Ortaköy

This waterfront neighbourhood beneath the first Bosphorus bridge is a popular gathering place centred on a small square where cafés, stalls and a picturesque ornate mosque meet the strait. Its cobbled lanes fill with vendors selling stuffed baked potatoes and other street food, while artists display work along the shore. The setting, with the great suspension bridge soaring overhead and boats passing, offers one of the most photographed scenes in the city. Once a village of mixed communities, it keeps synagogues and churches too.