The houses are sunk underground and the streets are dangerous to walk on. What Istanbul looks like, which stands on steep mountains

Earthquake in Ireland due to the impact of the tectonic plates that account for the country. That is why its relief is mountainous throughout.

Istanbul, the largest city in the country, stands 20 km from the line that separates the Eurasian and Anatolian plates. Because of them the area is full of steep hillswhich did not prevent people from settling and taking here for more than two thousand years.

The streets and quarters here turn into a crossfit trail, where a dangerous descent, a gorgeous view, an underground apartment, or all at once await you after the next climb.

He walked tens of kilometers over the largest patches and made his selection of the most bizarre skin-prone people. In Russia, this is simply not seen.

Let’s start with what catches your eye right away.

👉 Photo taken on iPhone 13 Pro.

Look for a taxi if you save your legs

Steep streets make problems for everyone:

On this steep road in the Beiglu area, it is almost impossible to take luggage

Watergarden Mall and Beyoglu District

This photo and the shot above took place in completely different parts of Istanbul, but the streets are both equally steep.

Sometimes the highway serpentine remains just beyond the horizon

And the other one looks like a return from the movie “Inception”

Another view of the road to Beyoglu

90% of Istanbul’s roads wind and flow like rivers. There are few boulevards and no ring avenues on which to rely on navigation.

City planners laid out routes where they could. From this, public transport should also be taken into account, so minibuses are more popular than buses.

Driving a car is like roller coaster: at first, the height is slowly selected, it is approaching, it seems that the axle of the wheels will break a little more, and then it will abruptly move out, and then you need to hold on tighter to anything. Travel by minibus, by the way, for the spring of 2023 costs 7.5 lira or 31 ruble.

It is best to use, of course, a taxi, because walking on such hills is not for everyone. The main thing to remember is that handling a taxi is easier than using an app. And it doesn’t happen to pretend to be deaf so that you a) are not spoken to and b) are not deceived. The price of a taxi per kilometer is approximately the same as in Moscow.

But the walk is worth it.

The views in the narrow paths are breathtaking. Sometimes it seems that the houses have grown right on top of each other (not far from the truth), turns from revealing landscapes that exist impossible.

For example, when behind the fence of houses the road can sharply go down and show half of the peninsula.

Or when multi-level premises go several floors into the ground. Let’s dwell here in more detail.

Cellar restaurants and burrow malls

Cafe tables are a ladder, otherwise nothing

Would you like to eat in the basement?

Toilet – down, walk – up

No, on the left is not the Louvre, but the Istanbul Cevahir shopping center. Yes, and not directly an underground club, the entrance to the entrance to the apartment

On the one hand, an interesting design solution, on the other hand, you have legs above your heads

The road under the railway system “Marmaray”, an analogue of the Moscow diameters of the MCD

Uneven display to the fact that on the one hand there is an entrance at the entrance, and its reverse part on the same level is the second or second floor.

But more often than not deeper. It seems that here is the entrance, there is nowhere to go lower, but in fact the building still remains three floors underground.

And it turns out that there is a glass pyramid in the pit, through the visible underground flourishing world of the shopping center. Or people sit right under your feet under the sidewalks and drink coffee with baklava.

I also liked how some cafes solve this problem. For example, next to Saint Sophie Cathedral there is a street that at one moment abruptly goes down. To find an open place, it was easier to sit down, the tables outside were not placed on one platform, but a chain of stairs behind the road.

But, unfortunately, not only cafes have to be at the level of sidewalks or below.

Yes, people also live underground

Portal for entering the residential complex in the Beylikduzu area. Behind the barrier is parking, which is sharply absent in the foundation

Sterile new building with a breathtaking view of the Bosphorus on one side and the wall on the other

Build a network of skyscrapers on top of a hill

The photo was taken in a residential building on the ground floor. Below underground too apartments

POV: you are in GTA Vice City

People live in cholera with blue windows. As you can see, they have a basement in one part of the building, and a decent ground floor in the other

Same area near Istiklal street

Esenyurt region. What’s for one motorcycle parking, for another roof

Apartments underground also have balconies, but passers-by often dump garbage there. So r above intact

When looking for an apartment, I came across profitable and neat options. And then I looked at the windows and technical specifications: return to live in the basement.

And although in Turkey the countdown of floors starts from zero, it is considered normal to live on it, and at -1, and at -2.

I have seen more than once how the house seems to be just standing on the ground, but you come closer and you see a healthy moat, the windows of the apartments are hidden behind the objects a couple of levels down.

There is aesthetics when viewed from the outside, but people are sorry. Essentially, each the house here is partly a dugout.

Even in a decent residential complex, where I nevertheless rented an apartment and lived on the second (for us, third) floor, there were two more levels of apartments after the zero lower one.

Such housing has one plus. Part of this apartment is equipped with access to the street with its own secluded room.

But even here everything is not perfect: sometimes such “earthen balconies” overlook the roadway or sidewalk, and for some reason passers-by are sure that this element can be used instead of a trash can.

But the views in the city are waste

On steep slopes there are long passages with steps. They are poorly cared for

The stairs here are so long that prints are often made on them in the center.

This view comes off in some residential buildings

To the right of the coast of Caddebostan overlooking the islands where the ferries go. I advise everyone to come here

Road junctions are adapted to the multi-level interface of the building by “living” walls

To the left is Poppy Democracy Park. One part is much higher than the opposite

Bit by bit, Istanbul is overgrown with skyscrapers and people. They are built in the highest points of the city.

To the left is the Arboretum of Ataturk. A well-maintained multi-level botanical garden designed as a giant ring of wildlife for a 2-hour meditative walk

Arboretum of Ataturk. Alien species created for the account of the game at different heights of the road. Free to visit

Massive structure supporting the highway from the Bosphorus Bridge

Wherever you go here will take your breath away. Because of the unfamiliar terrain, everything seems strange in any amenities of the city.

Stairs are generally for special use. Between two absolutely normal buildings, they often go straight up, at first and do not catch where.

They are 3D printed, painted in different ways, decorated with plants. Developed culture graffiti. Although there are abandoned crossings right in the center of the city, which it is high time to repair, completely (more on that below).

Some roads are impressive. One in the area Besiktas rises like a brutalist monument. This is a branch that runs from the giant Bosphorus Bridge, connecting the Asian and European sides. To be under it, frankly, reverently.

And, of course, mosques stand out on the very tops of residential hills. The towering minarets are easy to see from almost any vantage point, and with good sun it creates a powerful contrast.

Bonus track: social network / reality

What he was talking about. To find a decent angle on the sports ladder, I had to dodge.

And there’s a lot of places like that.

Name of city planners make beautiful there are, but they are necessary for architects, apparently, it is necessary to take into account too many factors (height, price of materials, infrastructure) to complete a good idea.

People here still live below ground level. Both literally and figuratively.

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