Balat, Fener and the land walls: a walk in Istanbul

Along the Golden Horn's old Greek, Jewish and Armenian quarters, uphill past the Phanar Greek school to the Byzantine mosaics of Chora and the Theodosian walls.

Best time: Weekday morning; avoid Friday midday at Kariye and weekend afternoons when Balat is crowded with photo shoots

The route, stop by stop

1
Bulgarian St. Stephen Church
Cast-iron church; 20 min
Prefabricated cast-iron church shipped in parts from Vienna and completed in 1898 on the Golden Horn shore; restored in 2018. Knock on the iron walls and look at the gilded…
2
Ecumenical Patriarchate (Church of St. George)
Seat of the Orthodox patriarch; modest dress; 20 min
Seat of the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch; inside the modest church see the gilded iconostasis, the patriarchal throne and relics including a fragment said to be from the Column…
3
Phanar Greek Orthodox College (exterior)
Red-brick 'castle' above Fener; view from below
4
Yavuz Sultan Selim Mosque
Golden Horn view terrace; 15 min
1520s imperial mosque on the Fifth Hill with the tombs of Selim I, Hafsa Sultan and Abdülmecid; its terrace has one of the best free views over the Golden Horn. Sits in…
5
Balat, Kiremit Caddesi and Merdivenli Yokuş
Painted houses and cafés; 30 min
6
Kariye Mosque (Chora)
Mosaics and frescoes; 45 min
Holds the finest late-Byzantine mosaics and frescoes in the city; the Anastasis fresco in the side chapel and the narthex mosaic cycles of Christ and the Virgin are the reason to…
7
Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, Edirnekapı
Sinan's light-filled mosque at the walls; 15 min
8
Theodosian land walls at Edirnekapı
Look along the triple wall line; end

Walking directions

Balat, Fener and the land walls

The route, stop by stop

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