outside prayer times. The courtyard of the neighbouring madrasa holds a very quiet tea garden.

4. The Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque

In the Kadırga quarter, this small mosque by Sinan, completed in 1571-1572 for the grand vizier Sokollu Mehmet Pasha and his wife Ismihan Sultan, hides a rare curiosity: fragments of the Black Stone of the Kaaba, set in gilded brass above the entrance door, the mihrab and the minbar. Its Iznik tiles are among the finest in the city. Free entry, outside prayer times.

5. The Column of Constantine

On Divanyolu, at the Çemberlitaş tram stop, this porphyry column was raised in 330 for the inauguration of Constantinople. Weakened by fires and earthquakes, it was bound with iron hoops, hence its Turkish name, "the hooped stone". It can be seen freely at any hour, a short walk from both cisterns.

6. Yedikule Fortress

At the south-west corner of the land walls, the "Castle of the Seven Towers" was built by Mehmed II after the 1453 conquest around the Byzantine Golden Gate, the emperors' triumphal arch. It later served as a treasury and a prison. Run by Fatih municipality, the fortress opens Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 to 17:00 (closed Monday); the rampart walk overlooks the Sea of Marmara. See our Yedikule Fortress page.

Along the Golden Horn: Balat, Fener and Ayvansaray

7. The Bulgarian Church of St Stephen

On the waterfront, this church consecrated in 1898 is built entirely of cast-iron sections cast in Vienna and assembled on site. Restored, it reopened on 7 January 2018; it can be visited without a ticket, in silence. Our Bulgarian St Stephen Church page tells its story.

8. Ahrida Synagogue

Founded in the 15th century by Jews from Ohrid, it is Istanbul's oldest synagogue; its ship's-prow reading platform is unique. Visits are by reservation only, at least three days in advance, through the Jewish Museum of Turkey or an approved agency, passport in hand. The conditions are on our Balat and Fener page.

9. The Phanar Greek Orthodox College

This red-brick building completed in 1883, crowned with a dome, towers over Fener like a castle. It is still a working school, closed to the public, but the lanes climbing up from the Patriarchate give the best views of the building and the Golden Horn.

10. The Tekfur Palace

Built against the city walls, the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus is the only Byzantine palace in Istanbul whose facades still stand, with their patterns of brick and stone. Restored and turned into a museum, it also displays the ceramics made on site in Ottoman times. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00 (ticket office until 17:30); a ticket costs 570 TL for foreign visitors, payable by card only, and the Müzekart is not accepted. See our Tekfur Palace page.

Beyoğlu and Galata: passages, stairways and underground spaces

11. Karaköy's underground mosque

Near the Karaköy ferry pier, the Yeraltı Camii ("underground mosque") fills the vaulted cellar of a Byzantine fortress, the Kastellion, where the great chain that closed the Golden Horn was anchored. Converted into a mosque in the 18th century, it is a low forest of piers sheltering two revered tombs. Free entry outside prayer times, modest dress required.

12. The Kamondo Stairs

Between Bankalar Caddesi and Kart Çınar Sokak, these two curving, symmetrical flights were built around 1870-1880 by the banker Abraham Salomon Camondo, who lived at the top and worked at the bottom. Henri Cartier-Bresson photographed them in 1964. Free access.

13. The Tünel

Opened in 1875, this underground funicular of about 573 m links Karaköy to the top of İstiklal Avenue: it is the world's second-oldest underground railway after London's. A ride costs one Istanbulkart fare, TL 46.20 at full price. Our Tünel page gives the timetable.

14. Hazzopulo Passage

Opened in 1871 by a Greek merchant, this cobbled passage links İstiklal to Meşrutiyet Street. Its inner courtyard, shaded by vines, holds a tea garden where people play tavla away from the crowds. The writer Namık Kemal is said to have been arrested here.

15. The Pera Palace Hotel

Built in the late 19th century for Orient Express travellers, the Pera Palace keeps its period salons and Room 411, the one Agatha Christie asked for on every stay. Without staying the night, you can visit Atatürk's Room 101, now a museum, with a ticket sold on Passo. See our Pera Palace Hotel page.

16. The Museum of Innocence and Çukurcuma

The museum conceived by Orhan Pamuk displays the objects from his novel in a red house in Çukurcuma, including a wall of 4,213 cigarette butts. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00; tickets cost TL 800 for foreign visitors. Details on our Museum of Innocence page, then browse the junk shops in the surrounding streets.

The Bosphorus and the Asian shore

17. Kuzguncuk

North of Üsküdar, this Bosphorus village lines up colourful wooden houses, vegetable gardens and cafés along İcadiye Street. Its curiosity: the mosque, built in 1952 in the very courtyard of the Armenian church of Surp Krikor Lusavoriç, opened in 1835. A synagogue and a Greek church complete the neighbourhood. Free access.

18. Karacaahmet Cemetery

In Üsküdar, this Ottoman cemetery, among the oldest and largest in the city, stretches beneath thousands of cypresses. The carved headstones, topped with turbans or fezzes according to the deceased's rank, tell the story of Ottoman society. You can walk through it freely and at no cost, with the discretion the place calls for.

19. The Toy Museum

Founded in 2005 by the poet Sunay Akın in a Göztepe villa, this private museum gathers more than 4,000 toys, from the 18th century to the present, in themed rooms. It opens Tuesday to Friday, 10:00 to 18:00, and at weekends 10:00 to 18:30 (closed Monday); the Müzekart is not valid. See our Toy Museum page.

20. Yoros Castle

At the end of the long Bosphorus cruise, above the village of Anadolu Kavağı, the ruins of this Byzantine and Genoese castle guard the entrance to the Black Sea. The interior is closed for archaeological excavations, but the surroundings can be visited free of charge and give a striking view over the strait.

Summary table

Prices as of October 2026. Prices in Turkish lira change often with inflation.

Tips for these visits

Mosques and churches are places of worship: cover shoulders and knees, women cover their hair in mosques, and visit outside prayers and services. Several of these places are in residential neighbourhoods, in Balat, Kuzguncuk or Çukurcuma: photograph residents only with their consent. Group your visits by area, as the city is vast: a morning for the peninsula, half a day for the Golden Horn by T5 tram or ferry, another for Galata and Beyoğlu, and a full day for the Asian shore and the Bosphorus.

Further reading

To round off this tour without spending much, see our selection of free things to do in Istanbul. If the cisterns and the Tekfur Palace have left you wanting more, our Byzantine Istanbul guide links all the monuments of Constantinople.