At the beginning of the 20th century, “religion in Istanbul” would have covered a diverse spectrum of belief systems. Christianity, for example, was as popular as any other creed, albeit subject to official discrimination. In building modern Turkey, the government went to extraordinary lengths to “Turkify” the country. The Greeks, Armenians, and Jews who were once common on the streets of Istanbul have been replaced with a flood of immigrants from other parts of Turkey. Today’s Istanbul is the result of a sprawling collection of villages, all of which have exploded into each other, rather than one coherent city.
Mosques are among Turkey’s greatest architectural achievements and Western audiences are very curious to see images relating to Islam. The most interesting mosques are in Sultanahmet. A non-obvious and not-too-easy-to-find one is Rustem Pasa, up some stairs from a busy nest of market alleys. Rustem Pasa is famous for its ceramic tiles. For those who are used to the restaurants in La Jolla, Istanbul also offers a good collection of restaurants for the tourist who want to sample the cuisines that this city has to offer.