City guideIstanbul · Sat 10 – Sun 11 October
Istanbul this weekend: the last of Akbank Jazz and 212 Photography
Two festivals’ final days, a new museum for the Bosphorus, Ara Güler’s Cannes and Craig David.
The weekend at a glance
Choose a pick to find it on the map; scroll down for the full story.
Sunday · 11 October
All weekend · Saturday and Sunday
Sunday
11 October
Sun
Concert · Harbiye
Craig David, under the stars
Craig David broke through at the turn of the millennium with 7 Days and Fill Me In. Years later he reinvented himself with TS5, a show that began as house parties: he DJs and sings live over the top.
On Sunday he brings it to the Cemil Topuzlu Açıkhava Tiyatrosu in Harbiye, the open-air amphitheatre a short walk from Taksim. Tickets are on iTicket and Biletix; bring a layer for the evening.
All weekend
Saturday and Sunday
Sat 20:30 and Sun 20:30
Festival · Zorlu PSM
Akbank Jazz, the final notes
The Akbank Jazz Festival has been part of Istanbul’s autumn since 1991, and its 36th edition ends this weekend. Its last concerts are at Zorlu PSM, the arts centre at Zorlu Center in Beşiktaş.
On Saturday at 20:30 the American singer Nicole Zuraitis, a Grammy winner for her album How Love Begins, takes the stage. On Sunday the Greek singer Savina Yannatou, who moves between Mediterranean folk songs and improvisation, closes the festival.
Sat and Sun, hours vary by venue
Festival · 70+ venues
Istanbul, in pictures
This year 212 Photography Istanbul is about a birthday: two hundred years since the first photograph, made by Nicéphore Niépce in 1826. The festival has spread across the city, with exhibitions in more than 70 venues.
More than 350 artists take part, Martin Parr among them, with his bright, close-up pictures of people at leisure. This is the last weekend: pick two or three venues close together and walk between them.
Sat and Sun, 10:00–19:00Free
Museum · Kabataş
A museum for the Bosphorus
The İstanbul Boğaz Müzesi is the city’s newest museum. It opened in September on the shore at Kabataş, a few steps from the ferry piers, and it is run by İBB Miras, the municipality’s heritage arm.
Its first exhibition tells the story of the strait, the water between Europe and Asia that made Istanbul. Entry is free until April 2027, Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00; finish with a ferry ride across.
Sat 10:00–18:00, Sun 12:00–18:00Free
Exhibition · Bomontiada
Ara Güler’s Cannes
Ara Güler, who died in 2018, became known as the Eye of Istanbul, but he also travelled the world for magazines. Between 1957 and 1967 he photographed the Cannes film festival, its stars and its crowds.
Those pictures have come out of his archive for the first time, at the Ara Güler Müzesi in Bomontiada, the old Bomonti brewery turned arts centre in Şişli. The show is free and closes on Sunday.
Sat and Sun, 10:00–19:00350 TL
Exhibition · Borusan Contemporary
Olivo Barbieri, Anatolia from above
Borusan Contemporary opens its villa on the Bosphorus, Perili Köşk in Rumelihisarı, only at weekends. This season it gives the Italian photographer Olivo Barbieri his first solo show in Türkiye, with five series of his work.
It opens with aerial views of ancient Anatolia, from Ephesus and Aphrodisias to Hierapolis, then cities seen from above, Istanbul among them, looking almost like models. Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 to 19:00; 350 TL.
Sunday
Sun
Craig David, under the stars
Craig David broke through at the turn of the millennium with 7 Days and Fill Me In. Years later he reinvented himself with TS5, a show that began as house parties: he DJs and sings live over the top.
On Sunday he brings it to the Cemil Topuzlu Açıkhava Tiyatrosu in Harbiye, the open-air amphitheatre a short walk from Taksim. Tickets are on iTicket and Biletix; bring a layer for the evening.
Cemil Topuzlu Açıkhava Tiyatrosu All weekend
Sat 20:30 and Sun 20:30
Akbank Jazz, the final notes
The Akbank Jazz Festival has been part of Istanbul’s autumn since 1991, and its 36th edition ends this weekend. Its last concerts are at Zorlu PSM, the arts centre at Zorlu Center in Beşiktaş.
On Saturday at 20:30 the American singer Nicole Zuraitis, a Grammy winner for her album How Love Begins, takes the stage. On Sunday the Greek singer Savina Yannatou, who moves between Mediterranean folk songs and improvisation, closes the festival.
Zorlu PSM Sat and Sun, hours vary by venue
Istanbul, in pictures
This year 212 Photography Istanbul is about a birthday: two hundred years since the first photograph, made by Nicéphore Niépce in 1826. The festival has spread across the city, with exhibitions in more than 70 venues.
More than 350 artists take part, Martin Parr among them, with his bright, close-up pictures of people at leisure. This is the last weekend: pick two or three venues close together and walk between them.
Sat and Sun, 10:00–19:00
A museum for the Bosphorus
The İstanbul Boğaz Müzesi is the city’s newest museum. It opened in September on the shore at Kabataş, a few steps from the ferry piers, and it is run by İBB Miras, the municipality’s heritage arm.
Its first exhibition tells the story of the strait, the water between Europe and Asia that made Istanbul. Entry is free until April 2027, Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00; finish with a ferry ride across.
İstanbul Boğaz Müzesi Sat 10:00–18:00, Sun 12:00–18:00
Ara Güler’s Cannes
Ara Güler, who died in 2018, became known as the Eye of Istanbul, but he also travelled the world for magazines. Between 1957 and 1967 he photographed the Cannes film festival, its stars and its crowds.
Those pictures have come out of his archive for the first time, at the Ara Güler Müzesi in Bomontiada, the old Bomonti brewery turned arts centre in Şişli. The show is free and closes on Sunday.
Ara Güler Müzesi Sat and Sun, 10:00–19:00
Olivo Barbieri, Anatolia from above
Borusan Contemporary opens its villa on the Bosphorus, Perili Köşk in Rumelihisarı, only at weekends. This season it gives the Italian photographer Olivo Barbieri his first solo show in Türkiye, with five series of his work.
It opens with aerial views of ancient Anatolia, from Ephesus and Aphrodisias to Hierapolis, then cities seen from above, Istanbul among them, looking almost like models. Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 to 19:00; 350 TL.
Borusan Contemporary