Istanbul Between Two Worlds: Return 2011-2026

Par Gabriel Goldberg 16 April 2026 6 min read

There are cities you visit, and others that swallow you whole. Istanbul belongs to the latter category. A world-city, a magnificent beast sprawled across two continents, where every stone seems to whisper the secrets of three fallen empires: Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman. The last time I set foot on the shores of the Bosphorus was in 2011. Back then, the city pulsed with raw, almost chaotic energy. The call of the muezzins blended with the honking of yellow taxis, and crossing from Europe to Asia still felt like a romantic expedition by ferry. Recently, watching my in-flight screen trace a green line above Anatolia, my memories resurfaced. I wanted to understand how this metropolis of over 15 million inhabitants had evolved. En route to Istanbul — the green line traces the path above Anatolia Fifteen years on Istanbul's timescale is merely a blink. Yet, looking more closely, the past decade has redrawn the face of Byzantium. Between mega-infrastructure projects, deep geopolitical shifts, and an art de vivre that refuses to fade, here is an immersive dive into the Istanbul of yesterday and today. 1. Hagia Sophia: The Beating Heart with Two Faces If one monument crystallises the city's history and recent upheavals, it is Hagia Sophia. Looking back at my 2011 photographs, one detail stands out immediately: a motley crowd wandering freely through the centre of the main nave, beneath the immense low-hanging chandeliers and gigantic Islamic calligraphic medallions, all crowned by…