Pierre Loti Hill Audio Tour
A hilltop café above Eyüp with the best view of the Golden Horn there is — the whole inlet laid out below, with the old city on the far side.
- At the gate
- £6.80
- Allow
- 1h 30m
- District
- Eyupsultan
- Closed
- Open daily
Pierre Loti Hill, in short
A hilltop cafu00e9 above Eyu00fcp with the best view of the Golden Horn there is u2014 the whole inlet laid out below, with the old city on the far side.
It is named after the French novelist Julien Viaud, who wrote as Pierre Loti and set his 1879 novel Aziyadu00e9 in Istanbul. He is said to have taken his tea up here.
What it costs
The hill is free. The cable car is a few lira, and the guided tour is u20ac8 separately and included on the pass.
Getting there
Take the cable car from beside Eyu00fcp Sultan Mosque u2014 a two-minute ride and part of the appeal. You can also walk up through the cemetery, which takes about 20 minutes and is worth doing at least one way.
How long to allow
An hour, most of it sitting down with a tea. Late afternoon into sunset is the time to be here.
The walk up
The path climbs through one of the oldest Ottoman cemeteries in the city, terraced into the hillside beneath cypresses. Being buried near Eyu00fcp Sultan was a mark of great honour, and the headstones u2014 many carved with the hat of the occupant's office u2014 are worth the slow climb.
Frequently asked questions
- Above the Eyu00fcp district, at the top of the Golden Horn.
- A panoramic view over the Golden Horn and the old city, and a cafu00e9 to sit and take it in. The cemetery walk up is part of the attraction.
- A short cable car from beside Eyu00fcp Sultan Mosque, or a 20-minute walk up through the cemetery.
- Late afternoon into sunset, when the light runs down the length of the Golden Horn.