Free art in Istanbul: Street art in Karaköy and Cihangir

Anybody who knows me well will tell you that Istanbul has been a bucket list holiday destination of mine since 2010. I became fascinated by Istanbul after learning about part of its history whilst watching Diarmaid McCulloch’s series, A History of Christianity. My interest in visiting Istanbul grew even more after I delved deeper into Istanbul’s history whilst I was studying Theology at university. I found Istanbul’s vast and varied history utterly fascinating and the more I learnt about it the more I wanted to visit. That, and my undying love of Turkish food, made me determined to one day make this dream a reality. My plans were somewhat delayed because of the political turmoil that Turkey has endured since 2011, however, given that this has dissipated somewhat in recent years I decided that 2018 would be the year that I visited Istanbul.

A few years ago, I started researching Istanbul and was shocked to discover that Istanbul had a very modern, young and funky side to it. The Karaköy and Cihangir neighbourhoods of Istanbul definitely embody this side of Istanbul. The former has a cluster of vintage boutiques, an abundance of coffee shops and streets lined with murals whilst the latter is leafier and slightly more family-oriented but is still incredibly fashionable, arty and effortlessly cool. If you are looking for great brunch options, hipster vibes and instagrammable street art in Istanbul, these are the areas that you should visit.

Here are a few pictures I took whilst strolling through both neighbourhoods.

Karaköy