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Sumner-Boyd and Freely's Bosphorus shore, from Karaköy to Dolmabahçe
Photo: Maurice Flesier / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Historian's route

Sumner-Boyd and Freely's Bosphorus shore, from Karaköy to Dolmabahçe

From Karaköy to Dolmabahçe, the first kilometres of the Bosphorus's European shore: the underground Yeraltı Mosque, Sinan's Kılıç Ali Pasha Complex, the Tophane fountain and cannon foundry, the Nusretiye Mosque, Molla Çelebi at Fındıklı, the Dolmabahçe Mosque and Dolmabahçe Palace. We compiled it from the twenty-first walk in Hilary Sumner-Boyd and John Freely's book Strolling Through Istanbul (1972); we added the timings, breaks and practical notes.

Duration1 day (≈ 6 hours, including the palace)
Walk≈ 3 km
Stop7
Tickets0
HS

Source: Hilary Sumner-Boyd (1913–1976) and John Freely (1926–2017)Compiled from the walk in chapter 21 of Strolling Through Istanbul (1972) · last checked 26 October 2026

This route was compiled by AnatoliaPass editors from the published recommendations of the person named; the timings, breaks and practical notes are ours. It does not mean that the person recommends or endorses AnatoliaPass.

The story in 4 parts

From the mouth of the Golden Horn to the palace

Part 1The book and its authors

Hilary Sumner-Boyd was born in New York in 1913 and educated there and in England; he spent most of his life in Istanbul, teaching at Robert College, and died in the city on 2 September 1976. John Freely was born in Brooklyn in 1926; a physicist, he came to Istanbul in 1960 to teach at Robert College and over his lifetime wrote dozens of books on Istanbul, the Ottomans and the history of science; he died in 2017. Strolling Through Istanbul, which the two wrote together, was published in Istanbul by Redhouse Press in 1972 and is still in print today in revised editions.

Part 2The first kilometres of the Bosphorus

The book covers the Bosphorus in two chapters: first the European shore just north of Galata, then the whole of the Bosphorus. This route follows the first. The shore from Karaköy to Dolmabahçe was for centuries a shore of shipyards, cannon foundries, piers and, in the end, palaces.

Part 3Gunners and sailors

Tophane takes its name from the imperial foundry where cannon were cast from the time of Mehmed the Conqueror. The mosque of Grand Admiral Kılıç Ali Pasha was built at the water's edge; after abolishing the Janissary corps, Mahmud II gave his new mosque beside the artillery barracks the name Nusretiye, meaning 'victory'. Sumner-Boyd and Freely line up these stops one after another along the shore.

Part 4The filled-in garden

Dolmabahçe, as its name suggests, is a bay that was filled in and turned into a garden in the 17th century. Here Abdülmecid built his new palace between 1843 and 1856; the book describes Dolmabahçe as the largest and most magnificent of the palaces. The walk ends at the palace gate; tour the interior if you like, then return by ferry from Beşiktaş pier.

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Respect guidelines
  • Enter mosques in clothing that covers your shoulders and knees; women cover their heads, and shoes come off at the entrance.
  • During prayer times and at Friday midday prayers mosque interiors are closed to visitors; wait in the courtyard at these times or move on to the next stop.
  • Keep your voice down in tombs and graveyards; do not sit or lean on the gravestones.
  • Do not photograph people at prayer or local residents without asking permission.
  • Traffic on the coast road is heavy; cross only at pedestrian crossings and traffic lights.
  • Photography rules inside Dolmabahçe Palace may change; follow the staff's instructions.
Make your own version
  1. 1

    Yeraltı Mosque

    Start: Karaköy pier; along the shore past the pier, turn left, then left again, ≈ 5 min · stay 20 min

    The book starts the Bosphorus-shore walk underground: a low, vaulted cellar in Karaköy, converted into a mosque in the 1750s. The cellar is thought to have been part of the Galata castle to which, in Byzantine times, the chain closing the mouth of the Golden Horn was fastened. Inside, visitors pay their respects at graves attributed to two Companions of the Prophet believed to have died here during the Arab sieges.

