Istanbul Clues is a digital travel guide to Istanbul, written by Serhat Engul. It is not affiliated with similarly named boat tour or cruise businesses.
I started Istanbul Clues in 2015 to answer questions I heard from guests during my walking tours. Some wanted to understand the history behind a monument; others needed to know how to move between neighborhoods or plan a museum visit. The articles address those questions for people planning a visit or exploring the city’s past.
Its main subject is Istanbul: its history, monuments, museums, neighborhoods, transportation, and places to eat. A smaller selection covers destinations elsewhere in Turkey, including Cappadocia and Ephesus.
How Istanbul Clues Is Written
The articles on Istanbul Clues grow out of my work as a guide, and I review and approve each one before it is published. Questions raised during tours often send me back to a source, a building that has changed over time, or a route that needs more explanation than a map provides. They help me decide what a guide should cover.
For historical subjects, I compare claims with sources and separate documented events from legends and disputed interpretations. A Byzantine building may also have an Ottoman history and a present-day use. I explain those distinctions in plain language.
The articles range from an overview of Istanbul’s history to guides to the museums of Istanbul. Practical resources, such as the Istanbul metro map, help readers work out how to get around.
Many photographs on the site are my own, taken during visits and walks.
When I review a page containing visitor information, I check details such as tickets, opening hours, and access against official sources where applicable. I record the month of the check and link to the relevant source when one is available. Conditions change, so please confirm time-sensitive details on the official site before you visit.
Who Writes Istanbul Clues?
I’m Serhat Engul, a licensed Istanbul tour guide and writer with more than 20 years of guiding experience. I specialize in the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman history of the city.
Guiding and writing answer related questions in different ways. During a walk, I can point to a structure and explain why its setting matters. On the page, I can follow the question further, compare sources, and give you the context you may want to return to later. You can use these guides whether or not you join one of my tours.
For more about my professional background and writing, see my full biography.
Private Walking Tours in Istanbul
I also lead private walking tours in Istanbul. My tour subjects include the Old City (Sultanahmet), Fener and Balat, Beyoğlu, Byzantine History, and Kadıköy on the Asian Side. On these walks, I focus on the history of the city and its neighborhoods.
The Fener and Balat walking tour explores two neighborhoods on the Golden Horn. The Beyoğlu walking tour covers Karaköy, Galata, and Taksim. The Byzantine History tour is for visitors who want to concentrate on that period of the city’s past. For the broader selection, there is an overview of my private tours in Istanbul.
The tour pages describe each tour in more detail. Exact routes may depend on access to sites and other conditions, rather than following an unchanging list of stops.
Reviews and Published Work
Guests who have joined my tours have written reviews on my TripAdvisor guide profile. Travelers have also recommended me in a discussion on the Rick Steves Travel Forum. I have written about Istanbul’s mosques and Byzantine mosaics in its churches for Culture Trip.
Other Publications by Serhat Engul
For a more focused account of Byzantine sites that can be examined in Istanbul today, Byzantine Istanbul is a compact, source-based guide connected to the places themselves. Byzantine Stories takes a different approach, using historical sources to tell narrative histories of the Byzantine world and the people who lived in it.
The series Alek, Misi & Rubi — Istanbul Stories consists of literary historical fables for adults, told through three fictional animal witnesses. Readers interested in how these two separate publications relate to my work can find a longer introduction on Istanbul Clues in my article about Alek, Misi & Rubi and Byzantine Stories.
For practical questions about tickets, opening hours, and entry arrangements, Istanbul Travel Blog addresses decisions travelers make before visiting. Istanbul Turkish Rugs focuses on Turkish carpet history and buying rugs in Istanbul. Fener-Balat.com concentrates on those neighborhoods and the sites connected with walking through them.
How Istanbul Clues Is Supported
The guides on Istanbul Clues are free to read. Display advertising appears on the site, and some articles contain affiliate links to bookings offered through GetYourGuide. When a reader books through one of those links, Istanbul Clues may earn a commission from the booking platform. The price and inclusions of a third-party product may differ from those offered at an official ticket office.
The private walking tours described here are my own services, not affiliate products. My editorial approach is to put the information about a place and its official visiting arrangements first, then explain relevant third-party options separately where they are useful. I apply this standard as pages are revised.
The site’s policy is described in the full affiliate disclosure.
Contact Istanbul Clues
If you have a question about the information on a page, notice something that needs correcting, or would like to ask about a private walking tour, you can use the Istanbul Clues contact page. Including the page or subject you are asking about makes it easier to understand the question.
I hope our paths cross in Istanbul one day.