Among my favorite sights of Istanbul are the view when you're standing on the Galata bridge and when you're approaching the mouth of the Golden Horn in a ferry after crossing the Bosphorus.

To the one side there's Eminönü, with the fish market and the boat restaurants. The largest imperial mosque of the city, Süleymaniye mosque, appears as a gigantic complex in the nearby neighbourhood Fatih, crowning one of the seven hills of the city. To the other side there's the Galata tower,  in Genovese style, standing out from the other structures in those districts and looking like an odd element, but fitting in the puzzle that is Istanbul so incredibly well.

Galata bridge is so iconic not just because of its features, but because of its meaning for the inhabitants of this city. In the cultural aspect, the bridge was a link between the traditional city, site of the most important religious and secular institutions of the Ottoman empire, and the districts of Beyoğlu, home to a larger proportion of non-Muslims and foreign merchants and diplomats. Galata bridge bonded these two different worlds.

Even today you get the feeling of walking from one city to another just by crossing the bridge. What I saw in Cihangir or the other neighbourhoods that compose Beyoğlu can't be compared to what I perceived in the historic peninsula. For an instance, Beyoğlu is more trendy, home to the cities' coolest bars and clubs and to a larger population of foreigners. On the other hand, in Sultanahmet and Fatih for example, I had the impression that life revolves around the call to prayer and the more traditional events of everyday life, like going to the bazaar.

 Istanbul is so romantic, although not a cheesy or extravagant city. Its romance comes from the elegance of its silhouettes, from its vigorous rhythm, the mixture of cultures and lifestyles and from the melancholy that is so well portrayed in Ara Güler's photos.

Either way or another, Istanbul is the best of both worlds. 

Galata tower on the left

Galata tower close-up.

Süleymaniye mosque and Galata bridge.

New Mosque, Süleymaniye mosque and Galata bridge.