Istanbul on Street View

How to recognise the city from a panorama

Istanbul is the only large city spread across two continents. Steep streets, minarets on the skyline and blue district signs in Turkish — with its distinctive ı, ş and ğ — give it away.

What the streets look like

Streets climb and drop steeply, with minarets on the skyline. Buildings press against each other, laundry hangs from balconies, and ground floors are given over to shops.

How to tell it from lookalikes

The Turkish alphabet with ı, ş and ğ and minarets instead of bell towers separate it from Athens. From Baku it differs by density and terrain.

Useful details

District plates are blue and carry the word Mahallesi. Ferries are visible along the Bosphorus, and the historic tram runs down a pedestrian street.

Geogessr drops you somewhere random in the world — sometimes in Istanbul. Work out where you are and drop a pin on the map.

Country giveaways

A quick check when the panorama looks unfamiliar: these signs are visible almost anywhere in the city.

Country	Türkiye
Driving side	right-hand
Licence plates	white · blue band with the letters TR
Script on signs	Latin
Currency	TRY ₺
Time zone	UTC+3
Domain	.tr

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