Istanbul for Muslim travellers: mosques, markets and baklava

Istanbul is easiest to understand from above. The Süleymaniye, founded in 1556 by Sultan Süleyman, stands on a hill, and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism says that from its enclosure you can take in Europe and Asia, the two seas that bathe Istanbul and the Princes' Isles at a single glance.

The provincial tourism directorate calls Istanbul an important faith-tourism centre, a city that holds the sacred places of worship of the heavenly religions, with historic mosques like the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque alongside churches and synagogues.

Hagia Sophia is the obvious first stop. The third Hagia Sophia was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in 532 to 537, and in 1453 Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror converted the church into a mosque, with the architect Sinan doing significant work to strengthen the building in the Turkish period. The official Hagia Sophia Mosque website says the building is restored to its origin and offers a 360-degree virtual tour from 19 points.

The Grand Bazaar has its own stop, Beyazıt-Kapalıçarşı, on the T1 tram line. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism says it extends over 65 streets and contains a mosque, 21 inns, two vaulted bazaars, seven fountains, a well and 3,300 shops, with 18 gates, eight of them large.

The provincial tourism directorate describes Istanbul cuisine as the combination of Turkish cuisine, Ottoman palace cuisine and the cuisines of many communities who have lived in the city for centuries, with lamb, beef, fish and seafood, vegetable dishes in olive oil, pilaf and rich pastries, and a breakfast culture built around Turkish tea and coffee.

For a table that explains the country, cross to Kadıköy. Çiya sits in the Fish Market district as three small restaurants within a few metres of each other, and its own site says the kitchen serves dishes from a broad geographical space, from Mesopotamia to the Ottomans, the Balkans to the Caucasus and Asia to the Arabian Peninsula.

For something sweet, Hafız Mustafa was founded in Bahçekapı in 1864 as a candy maker, and its own history says that Turkish delight, lokum, was the most famous confectionery in the palace.

Lira prices change too fast for a printed guide, so we quote none. Check the menu or the shop before you order, and look for the restaurant's own statement on halal. Türkiye's Halal Accreditation Agency, for its part, evaluates and inspects the institutions that issue halal certificates.

The Presidency of Religious Affairs publishes prayer times for Istanbul and for each district, so check the district you are in rather than the city as a whole. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism lists the Eyüp Sultan Mosque, built in 1458 by Fatih Sultan Mehmet as the first mosque constructed in Istanbul after the conquest, with its mausoleum, as one of the city's monuments.

The T1 tram is the visitor's friend. Its stations run through Karaköy, Eminönü, Sirkeci, Gülhane, Sultanahmet, Çemberlitaş and Beyazıt-Kapalıçarşı, which puts most of the old city on one line. The İstanbulkart is the municipality's single card for transport and shopping.

For Ramadan 2023 the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality planned to distribute iftar meals to 16,000 people a day at 60 points, hold culture and arts events in the squares, and keep cleaning and maintaining the historic mosques throughout the month. Its culture arm adds that the mahya, lights strung between two minarets, has decorated the city for centuries.

Back in your own kitchen, our recipes for Adana kebab, cheese pide, cacık and baklava bring the Istanbul table home.