Istanbul for The Curious Wanderers: a Friday-to-Monday weekend

Cross the Golden Horn to the painted wooden houses of the old Greek and Jewish quarter; wander the steep cobbled lanes and the antique shops.

A Sufi ceremony in a restored fifteenth-century bathhouse, with the music played live; the hall is small, so tickets go in a few days.

A late dinner with the lights on the Golden Horn and the pistachio kebab on the grill; the room stays busy until closing.

A medrese courtyard where calligraphers and ebru marbling artists work in open studios; stay for a tea and ask whether a class is running.

Orhan Pamuk's novel turned into a house of cigarette butts, clocks and keepsakes, a gentle strangeness; your ticket doubles as an entry in the book.

A meyhane open since 1938, once a haunt of writers and artists; start with the meze and let the cook choose the fish.

A fourth-century cistern of two hundred and twenty-four columns, far quieter than its famous neighbour, with a café on the floor and a fraction of the crowd.

Justinian's rehearsal for the great church, now a mosque: a small, calm interior with a garden, visited outside prayer times.

Take the ferry to Kadıköy and order from the steam trays; the stuffed vine leaves and the quince dishes are the ones to point at.

The terminus of the Orient Express, a Gothic-Oriental building of 1890 with a small railway museum and the Orient Express memorabilia inside.

A tiny Sinan mosque over the shops, its walls covered in sixteenth-century İznik tiles; the stairs are hidden, so look for the arch.

A last box of baklava and lokum, from a shop open since 1864; eat one piece standing at the counter.