The museum is free for Turks to visit but in December was the scene of a protest over the shortening of opening hours. Another term of conservative government led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has sparked fresh fears for freedom of expression, with Istanbul Modern’s chief curator leaving in unexplained circumstances last August.
Istanbul Modern offers a glimpse into the tensions simmering in Turkiye today. Getty
For now, the art still affords visitors possibly their only insight into the complex politics of modern Turkish culture, with most tour guides and locals politely declining to discuss the intricacies of the right-wing coalition.
A striking mural with graffiti that reads “the only good nation is imagination” echoes some of the criticism coming from Kurdish artists who have described the Istanbul art scene as on the verge of crisis.
On the second floor of Istanbul Modern is Restaurant Modern, a smart restaurant with fabulous views and outdoor seating that puts a new twist on Turkish cuisine.
From here you can wander north through the narrow streets, past the Galata Tower to the opulent Roman architecture of Pera Palace Hotel, home to Agatha Christie as she wrote Murder on the Orient Express.
The Pera Palace Hotel, once home to Agatha Christie, has the oldest elevator in Europe. Ayesha de Kretser
Take tea and pastries in the hotel’s lobby café (after checking out Europe’s oldest working lift) or keep walking a few doors down to Soho House, where the Italian restaurant Cecconi’s is in the courtyard of the 19th century palazzo.
Across the road is a tiny gourmet providore, Comedus, stocking a unique and interesting range of Turkish wines. Unlike wines from Lebanon and Greece, few of Türkiye’s local drops make their way to Australia via export, but with a similar terrain and climate, these are both familiar and surprisingly good.
Shop
The Grand Bazaar is famed for selling pretty much everything: carpets, embroidered towels and bathrobes, fancy backgammon sets and a glorious array of colourful, pungent spices. And even, thanks to the Erdoğan government’s close relationship with countries on the sanctions list, ice-cold Russian or Iranian caviar.
For a pick-me-up while shopping, join the line for Turkish coffee at the Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi Mahdumlari outlet just outside the bazaar and take a lesson in reading the coffee grinds. Or grab lunch on the run at arguably the city’s best doner kebab restaurant, Donerci Sahin Usta – but be warned, it’s standing-room only and once the meat runs out, it closes.
Turkish rugs aplenty at the Grand Bazaar. Backgammon was invented in Turkiye. Ayesha de Kretser
For those preferring genuine designer goods to the counterfeit variety at the bazaar, luxury Turkish department store Vakko has a number of different locations around the city.
While Türkiye is a well-known textile manufacturing hub for fast fashion chains like Zara and H&M, its flagship Vakko brand has expanded from its roots as a milliner and silk tailor founded more than 90 years ago to become a vast homewares, cosmetics and fashion empire.
Major luxury brands are also spread throughout the city and while prices are the same as elsewhere in Europe, there are usually sales to cater for Istanbul’s steady influx of tourists.
Eat and Drink
The upmarket neighbourhood of Bebek is the place to see and be seen in Istanbul and of all the bars and restaurants, Lucca by the Sea is the most versatile. From morning coffee into brunch, dinner and then a cool bar with DJs at night, Lucca’s waterfront location and stylish vibe is a favourite for well-heeled Turks and travellers.
Seafood and mezze-style dining at Uskumru restaurant on the Bosphorus.
Venture across the bridge to the Asian side of the city to Uskumru restaurant and dine by the Bosphorus from the opposite shore, sampling freshly caught fish and Turkish mezze-style dining.
No visit to Istanbul is complete without a feast of meat grilled over charcoals and mezze. Family-run restaurant Karaköy Lokantasi stands out as the place to do it, with its attention to detail and devotion to service. It doesn’t take bookings at lunch but will at dinner for groups of up to six.
Gallada in the Peninsula Hotel, just a few doors down from Istanbul Modern, fuses Asian and Turkish cuisine and takes on a cocktail-bar vibe by night.
Stay
Istanbul is home to all the big hotel chains. Among the top picks are Hong Kong’s Peninsula Hotel, which opened its doors last year in Galataport by the sea, while Kempinski has restored the Ciragan Palace just a few kilometres along the seafront. Four Seasons and a Mandarin Oriental are within proximity along the banks of the Bosphorus.
At Vakko Hotel Istanbul, a private butler service is available.
At Vakko Hotel and Residence, which opened less than a year ago, 31 sleekly designed one or two-bedroom, self-contained suites sit just two to a floor in the Nişantaşı residential district, flanked by luxury stores and posh eateries.
This hotel is not for the faint-hearted: shopping is a serious business if the number of branded shopping bags being ferried through the windmill doors by the hotel’s butler service is anything to go by. As I wait for an Uber, a black Mercedes van unloads a steady stream of Louis Vuitton trunks, holding up traffic for at least five minutes.
One recent guest booked a second suite for her 79 suitcases, I’m told. Luckily for those who choose not to travel light, Vakko has a private butler who will hang the clothes from your suitcases for you.
Fly
Turkish Airlines has just started flying direct to Melbourne via Singapore, where the plane stops for only 1 hour and 40 minutes to refuel. From April 1, Turkish Airlines flight TK169 will depart Melbourne at 10.20pm on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The plane refuels briefly in Singapore, departing at 4.30am and arriving in Istanbul at 10.40am.
The return flight TK168 leaves Istanbul on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday at 5pm, returning to Melbourne around 8.40pm. Business-class travellers can use the generic Mahaba Lounge in Changi’s Terminal One or the Star Alliance Lounge in Istanbul. In Melbourne, Turkish Airlines uses Star Alliance partner Air New Zealand’s lounge.
Prices start from $7500 in business class.
The writer travelled as a guest of Turkish Airlines.