Turkish Delights – James Bond Locations in Istanbul

Turkish Delights

A few weeks ago I was on a business trip to Istanbul, and was able to explore the old city, and more importantly some of the James Bond locations as featured in From Russia With Love, The World Is Not Enough, and SkyFall. Strap yourselves in as this is going to be an amazing journey through one of the most historic and amazing cities James Bond style! Before I begin this journey, have to give special thanks to OnTheTracksOf007, JamesBondLocations, and several other resources to help me visit these amazing locations.

From Russia With Love

The first place I visited was the near the Hagia Sophia. The Cistern was featured when Bond and Kerim Bey used the Cistern to reach a position where they used a submarine periscope to spy into the Russian Embassy.

The Cistern is an underground cathedral used as a reservoir to protect the city and the 336 columns hold up this underground cavern and in recent times there has been a move to include some amazing modern art, and the use of lighting which changes the ambience of the Cistern.

Access

The second place to visit in the area is the iconic Hagia Sophia, this mosque / museum, was formerly a church, and the history of the building demonstrates the change of rulers, regimes, and religions that have helped shaped the culture of this iconic city.

The Hagia Sophia is broken up into two sections, the museum which is on the upper floor, and the mosque at the ground floor.

The Dead Drop

Within the film, the Hagia Sophia was used as a place for a dead drop where Tatiana would drop a plan of the Russian consulate near a set of columns, and it is a perfectly tense moment when Red Grant subdues the Bulgarian Secret Agent trying to intercept the dead drop.

The Mosque

The ground floor is now restricted for foreign nationals, and only open to Muslims who wish to pray, and for Turkish nationals. The museum entry fee is €25 and that does give you a good look at the mosque from the upper floor, and it is well worth it. As a Muslim I was able to actually visit the mosque area and it was truly amazing to see the scale of the mosque and actually see the columned area where the dead drop was.

The mosque was busy when I visited, and I guess I was probably the only person who really knew what the significance of the area was in the film. Still, even if you’re not tracking down James Bond locations, it is a must-do place if you’re ever visiting Istanbul.

Grand Bazaar

Next up is the Grand Bazaar which again is a must, and a place I would revisit again later in the article. Actually the entrance to the Bazaar past the Nuruosmaniye Mosque where Kerim’s Rolls Royce drives Bond into the Bazaar through one of the oldest entrances to the Bazaar. The Bazaar has had a significant refurbishment and several of the shops have been redeveloped, but there is the atmosphere of the traders is still alive.

They appear to be on the rooftops of the Grand Bazaar

In SkyFall and From Russia With Love, the Bazaar is a prominent location both inside and on the top of the Bazaar. Speaking of which I booked with Istanbulite who organised a private tour of the rooftop of the Bazaar.

Now onto Skyfall

In 2015, following filming of SkyFall, and a fire, the entire rooftop was refurbished and it also controlled access to the rooftop. Before there were some “unauthorised” entrances, now to walk on the rooftops you need permission, and you need to be guided by a tour, as such the tour I took was almost €450, but it does give you an opportunity to spend up to 20 mins on the rooftop as well as seeing some other sites around Istanbul.

I have to say of all the James Bond locations in Istanbul, this was the highlight. The vistas you see of the city are just amazing, also the tranquillity to the point that you wouldn’t think that you were standing in the middle of the most populous cities in the world.

She should have kept her mouth shut

A few blocks down the road from the Suleyman mosque is an intersection where there is a water station where in From RussiaWith Love Bond and Kerim Bey stake out a house to kill Krilencou. The intersection now is a bustling part of the city, but the water station is still there, and the building where Krilencou escapes from is now demolished and replaced by an apartment block.

The Old City of Istanbul

One of the more interesting facts about the intersection is that there is a significant milestone (quite literally!), on the opposite side of the water tower is the Sehzade Mosque and the south west corner of the exterior wall is a green marble stone, and this stone marks the centre of the Old City of Istanbul, and all measurements relating to the centre of Istanbul are taken from this spot. The water station is not operational, but it is still in good condition, and is a bit of a hidden gem in the middle of Istanbul.

Maiden’s Tower

One of the last things I did whilst in Istanbul was a visit to Maiden’s Tower or Kuli Kelisi as it is known locally. This lighthouse sits in the middle of the Bosphorus river, and it takes a 20-minute boat ride to visit this iconic island which literally stands between Europe and Asia.

History of Maiden’s Tower

The tower has gone through a significant restoration and looks radiant and somewhat sparkling. The tower’s history relates back to a leader who dreamt that his daughter would be killed by a snake, as such he locked his daughter in the tower as a means to protect her.

However, on her 18th birthday, a party was arranged at the tower, and a basket of apples were presented where a snake had hidden in, and subsequently killed the daughter.

Elektra King

Today, we know this as the tower where Elektra King is residing, and there is a lot of movie magic being employed here. The tower is quite small, and open and as such it is a tiny space, so they recreated the tower as a set in Pinewood. The interiors do match up with the set, but no way close to what is seen on screen, and there is no basement to where a Russian submarine could surface, but nonetheless it is an impressive location, and if you do visit try out the lemonade at the café on the ground floor, seriously one of the best!!

Skyfall

Returning back to the Fatih area of the city, I got the chance to follow some of the car chase from the film. After leaving Ronson he leaves the safe house, well he exits from the Orientbank Istanbul hotel, and it does have a great entrance.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, the few days I had in Istanbul were amazing, and some of the places have not changed at all. I only scratched the surface and it has definitely wetted my appetite to visit this magnificent place. For information about the wonderful tour guides, please check out the link here.

The company are great in creating a bespoke tour, and I included the cistern basilica, and the Suleymani mosque as well. Istanbul has many delights, and would highly recommend a visit.

---

– article by Tie Another Day.