Tophane

Tophane takes its name from the 15th-century Ottoman cannon foundry whose surviving stone building still dominates the waterfront. The area wraps around the Kılıç Ali Paşa Mosque, a 1580 Mimar Sinan work inspired by Hagia Sophia, and Nusretiye Mosque, an 1826 Empire-style landmark. Along Boğazkesen and the Bosphorus-front streets, specialty coffee roasters, contemporary galleries, and the new Istanbul Modern building anchor one of the densest art-and-coffee corridors in the city.