2025 Istanbul

Atmospheric corridors inside the Büyük Valide han

It is dark, with few lights, and all kinds of junk piled in the corridors.  On each side there is an amazing variety of small rooms.  A few are surprisingly glamorous showrooms.  Others are simple workspaces, with people cutting cloth, or making jewellery.  Some are half-bare rooms full of tools and equipment, a few men working with pieces of metal.  One or two are on two floors, with internal stairs rising to another level.  In one corner, there is a café, supposedly with a fine view of the sea.  Since we had already enjoyed a fine view from Mimar Sinan café, we gave this a miss.

A return after three decades to the ancient and amazing city of Istanbul, now a pullulating supercity of 16 million people.  Alongside the famous sights – Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern and Topkapi palace – and the mosque masterpieces of the world's greatest architect, Mimar Sinan, a host of out-of-the-way gems to be discovered among the city's many steep hills.