People pontificate about the magnificence of Florence, Vienna and Paris. However, it's time they stood aside and let in the Byzantium capital.
Istanbul never features on the greatest cities lists. Whenever people talk about grandeur, glamour and avant-garde they talk about New York, London or Tokyo. The word Istanbul doesn't even pop into the subconscious.
It's a city that ticks all of those boxes but doesn't have the same gravitas as its European rivals. And, due to the terrorist attacks, Islamaphobia and Erdogan, Istanbul has a bit of an image problem.
I arrived in Istanbul on a Friday for a long weekend with a friend. From the ultra-modern airport to the suburbs of the old city, it was a metropolis with skyscrapers and digital billboards. Cranes dominated the skyline, sprawling the city further out from the Golden Horn.
We were staying in the brilliant located and fabulously chic Happy Homes.
I knew there was too much to do. Too much to squeeze into three days. However, being of Greek Cypriot heritage, I'm familiar with Turkish culture. So got into the swing of things almost immediately.
Day 1 consisted of going hard - as all the first days of a holiday are. We walked around our neighbourhood of Galata and Beyoglu. We quickly discovered that everything was pretty close together; the Galata Tower, music alley and the Mevlevihanesi are all within spitting distance.
We stopped off for a traditional Turkish coffee with mastic (a syrup made from a tree sap found in Chios, Greece) just passed all the music shops and opposite rooftop bar, Snog, which we also frequented at sunset.
We then ate at the hipster glam on the inside, tired Spanish coastal greasy spoon on the outside, Nola Galata. The food, wine and service were excellent. Then we headed to the best night I've had in my life at Nardis Jazz Club, the veteran jazz musicians put on an incredible show.
Huge shout out to the staff and the couple who let us share their table close to the front. Not sure that couple are still together though, it was a very weird dynamic of her looking like a bulldog licking a nettle until we spoke to her.
Day 2 was sightseeing day. In all honesty, you need more than a day to fully explore this city but we aimed at the big hitters today. The Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern and, of course, the landmark Ayia Sophia. Ending the day at the Mevlevihanesi to watch the whirling dervishes.
Aptly ending the day in a buzzing Galata shisha bar. I can't remember the name, but the shwarma was tasty and the decor was student union.
Day 3 involved chilling out in one of the many historic hammams in the city. We chose 600-year-old Aga Hamami near the now infamous Taksim Square district. Ending out stay with dinner and drinks at retro library Varuna Cafe.
There's so much more to see, like a boat trip up the Bosperhos and mooching around the colourful yet conservative district of Balat, walk along the Land Walls, the coastal suburbs of Besiktas and Ortakoy and venture to the Black Sea side.
This majestic, vibrant, historic and modern city is will seduce you and show you a good time. But it won't be a walk of shame, instead, you'll feel like you've experienced something life-changing.
