When visiting Istanbul, of course you will want to tour popular sites like the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Grand Bazaar. But to immerse yourself in the city’s historic and vibrant culture, it’s crucial to step off the well-trodden paths to the top tourist attractions and explore Istanbul through the eyes of a local. If you want to see another side of the city, check into Shangri-La Bosphorus, Istanbul.
Sitting on the Bosphorus strait, where Europe and Asia meet, the Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star hotel attracts travelers with its scenic location; plush, sophisticated accommodations; and delicious food (including Turkish fare in international restaurant IST TOO and Chinese fine dining at Shang Palace). Yet Shangri-La Bosphorus offers more than just a luxurious stay; it serves as a gateway to local experiences.
You’ll want to add these activities to your itinerary:
Eat the Baklava
While gelatinous Turkish delights are sold in virtually every gift shop in Istanbul, the don’t-miss dessert is baklava. And there’s no better place to have it than Shangri-La Bosphorus, Istanbul, which gave the world its first baklava butler. Once you sit in the Lobby Lounge and order the service, the butler, dressed in a traditional long dress, wheels over a cart featuring goat milk ice cream on a vertical spit. The ice cream’s taffy-like texture requires skillful handling and looks much like carving shawarma or gyros.
The butler carefully places slices of the ice cream between freshly made triangles of delicate, crispy phyllo dough, generously filled with finely chopped pistachios and drizzled with honey, essentially creating an irresistible baklava ice cream sandwich.
While baklava is known for its sugary sweetness, the milky, no-sugar-added ice cream provides a nice balance. Plus, the baklava butler can tailor it to your liking, adding more ice cream or an extra sprinkle of pistachios.
For an additional local experience, book the hotel’s excursion to the famous baklava bakery Karaköy Güllüoğlu. You will head to the 1843 family-run bakery’s kitchen, where you’ll learn the secrets behind crafting its renowned treat. After the hands-on experience, savor a tasting in the bakery’s quiet garden.
Drink the Tea
Many tourists passing through Istanbul want to taste its famous Turkish coffee — the thick drink is prepared in a cezve (a long-handled metal pot), and the fine grounds remain at the bottom of the cup. But most locals prefer tea. Turkey boasts the world’s highest per capita consumption of black tea, according to a 2024 report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Whether enjoyed at a café patio or a restaurant, the strong tea is traditionally served in a short, hourglass-shaped glass. At Shangri-La Bosphorus, the Lobby Lounge elevates the simple ritual by presenting the tea on a small gold tray resembling a cage, accompanied by cookies. But for the real showstopper, make a reservation for the high tea. A waitress hoists a wooden box onto the table, which opens to reveal the tea menu, complete with clear jars with the respective leaves inside. Choose from selections like slightly sweet Turkish spearmint, refreshing satsuma pineapple tisane or energizing Early Grey.
Afterward, a generous portion of food arrives in an oversized gold hot-air balloon. White stone trays of raisin scones and bites float within it and desserts anchor the base. You’ll savor the smoked salmon sandwich layered with labneh and roe and prawn-stuffed crepe pouches. Rich gianduja chocolate mousse cake and a pistachio éclair with nuts inside provide a sweet finale.
For another distinctive tea experience, visit the hotel’s Shang Palace. While there, you’ll want to order the flavorful dim sum and the tender duck, but don’t forget to request to be served by the tea master. Using only a teapot with a thin spout that’s almost the length of a leg, the tea master begins a mesmerizing dance. He gracefully twirls the teapot around his body like a baton, pausing to dramatically pour the hot liquid from increasingly intricate angles — from above his head, behind his shoulders or while doing a backbend — without spilling a drop.
Try the Hammam
Hammams, or Turkish baths, date back to the Ottoman period, influenced by both Roman and Middle Eastern bathing rituals. Aside from cleansing the body, the benefits of the traditional practice include detoxification, exfoliation and hydration of the skin, and relaxation.
The baths remain a part of Turkish culture both for the wellness perks and as a gathering place to socialize. The hammams are the most popular offering at the Istanbul hotel’s Chi, The Spa. Locals frequent the spa for the public hammams in each locker room. Both facilities are engulfed in white marble, but the women’s hammam is the more expansive of the two.
First-timers and those wanting privacy should opt for a treatment in the lavish hammam suite, which accommodates up to two. The suite features its own white-marble-filled hammam with a large, heated stone slab table in the center. After donning disposable undergarments, you’ll lie on the warm table as the therapist sets to work.
First, the therapist pours warm water over you and washes you with an organic lavender soap (the lavender is grown in the hotel garden). After working up a bubble-laden lather, she takes an exfoliating mitt and thoroughly scrubs your body, even getting behind your ears and between your toes. Then she’ll soothe your skin and seal in hydration with a milk and honey mask.
Once you’ve dried off, you’ll head to an adjoining room with two treatment beds to unwind even further with an expert massage. The blissful experience concludes with an authentic local touch: a glass of comforting Turkish tea in the suite’s sitting area.
We left feeling squeaky-clean with buttery-smooth skin that’s never felt so soft, a testament to why this centuries-old Turkish tradition endures.
Dabble in Turkish Art
Among the arts, Turkey may be most well-known for its ornate handmade carpets and colorful ceramics. But it also offers the captivating art of ebru, or paper marbling. This technique involves creating intricate, swirling patterns on top of water, and then transferring them onto paper. The more than 700-year-old tradition is so integral to the country’s identity that it made UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014.
You can discover the art form with the help of Shangri-La Bosphorus. The hotel will arrange a two-hour, hands-on private workshop with a local ebru artist. We ventured to Kubilay Eralp Dincer’s paint-splattered studio to give it a try. Dincer, who has taught workshops for more than a decade, began with a brief history of ebru and an overview of the process.
In a tray of oily water, you use a brush (horsehair fastened onto a dried long rose stem) to sprinkle pigment mixed with ox gall (a wetting agent) onto the surface to create bright marbled patterns. Once satisfied with the look, you’ll carefully transfer it onto a piece of paper using a dip-scrape technique. It may take a couple of tries to get the hang of the delicate method, but once you do, you can then experiment with more intricate designs using tools like nails and combs.
The time goes by quickly, but while you wait for your pieces to dry, you’ll want to admire the professionally made ebru art adorning the studio walls, featuring vibrant floral motifs and complex shapes. The workshop is a great way to experience a bit of Turkish culture while also creating authentic, one-of-a-kind souvenirs of your Istanbul adventure.
