Maslak and İstinye: From the Towers to the Bosphorus

Start at İTÜ–Ayazağa on the M2 metro line and come up into Maslak.

Traffic presses along Büyükdere Caddesi. Footsteps quicken at the crossings; conversations begin and end at office entrances. Glass towers catch the sky, while delivery riders and lunch crowds work through the space between them.

Walk north toward Maslak Kasırları. Beyond the road and its moving lanes, you find trees, gardens and buildings made for a different pace of life.

Walking note — Physical effort: 4/5
Begin near İTÜ–Ayazağa metro station, visit Maslak Kasırları, then descend toward İstinye via the İstinye Bayırı area. Expect a long downhill stretch, busy junctions and pavements that narrow or become uneven. This is a difficult route for strollers and wheelchairs. If the descent is too much, take a bus or taxi to İstinye and continue at the shore. Atatürk Oto Sanayi and Darüşşafaka on the M2 line offer earlier exits; buses and ferries provide onward travel from İstinye.

A Garden Behind Büyükdere Caddesi

Enter Maslak Kasırları if you have time for a proper visit.

These pavilions were built in the 1860s under Sultan Abdülaziz and later allocated to his nephew, the future Sultan Abdülhamid II. He spent years here before taking the throne. The estate was more than a collection of elegant rooms: he enlarged its farmland, raised horses and took an interest in agriculture.

That history becomes easier to picture outdoors. Look beyond the façades to the space around them. A greenhouse, garden and former stable belong to the story as much as the pavilions themselves. After rain, the scent of damp soil and leaves feels a long way from the exhaust outside the gate.

Maslak Kasırları welcomes visitors as a museum. It is closed on Mondays; the ticket office opens at 09:00 and closes at 17:00. Müzekart is valid. A separate garden ticket is available if you prefer to spend your time outside.

Before leaving, frame a pavilion through the garden trees. Then, outside the gate, look back toward the traffic. Both views belong to Maslak.

Follow the Hill Toward İstinye

From the pavilions, make your way toward İstinye Bayırı and begin the descent.

This is where the route asks you to pay attention to the ground. A downhill pavement can be harder on your knees than the climb you avoided. At crossings, wait for the signal instead of following the quickest-looking gap through traffic.

The neighbourhood changes in pieces. A tower slips out of view. Residential buildings take over. You pass entrances used by people coming home with shopping and workers carrying supplies into shops. Voices travel between the buildings. The scent of cooking may reach you before there is any sign of the Bosphorus.

Give the hillside some time. It explains why İstinye feels separate from the offices above it.

Let the Bay Appear

Keep descending until İstinye Bay opens ahead of you.

Maslak’s hard lines give way to a sheltered curve of water. Look across the bay and along the boats at its edge. Engines have not vanished, but they now share the air with gulls, voices from the shore and the movement of vessels.

İstinye has long been connected with maritime work as well as waterfront life. You can still sense that practical relationship with the water. People cross the Bosphorus, go about their business, meet someone for tea and head home.

For a photograph, find a safe spot along the shore where the curve of the bay leads your eye into the frame. Include some of the everyday movement at the water’s edge. It gives the view its scale.

Tea and Something Sweet by the Pier

Near the waterfront, İskele Çay Bahçesi / İskele Cafe makes a natural final stop. Sit down for tea; if its İzmir lokması is being served, order a portion while it is fresh. The warm, syrupy little sweets make a satisfying end to the descent.

If you want Turkish coffee earlier in the route, İstinye Kahvecisi has a branch inside İstinyePark. Despite the old-fashioned sound of its name, the present brand was established in 2013. Enjoy it as a coffee stop, rather than treating it as a centuries-old shop on the shore.

Before You Leave

Give the bay a few minutes after your stop. You may see the vehicle ferry crossing between İstinye and Çubuklu. If your legs have had enough, finish here and continue by ferry or bus instead of climbing back to the metro.

You began among towers, stepped into the grounds of an Ottoman farm estate and followed a lived-in hillside down to the Bosphorus. At the water, the city finds another rhythm. Stay with it a little longer.

Next walk: Follow the shore south through Emirgan and Baltalimanı, where a grove rises above the Bosphorus and the road keeps close to the water.