Reflections of Istanbul: the travel guide

This article is published in the number 24-25 of Vanity Fair on newsstands until June 20, 2023

From the quay of the new Galataportwhere until yesterday the customs in ruins slumbered, the eyes cross the Bosphorus and create the bridge between the new Istanbul and its eternal profile, breathing on the other side of the strait. The more or less amiable incarnation of the contemporary has recently taken shape on this shore, with over a kilometer of renovated waterfront dotted with shops, cafes and restaurants with terraces silhouetted along a seafront promenade as straight as the horizon. Which frames the mirrored appearance of Istanbul Moderna contemporary art museum inaugurated on May 4th based on a project by Renzo Piano, a superimposition of aluminum paved parallelepipeds that sparkle at sunset, in a square shared with the dazzling 19th-century minarets Nusretiye Camii. From the other side of the sea, like sirens, the incomparable profiles of the Blue Mosque and of Hagia Sophiawhich represent the necessary immersion of this thousand-year-old capital from which this time we will have to escape, looking for the new, the unexpected and who knows what really happens: the unexpected.

Istanbul Modern, to begin with, is a treat for the eyes. And not just for the white rooms dedicated to photography and the best of Turkish production from the post-war period to today. But also for the terrace that opens onto the sea and the neighborhood of Sultanahmeta trampoline flooded by a thin film of water that the seagulls have already decided to inhabit using it as a swimming pool and solarium, to drink and run around, have fun like little flamingos enjoying this protected carousel, built by man.

Twenty minutes of walking, and here is another new stone set in the crown of the city: theAtatürk Cultural Center, rebuilt on the ashes of the Kültür Merkezi destroyed by fire on November 27, 1970, while an Arthur Miller play on witch hunts was being staged. Now the theater has risen, as well as theOpera Hall. In addition to the multifunctional rooms, the bookshop dedicated to art and design and the workshops of tailors, carpenters and stage forges. On the top floor, just opened, the restaurant biz (meaning «we» in Turkish), a 380-seat hall dressed up with cedar wainscoting, majestic works of digital art and blue ceramics by Iznik: «We asked two hundred experts to reconstruct the gastronomic tradition of the city: between Arabs and Ottomans, Armenians and Bulgarians, Jews and Russian noblemen who fled here after the Crimean war», says co-founder Kaya Demirer, «this will be a place of inclusiveness . And of gastrodiplomacy».

And there are endless opportunities to taste it, the «we», in Istanbul. Still at the table: from Neolokal, with its cultured selection of wines from Anatolia, where Noah planted the vineyard and then drank them until he fell asleep, drunk and naked, under the tent. Or from Fehmi Lokantasifor one hundred and six years of the same Greek-Ottoman family, to try the unforgettable pudding of chicken and milk transformed into a very sweet white cream: the kazandibi. Or experience the “we” that has been breathed for centuries in the streets of the area Fener-Balatannounced by the Bulgarian Cathedral of Sveti Stefan (the world’s largest iron church) and dotted with synagogues, Armenian temples and antique dealers serving tea in porcelain sets for sale. “Until five years ago, nobody passed through here,” says Nazifee, owner of the GenAntik Cafe, «Then the most famous crime series in Turkey started to be set there and the first artists moved, leaving Cihangir, in the centre, which had become too expensive». As has always been the Bebek neighborhood, where he inaugurated the hotel Mandarin Oriental Bosphorus, right on the water and in front of the island that the Galatasaray team bought to host events and private parties. One hundred rooms, from the double room to the imperial apartment, and constant research, as the general manager Harun Dursun calls it, of the «Wow moment»: «Before arrivals we study the social profiles of the guests to understand their passions. Today comes a lady who we know loves accessories, so we had her prepare some sweets in the shape of a purse Kelly, that you will find in your room”. This too is a declination of the unexpected, after all. In this Istanbul where every ideal bridge is built with a glance.

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