    Yeraltı Mosque
    Photo: Ggia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

    Visits pause during prayer times; enter quietly. Check the times before you go.

  2. 2

    Kılıç Ali Pasha Complex

    Along Kemeraltı Caddesi to Tophane ≈ 8 min · stay 30 min

    The complex Mimar Sinan built in his nineties for Grand Admiral Kılıç Ali Pasha; the mosque was finished in 1580 and is like a small-scale interpretation of the plan of Hagia Sophia. The mosque once stood on the seashore; the reclaimed land in front of it is now home to Galataport. The complex's hamam has been restored and reopened.

    Kılıç Ali Pasha Complex
    Photo: Darwinek / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

    Visits pause during prayer times; check the times before you go.

  3. 3

    Tophane Fountain and Tophane-i Amire

    Opposite the mosque, ≈ 2 min · stay 20 min

    The square fountain built by Mahmud I in 1732; its four faces covered in marble reliefs, it is one of the first examples of Ottoman Baroque. The long domed building behind it is the Tophane-i Amire: the imperial foundry that gave the district its name, as cannon were cast here from the time of Mehmed the Conqueror; today it is a university's culture and arts centre.

    Tophane Fountain and Tophane-i Amire
    Photo: Another Believer / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Exhibition days at the Tophane-i Amire vary; check before you go.

  4. 4

    Nusretiye Mosque

    ≈ 3 min, towards the shore · stay 30 min

    The mosque Mahmud II had Kirkor Balyan build in 1823–1826; after the abolition of the Janissary corps it was given the name Nusretiye, meaning 'victory'. With its slender minarets and Empire-style decoration, it is an example of the transition from Ottoman Baroque to Western styles.

    Nusretiye Mosque
    Photo: Maurice Flesier / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Visits pause during prayer times; check the times before you go.

  5. 5

    Molla Çelebi Mosque · Fındıklı

    Along Meclis-i Mebusan Caddesi to Fındıklı ≈ 12 min · stay 20 min

    The building the book calls the little Sinan mosque at Fındıklı: it was built in the mid-16th century for the chief judge (kazasker) Mehmed Vusûlî Efendi, better known as Molla Çelebi. Its dome resting on a hexagonal system of supports is one of the plans Sinan tried out on a small scale. It stands on the shore, with a university building and Fındıklı Park beside it; for lunch, carry on towards Kabataş.

    Molla Çelebi Mosque · Fındıklı
    Photo: Darwinek / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

    Visits pause during prayer times; check the times before you go.

  6. 6

    Dolmabahçe Mosque

    ≈ 10 min, past Kabataş · stay 20 min

    The mosque begun by Bezmiâlem Valide Sultan and completed after her death by her son Abdülmecid in 1855; its architect was Garabet Balyan. With its large-windowed stone arches and slender minarets on the shore, it was conceived as the ceremonial mosque beside the palace. Road widening took away its courtyard and sebil.

    Dolmabahçe Mosque
    Photo: Arild Vågen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

    Visits pause during prayer times; check the times before you go.

  7. 7

    Dolmabahçe Palace

    Past the Clock Tower to the palace gate ≈ 5 min · stay 120 min

    The palace Abdülmecid built between 1843 and 1856 on the filled-in garden on the Bosphorus shore; the book describes it as the largest and most magnificent of the palaces. The Selamlık and the Harem are visited as separate sections; the Ceremonial Hall and the staircase with its crystal balustrade are its best-known corners. Atatürk died in this palace on 10 November 1938.

    Dolmabahçe Palace
    Photo: Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The National Palaces are usually closed on Mondays; check tickets, hours and sections before you go.

One more day? Bursa.

Outside Istanbul

≈ 2 h 15 min · fast ferry + bus · Day trip

Why here: The first Ottoman capital. The Green Mosque, the Grand Mosque and Koza Han make an easy day trip; we suggest it if you are staying in Istanbul for more than four days. Not part of this route.

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