25 reasons to visit Istanbul

Now is a good time to visit this enchanting city. It's had a major face-lift: well-trodden sights are being scrubbed up and renovated, and some new megaprojects have just been completed, bringing fresh life to Istanbul's public spaces.

- By Sybrand Mostert

Istanbul is the flipside of many coins. It's a vibrant, modern city built on the stone of two vanished world empires: the Byzantine and the Ottoman. It spans two continents: Asia and Europe. It's conservative yet open. Istanbul has been populated by Turks, Greeks, Russians, Armenians, Catholics, Jews, and a smattering of British, French and German peoples. Add to this a glorious setting on the Bosphorus, the strait that unites the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, and you have a heady mix of intrigue and the exotic.

Two new megaprojects have come to fruition recently. Most notably, the new Galataport district, which has opened up the city to the Bosphorus with a gleaming new waterfront. Lined with a mix of shops, restaurants and museums, the district lies on a kilometres-long stretch along the sea, facing the minaret-dominated city skyline in the distance.

After a decade of construction, the Atatürk Cultural Center (also known as AKM) has also opened its doors. It contains an opera house and multipurpose spaces for performing arts and exhibitions.

In addition, the new home of the Istanbul Modern, designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano (famed for the Pompidou Centre in Paris and The Shard in London) is set to open in Galataport in the first half of 2022.

To top it all, some good news for South Africans: you won't have to bring up the calculator on your phone at every turn. The Turkish lira and the rand are exchanging at an almost-equal rate, which means you get more bang for your buck than at most world destinations.

Enough of the broad sweep on Istanbul. Turn the page for our list of things to do in the city.

1 Stroll, shop and enjoy dinner at the new Galataport and waterfront - and visit the Istanbul Modern, a museum of modern and contemporary art, at its brand-new home on the waterfront.