Blog - Istanbul Photography Guide

In September 2025, I spent five days photographing Istanbul, and in this photography guide, I share the best photo spots I visited.

Istanbul is an enormous city with a population of over 15 million. It's split into a European and an asian part by the Bosporus. In this photography guide, I cover only the European side, focusing on the Faith and Beyoglu districts, as well as Besiktas.

In this area, you'll find some of the city's most beautiful mosques, many of which make perfect photo subjects. It's what fascinated me the most about Istanbul. In some other cities I visited during my travels, having just one such mosque would be a significant tourism magnet. In Istanbul, you have one of these magnificent buildings around every corner.

I cover the following topics in this Istanbul photography guide:

How to Travel to Istanbul

You'll likely arrive in Istanbul at the new Istanbul Airport (IST) when traveling internationally. It's located about 40km outside Istanbul's tourist center.

Before you leave the airport, I recommend withdrawing some money at an ATM. At first, I was worried that the ATMs at the airport would be more expensive than in the city, but after checking my credit card slips, I didn't see much difference in the ones I used. Just make sure not to accept the local conversion; let your bank handle it. I used the Ziraat ATMs most of the time, which I had read don't charge much commission. During my visit in September 2025, the exchange rate was around 40 Lira to one US dollar. But currently the inflation in Turkey is quite high, so expect the rate to change quickly.

You then have several options for getting from the airport into the city. The cheapest one might be the metro from the Airport to Gayrettepe in Besiktas for less than one dollar. It is not a tourist hotspot, and you'll likely have to switch to another mode of transport here to get closer to your hotel. And you'll already have spent an hour on the metro by now.

I, for example, stayed in Sultanahmet, which has the highest concentration of sights, hotels, and restaurants. If you're also eying this area, a better option to get there is the Havaist bus, which runs a direct route to Sultanahmet. It still costs less than $10 per person and leaves the airport at least once an hour, 24/7. You may still have to walk to your hotel, though.

The most convenient option of transport is taking a taxi. Prices range from $40 for a regular cab to $70 for a luxury transport to get from the airport to Sultanahmet. If you want to plan, you can even book a taxi directly on Booking.com *, which is what I should have done.

What you should not do is what I actually did. I had my hotel arrange the transport, which I do a lot during my travels, as it helps me avoid scams and get to my hotels fast. Most hotels have their own drivers, and while the price is usually a bit higher than for a metered taxi, which can sometimes be hard to find, I like it when someone waits for me after a long flight, and I don't have to search for transport.

In Istanbul, though, this arranged transport was the first scam I ran into. Advertised as a luxury option for $60, I assumed it would help me avoid any delays getting into the city. But as I arrived at the pickup point at exit eight of the airport, it dawned on me that this was not the personalized transport I had expected. Many travellers gather there for a luxury pickup and are then guided to an underground parking lot, a 5-minute walk away.

And there I waited for 50 minutes until they finally found a driver heading in my direction. Granted, some of the other people heading into the city didn't wait that long. But the whole point of paying a premium is to avoid such delays. I nearly missed my first sunset shoot because of it.

Heading back to the airport a few days later, I didn't make the same mistake and took a cab. I had met a driver using Uber in the city a few times, and he took me to the airport in 45 minutes for $35.

Where to Stay

I already mentioned that I stayed in Sultanahmet, Istanbul's old town, home to the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, the Egyptian Bazaar, and the Grand Bazaar. And I totally recommend this area for photography.

The hotel I picked was Royan Suites * just a five-minute walk from the Blue Mosque, which I had intended to photograph during my stay. While I don't recommend the transport service they organized, I recommend the hotel. The beautiful room, the great breakfast, and the many restaurant options in the area made it an enjoyable stay.

Unfortunately, both the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia are currently under construction, and you won't get a photo without scaffolding in the frame. And what I heard from the locals is that this restoration will still last a few more years.

Because the tram has a stop less than a 10-minute walk from the hotel, getting to other areas of the city was also no big deal. But the easy sunrise and sunset shoot at the Blue Mosque is currently not possible.

How to Get Around

A great way to explore Istanbul is on foot. If you focus only on the Faith area, you'll see a lot just by walking. To cover the distance to photo spots farther away, Istanbul has a good tram and metro system, with several bus lines extending it. I used it a lot when traveling between Sultanahmet, Beşiktaş, and Arnavutköy.

