Plan Istanbul Day 1 Route: With Map & Tips to Avoid Queues

After checking into our hotel in Istanbul, we headed straight to Hagia Sophia. On the way, I noticed something striking - the streets were filled mostly with men, maybe 8 to 2 compared to women. Commuters, waiters, shop owners, almost all were men. Later, a Chinese immigrant who’s lived in Cappadocia for 7 years told me that in Turkey, it’s common for men to work outside while women stay home.

Table of Contents

• Istanbul Day 1 Itinerary

  • Actual Route Diagram

• Tips for Logistics

• My Experience

  • 1. Mosque Hagia Sophia

  • 2. Blue Mosque

  • 3. Basilica Cistern

  • 4. Karaköy Güllüoğlu - Nadir Güllü ⭐️

  • 5. Buyruk Esnaf Lokantası ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Istanbul Day 1 Itinerary

Actual Route Diagram

I highly recommend taking a walk across the Galata Köprüsü bridge in the evening. You can see beautiful sunset light, lighten stunning mosques and a bunch of people having fun fishing ha.

Tips for Logistics

1. 🚃 All the spots below are within a 30-minute walk. But still, keep an Istanbul City Card handy in case you get tired and want to hop on transport.

2. 🕌 When visiting a mosque, both men and women must cover their legs. Women also need a headscarf. They offer free ones at the entrance as well. But if you care about taking photos in a specific way, you may want tto bring your own. (I saw some of the free ones are fully saturated blue/green)

3. 🎫 For Hagia Sophia and Basilica Cistern, I highly recommend buying e-tickets in advance, especially for the Cistern. The line I saw wasn’t even to enter, but just to buy tickets! I was happy that I bought Klook combo ticket, joined the online-ticket queue and got in fast.

My Experience

1. Mosque Hagia Sophia

When I think of Istanbul, I think of Hagia Sophia. The 2 are almost interchangeable for me. I still remember the textbook described it as a masterpiece where East meets West, and I told myself I’d see it in person one day. It’s hard not to feel awe standing in front of an architecture that witness 2 empires - Roman and Ottoman, and 2 religions - Christianity and Islam, and stands for over 1,600 years! Isn’t it?

2. Blue Mosque

The official name is Sultan Ahmed Mosque and is built in 17th during Ottoman Empire. It’s called Blue Mosque because of the blue titles used on the the exterior wall. The interior, on the opposite, adopts warm-color decorations - orange carpet, red painted motifs. I still remember the “breath-holding” moment when I peeped at the Mosque from its marble gate entrance. It was stunning. I took a bunch of photos in front of it.

3. Basilica Cistern

I have no idea what it is until I went. It’s actually a water system that store and distribute water and is built in 6th during Eastern Roman Empire. I honestly feel it’s not that special. People go there to take photos of symmetrical pillars, but I thought it’s more worth doing so at Acropolis in Athen? Anyway, I only spent 10 minutes there. Maybe I should have skipped this.

4. Karaköy Güllüoğlu - Nadir Güllü ⭐️

It’s a Baklava place. Baklava is a pastry dessert prevalent in Greece and Middle East. Someone on Reddit recommend this place so we were looking forward to give it a try, especially for their chocolate baklava! But the excitement ended up with a taste that didn’t quite match the hype:/ (with a partner who has Middle East roots, I gradually develop baklava taste and eyes 😗, so I guess I have a say here?)

Though the dessert is okay, it doesn’t bother at all going to that area for the reason that you can appreciate downtown Istanbul from a different angle by the sea! (You’ll have to go through security in a mall though) Many couples took a walk there, I guess it’s a romantic dating spot as well 😊.

5. Buyruk Esnaf Lokantası ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s a weighed-buffet with authentic local food and friendly price! The area we stayed - Sirkeci is a vibrant and convenient area but I guess also a bit touristy. Almost all the restaurants seem to cater to tourists. How can I tell? They have colorful food photos right next to the entrance, the sign/menu is in English and the price is kinda expensive…

Buyruk Esnaf Lokantası instead, is low key. They don’t have fancy decoration but simple setup, which caught my attention. Super glad that I discovered it, especially that there aren’t many non-meat options in Turkey. This weighed buffet definitely provides more options for vegetarian!