Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul is the only major city in the world on two continents, and it has been the capital of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires in turn. The layering is unusually visible: Hagia Sophia was built as a cathedral in 537, became a mosque in 1453, a museum in 1935, and a mosque again in 2020.

Galataport changed what a call here means. Until it opened in 2021 ships used terminals further out; now the berth is on the Karaköy waterfront with the terminal buried underground, so passengers step off into a working city district rather than a port compound. For a group it removes the transfer entirely.

Sultanahmet — Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi and the Basilica Cistern — is two tram stops away and can be done in a long morning. Dress codes apply at the mosques: shoulders and knees covered, heads covered for women, shoes off. Scarves are available at the entrances but bringing one is easier.

The Grand Bazaar has around 4,000 shops and is genuinely disorienting. Haggling is expected and good-humoured, and a group should agree a meeting point outside rather than inside, because phone signal is unreliable under the vaults.

Warm rather than scorching, 26–30°C in July and August, and noticeably more humid than the Aegean. Spring and autumn are mild and pleasant; winter is cold and wet.