At every tram station, you'll find a ticket machine where you can buy the Istanbul transport card called Istanbulkart. It currently costs around $4, and you can share it between multiple people if you travel in a group. For one person, I'd directly top it off with 200 Lira - $5. At each tram station or when entering a bus, you hold it to one of the RFID readers. Each ride only costs 27 Lira, no matter how many stops you make.

The ticket machines accept cash (Lira) and credit cards. I recommend always carrying some money in case card payments don't work. I observed this happening a few times with other tourists buying tickets.

Sometimes, you'll not be able to take the tram or bus. Those only run from 6 am until midnight. It can make it challenging to reach your sunrise photo locations. Thankfully, you can use Uber in Istanbul. Regular taxi drivers operate those, and getting an Uber is a good way to avoid scams because you already have an estimated price in the app.

I exchanged WhatsApp numbers with my Uber driver and used him several times, including on my way back to the airport.

Istanbul Photo Spots

Istanbul has no shortage of photo spots, and I couldn't photograph them all in the best light during my short visit. As usual, I focused on a few locations and returned several times to get optimal results.

However, I'll not only share the photo locations I ended up photographing, but also the ones I explored during my extensive scouting in the city. Although I took those scouting photos with my cell phone, they will give you a good idea of what to expect at those places.

Galata Bridge

The Galata Bridge was the first photo spot I visited. It's easy to reach from many parts of the city on the blue T1 tram line. You can get off at either side of the bridge and then walk across the bridge to experience some of the best views of the Golden Horn with the various mosques lining its western shore.

I took the title photo for this article from the upper walkway near the center of the bridge. I captured it, pointing my telephoto lens - the Canon RF 100-500 * - toward one of the many mosques northwest of the Halic Bridge. Using a long lens was ideal because of the clear sky, which didn't offer much interest for a photo with a wider lens.

It's why I recommend always bringing a long lens when traveling. In cities like Istanbul, it'll let you pick out details in the skyline that are almost invisible to the naked eye.

Another good viewpoint is at the western end of the bridge. Here you can capture the busy plaza with the Suleymaniye Mosque in the background.

New Mosque

The New Mosque, with its blue domes, is one of Istanbul's most photogenic mosques. It's also free entry if you want to explore the magnificent interior.

A great location to photograph it is from the photo spot at the western end of the Galata Bridge, which I already mentioned above. Just turn around toward the New Mosque. You'll have the road in the foreground, and during blue hour, you can use long exposures to capture beautiful light trails leading toward the mosque.

Promenade between Halic and Galata Bridge

The eastern shore of the Golden Horn, between the Galata and Halic Bridge, offers more beautiful views worth exploring. For one, there's a great spot near the docks, just a few hundred meters from the Galata Bridge, from which you can zoom in on the New Mosque. It is an excellent view during the blue hour when the lights come on.

Just below the Halic bridge, you find a view that includes the bridge leading toward the Suleymaniye Mosque. I didn't have the best conditions for such a wide-angle photo, but the image should still give you an idea of what is possible.

Another interesting perspective is from the metro station on top of the Halic bridge itself. But if you want to capture long exposures there in the evening, you must be aware of the vibrations caused by the metro driving across the bridge every few minutes.

Galata Tower

Theoretically, the Galata Tower is an excellent viewpoint for photography. But in reality, you'll hardly have enough space to take serious photos up there. Every time I visited the area, the queues of people who wanted to get up there were endless. If you plan to climb it, also plan for a wait of at least 30 to 60 minutes.

I wanted to photograph the tower from the street near the Mouette Cafe. The colorful houses on either side and the cobbled road leading toward the tower are beautiful subjects. Since afternoons and evenings are too crowded, you should head there early in the morning.

But mind that delivery vans will be coming in from time to time. I had the bad luck of one van blocking my view for the entire blue hour in the morning. I will at some point try to remove it using Photoshop, but ideally, you want to avoid such obstacles in the first place, so be early.

Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque was one of the main subjects I wanted to photograph during my stay in Istanbul. But only upon arrival did I learned of the ongoing construction in the area. For several years, the renovations of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia have lasted. And the locals told me it will take a few more years until they are completed.

Many of the photos you might see of this area on Google are currently not possible. Among those photos are the ones you can take from the World Heritage Lounge rooftop, the Seven Hills Hotel, the Blue Mosque's entry plaza, and the fountain at Sultan Ahmet Park.

