Istanbul skylines and views
VIEWS FROM THE BOSPHORUS FERRY, GALATA TOWER, TOPKAPI, HARBOUR, LEVENT, MASLAK, SISLI, SULTANAHMET

Istanbul's city center has preserved its skyline of mosques and other historic towers. Unlike other European cities, you can find very few church towers on the skyline. Taksim Square is the only neighbourhood in central Istanbul that has some skyscrapers. You can also find some in the Sisli district and on the Asian side, but the real skyscraper clusters are Levent (part of Besiktas), that contains the tallest building and Maslak, that is newer. They are both located to the north of the city center, but not very far from the old town. So recently skyscrapers have started popping up all over the city, except for the historic city center. Luxury hotels, shopping malls and new office towers with spectacular design have been built, and much more are planned, so the skyline has changed dramatically the later 10 years, and it will change even more 10 years on!

Some of the few observation decks in the city can be found in the historic Galata Tower in the Karaköy neighbourhood, that we visited, and the new Sapphire Tower in Levent district, currently Istanbul's tallest building (2013, unfortunately I wasn't aware of this one, when I was in Levent). A great way to experience the skyline is either to walk along the shoreline, to climb some of the many hills, or to take the ferry along the Bosphorus with amazing views. The tallest buildings are hidden from the sound by hills, but you can see the top of them from the Bosphorus. Diamond of Istanbul is a famous skyscraper project, that is planned to be Istanbul's tallest, but that is currently on hold.

 

SOME OF THE VIEWS FROM THE BOSPHORUS FERRY:

Istanbul skyline with Levent, Sisli and Maslak skyscraper districts together! Istanbul's tallest building, Sapphire Tower, is to the right.
Levent skyline Maslak skyline Northwest European side
Istanbul skyline Asian side Üsküdar skyline, Asian side

 

Süzer Plaza/Ritz-Carlton and the Dolmabahce Mosque. Besiktas Stadium is just behind the mosque.  





Below Taksim Square  


Taksim Square, Süzer Plaza and Dolmabahce
Karaköy and Galata

The Dolmabahce Palace, Süzer Plaza and Hotel Intercontinental. Dolmabahce Sarayi was completed in 1856 to create the Ottoman empire European style, by sultan Abdülmecid.  


Sisli skyline (Trump Tower in the middle), Dolmabahce Palace and a Turkish police boat!

Besiktas/Sisli skyline Besiktas/Sisli skyline Sinan Pasa Mosque and Sisli skyline
Tall radio masts on Üsküdar, the Asian side The Bosphorus bridge and the Kabatas Erkek Lisesi buildings Ortaköy harbour and mosque in the foreground. Zorlu Center and TAT Towers in the background.
Ortaköy area with Ortaköy mosque and Levent district in the background. Besiktas skyline Ortaköy harbour and mosque in the foreground. Zorlu Center and TAT Towers in the background.
Maslak district's skyline  


Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge and Maslak
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge

Levent skyline in the distance (Sapphire Tower to the right).  


Levent skyline in the distance
European side (left) and Asian side (right)

Skyline of Eminönü harbour in the old town with the ferry terminal, Yeni Mosque and Suleymaniye Mosque (Istanbul's largest, right).

 

Topkapi Palace, the sultan's palace is one of the top attractions in Istanbul. In the front is the Basketmaker's Kiosk.  


Topkapi and Hagia Sophia

Ferry terminal below Topkapi

 

 

THE VIEWS FROM TOPKAPI PALACE:

Visit the Topkapi Palace here.

 

The Princes Islands, Sea of Marmara

Asian and European side, the Bosphorus

Levent and Besiktas districts

Üsküdar skyline, Asian side

Princes Islands, popular but relaxed

Residential buildings and masts, Asia

Levent skyline, European side. In front is the Besiktas district with Dolmabache Palace and the Bosphorus sound.

 


Skyline Asian side and industrial harbour
Taksim Square and Sisli district

Karaköy and Galata Tower

Karaköy and Galata Tower

Taksim Square, cruise ship and Süzer Plaza

 

LEVENT BUSINESS DISTRICT, SKYLINES SEEN FROM GROUND LEVEL:

Levent skyline seen from the main road, Büyükdere Caddesi.
Three office complexes: Sabanci Center, Is Bankasi Towers, Yapi Kredi Merkez.  

 



Is Bankasi Towers

     
 


Levent LOFT 2


New skyscrapers under construction (2013)   Turkish Manhattan

Kanyon Tower and mall

Sapphire Tower, Istanbul's tallest building, is 235 m tall (261m to the spire) and has 54 floors. It was completed in 2010. Unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to visit its observation deck. Skyline views of Levent CBD, part of Besiktas district

 

SISLI DISTRICT, SKYLINES SEEN FROM GROUND LEVEL:

New residential buildings:Sisli Elite Residence from 2000 (140m, left) and Sisli Plaza from 2007 (170m right). One of the tallest residential buildings in Europe.

Sisli Key Plaza, Sisli Mosque and Trump Towers (residentials and offices from 2010)

 

Traffic jam at Büyükdere Caddesi, skyline in the back

New residential buildings: Sisli Plaza and TAT Center (black triple towers) from 2007.

 

 

SOME OF THE VIEWS FROM GALATA TOWER:
Click here to see more images from Galata Tower

Skyline of several neighbourhoods Karaköy neighbourhood and skyline Karaköy neighbourhood
Hagia Sophia The Golden Horn Golden Horn and Beyazit

 

ASIA SEEN FROM THE EAST BANKS OF SULTANAHMET:

The Asian side can be seen from the waterfront at Kennedy Caddesi.

 


Skyscrapers on the Asian side

Fishing in front of Asia


 

WEST OUTSKIRTS, EUROPEAN SIDE:

World Trade Center Istanbul. Six similar 19-storey postmodern office buildings in the outskirts, near Atatürk Airport.
 





Concrete glass highrises   Highway and apartment blocks