The Galata Bridge

Lean on the railing. On one side is the Golden Horn, the estuary that served as Byzantium's natural harbour; on the other, the mouth of the Bosphorus. This bridge links the old Sultanahmet peninsula with Karaköy and Galata, the historic districts of foreign merchants.

1Leonardo's bridge

In 1502 Leonardo da Vinci wrote to Sultan Bayezid II offering him a single-span bridge, some 280 metres long, across the Golden Horn. It was a daring idea for the time and the sultan turned it down. The drawing survives in one of his notebooks.

For centuries, crossing here meant getting into a boat; the first bridge on this spot, made of wood, only arrived in 1845.

2Five bridges on the same site

The 1845 bridge was followed by others in 1863 and 1875. In 1912 a floating bridge built by a German company was installed, and its lower deck filled up with cafés and tea houses. That bridge burned in 1992 and was replaced by the current one, opened in 1994: it is about 490 metres long and has a central span that opens to let ships through.

Up top, from first light, dozens of amateur anglers fish for horse mackerel and anchovies. Below, a row of restaurants fills the lower level. It's one of Istanbul's most characteristic scenes.

3What to look for

• The anglers and their buckets with the day's catch.
• The skyline of the old shore: the New Mosque, the Süleymaniye and, in the distance, Hagia Sophia.
• The balık ekmek boats, selling Eminönü's famous fish sandwiches.