Ortaköy a neighbourhood, formerly a small village, within the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey, located in the middle of the European bank of the Bosphorus.
Ortaköy was a cosmopolitan area during the Ottoman era and the first decades of the Turkish Republic, with communities of Turks, Greeks, Armenians and Jews. Today the neighbourhood still hosts many different religious (Muslim, Jewish, Orthodox, and other Christian) structures. It is also a popular spot for locals and tourists alike, with its art galleries, night clubs, cafés, bars, and restaurants.
The Neo-Baroque style Ortaköy Mosque is a beautifully ornate structure, right on the jetty of Ortaköy, bordering the waters of the Bosphorus, and thus highly visible from the passing boats.
Ortaköy was the site of George W. Bush’s speech during the NATO Summit of 2004, which he delivered at Galatasaray University.
Ortakoy district used to be a romantic fishing village. Today it is an affluent waterfront neighborhood located in the middle of Bosphorus’ European bank.
Ortaköy with many art galleries, night clubs, cafés, bars, and restaurants the district is hugely popular on weekends both among locals and tourists, one of the oldest buildings of Ortaköy is the nearly 500-year old Turkish bath. It was built by Ottoman star architect Mimar Sinan in 1556.
The Ortaköy Mosque is a beautifully ornamented Neo-Baroque style mosque. It was built in the 18th c, but only received its current ornate look in the middle of 19th c. Çırağan Palace was built in 1871 by Sultan Abdülaziz as his residence. Until a fire severely damaged the building in 1910 the palace served as the Ottoman Parliament. Today it is one of Istanbul’s most luxurious hotels.
Ortaköy Mosque and the Bosphorus Bridge.
Ortaköy is a popular spot for locals and tourists alike, with its art galleries, night clubs, cafés, bars, and restaurants and at night, the lights on the mighty Bosphorus Bridge change color, graceful without being kitsch.
Ortakoy, Istanbul,
Fantastic place to spend an evening. Fish restaurants, pubs, very nice atmosphire, nice artesany market
A nice suburb along the Bosphorous with fish restaurants, cafes, pubs, cake shops. There are also souvenir shops selling artefacts, silver, garments and such. When you visit Ortakoy make sure you take the one hour boat trip on the Bosphorous, starting and ending in Ortakoy. It takes you to the nicest part of the Bosphorous and very reasonably priced. Ideal…
I wouldn't say this is a must-see, but it's a great place to walk around, browse the jewelry, eat kumpir or a waffle, and grab a bite at one of the waterfront restaurants. It was very cute and lively.
This is a great area of Istambul, where the youngs gather. There's loads of little restaurant (including one of the nicest mantl in town, in a side street) by the Bosphorus and at night it's a very trendy place to go out and meet the real people of Istambul! Not many tourists … The real life!
It's a very nice place worth seeing at sunset time & watch the european side as well as the bridge.
Food outlets are more tasty than the restaurants, try the kompaire potatoes mix as well as the waffles
Ortakoy is a charming outpost of Istanbul, located on the Bosphorus. It has many fine mosques and is home to the famed Çırağan Palace Kempinski Hotel, probably the most luxurious of all the hotels in Istanbul. It is not far from Üsküdar (formerly Scutari), where Florence Nightingale set up wards to nurse the wounded during the Crimean War.
You can…
Ortakoy is a quaint part of Istanbul that is right in front of the water. There are a few fish restaurants, the Cafe Haus, and other restaurants and a couple of bars. There are also ice cream and kumpir (baked potato with toppings for 5 TL) vendors. You can also find some Turkish jewelry shops and leather shops that are…
The grand ımperial mosque is know as Ortakoy mosque. the quite elegant mosque was built on a unique location in Bosphorous. the wide and high windows were placed accordingly to take the changing lights of Bosphorus inside the mosque. If you haven't taken a photo with the mosque an Bosphorus Bridge behind you as the silhouette of Istanbul, nobady will…
Here's the best place to see and photograph the Bosphorus bridge at night. It's brightly lit against he dark sky, displaying colors switching from blue to red, to yellow, etc. It's a very photogenic nighttime scene. This area sees a lot of tourists and locals as well, out for a stroll or dinner at night. There are a number of…
We loved this place with small shops and bars and we also took a walk along the Bosphorus. There's restaurants that have a view of the water but the restaurants on the inner streets are very good and more affordable. Nice place to walk around, and shop in the small hand made jewelry shops. It's an eclectic artsy kind of…