Kuzguncuk

Kuzguncuk occupies a small valley running back from the Bosphorus just north of Üsküdar, and it is essentially one street - İcadiye Caddesi - lined with restored wooden houses in strong colours, cafés, bakeries and small shops, with a market garden preserved at the top of the valley after a long neighbourhood campaign against building on it. What people mention first is the religious geography: a synagogue, an Armenian church, a Greek Orthodox church and a mosque stand within a couple of hundred metres of each other, a survival of the mixed community that lived here into the twentieth century. The village has become fashionable, appears constantly in Turkish television dramas, and fills at weekends with visitors from across the city. Come on a weekday and it is what it looks like: a quiet street where people are having breakfast under the plane trees.

Highlights

• İcadiye Caddesi - the painted wooden houses along the street.
• The four congregations - synagogue, two churches and a mosque.
• The market garden - the bostan preserved at the valley head.
• The waterfront - the Bosphorus at the foot of the street.

When to go

April to June and September to October. Weekday mornings for breakfast and quiet; weekends are crowded and the cafés queue.

Good to know

It is small - one street and a couple of side lanes, done in a couple of hours. Churches and the synagogue are not routinely open to visitors. Weekend crowds and photo shoots fill the street.

Nearby

Üsküdar is a short walk south; Beylerbeyi Palace and Çengelköy are north along the shore.

Key facts