Once the renovation of the Minarets is complete, those photo spots will be worth a visit again.

Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia is undergoing a renovation similar to that of the Blue Mosque, with a similar timeline. The view of the mosque with the fountain in Sultan Ahmet Park in the foreground would be one of the best. But it is currently diminished by scaffolding on some of the Minarets.

Another view worth exploring once the scaffolding comes down in a few years is from the rooftop bar at the Grace restaurant. It is not a place to visit, though, if you are on a budget, as many rooftop bars with a view in Istanbul are. I also can't account for their photography policy. If you are interested in taking photos there, it's best to ask first what is allowed.

With all the views from the outside of the mosque currently obscured in some way or another, you can still photograph the interior. But be warned, because they will try to scam you at the official ticket booths. There's a $30 ticket that lets you explore the upper floor of the mosque, but not the praying room on the lower floor. It is the ticket you want to buy for photography.

If you go to the official ticket booth and try to buy a ticket, they will do everything they can to get you to purchase the twice-as-expensive ticket, which also gives you access to the museum. As part of their tactic, they will even tell you that with the cheaper ticket, you won't be able to see anything of the mosque, which is a blatant lie.

I got the $30 ticket and visited the mosque in the afternoon at around 4 pm. At that time, you have beautiful light streaming in through the west-facing windows. Tripods are not allowed in the mosque, but with modern cameras and high ISO, you can still capture photos like the one above.

Suleymaniye Mosque

The Suleymaniye Mosque is close to the Grand Bazaar. While I did not visit the interior, I explored the surrounding park and found a beautiful view of Galata. I wasn't able to determine whether there are opening times for this outdoor area. If there aren't, this would be a great spot to photograph during sunrise.

Ortaköy Mosque

Photographing the Büyük Mecidiye Mosque in Besiktas can be a highlight. It is one of Istanbul's most picturesque scenes. But it also draws many other people, even in the morning.

More than that. Every morning, a local photographer and her team take photos of tourists in elaborate gowns. It is a whole production that takes at least 40 minutes before sunrise. Respecting a local's business makes it hard to take photos yourself, especially with a tripod. You'll constantly be in the way of their photos.

If you plan to take photos at Ortaköy, arrive at least one hour before sunrise. You'll have about 15 minutes to take pictures during blue hour. Then, just let them finish their photo shoot and capture some more photos at sunrise. They feed on some pigeons during their shoot, which you can ask them to spook for you, which makes them fly right into your picture.

The best way to get to this photo spot is by Uber in the morning. The tram does not operate before 6 am, so unless you are staying in Besiktas, you'll have to take a cab. On the way back, you can take the bus and then switch to the T1 tram. The bus you'll have to take is the 22 or 22B line. If you are unsure, ask the driver if he'll go all the way to Kabatas, which is where you can switch to the T1.

Büyük Valide Han

I mention this place because I had seen photos from there, taken 10 years ago. There used to be a fantastic rooftop view of the Grand Bazaar and the Nuruosmaniye Mosque. I can save you the time looking for it. The place was no longer safe because of the building's age, so they closed it off.

There's a lovely little cafe inside the building with a decent view toward the New Mosque, but nothing worth photographing.

Istanbul Rooftops

Around the now famous Kubbe-i Aşk, you'll find several rooftop bars offering views of Istanbul's old town with the Bosporus in the background. There are also some other rooftops open just for photo shoots. Those are not simple viewpoints, though. You book a photo shoot there, similar to the one tourists get at Ortaköy - nothing for a serious photographer.

I also skipped the rooftop bars because, from the photos I saw online, none offer a completely unobstructed view, and the prices you pay to dine there are pretty steep. And just heading up to take a photo is out of the question.

Arnavutköy

Using the T1 and the 22 Bus line, you can drive all the way to Arnavutköy. It's a quieter part of Istanbul with old houses and narrow streets climbing a steep hill. You'll want to walk up Beyazgül Street until you arrive at a fantastic view toward the Grand Çamlıca Mosque.

With a bit more time, I would have loved to return and capture a photo around sunset, when the light is more interesting.

Conclusion

Istanbul is a fantastic city for photography, especially if you love photographing mosques. The city has many beautiful buildings, and I only scratched the surface during my five-day visit. As always, plan enough time and explore as much as possible. If you love street photography, you'll find even more photo opportunities than the ones I share in this article.

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