A beautiful and interesting video showing Istanbul in 1967. The time that there were no intercontinental bridges, no skyscrapers, no traffic jams, and much fewer people.

There were only around 2 million people living in Istanbul in 1967. Now (as of 2014) at least 15 million, more than seven times of 1967.

Published by the British Pathé channel on YouTube.

Istanbul in 1967: This segment of Pathé Pictorial gives a snapshot of what the beautiful city of Istanbul, Turkey looked like in the nineteen-sixties. It takes time to highlight popular tourist locations from the many mosques to traveling around the Bosphorus.
“The city itself splits between two continents with only ferry boats threading it across that narrow exciting waterway that divides us from Asia and dramatically links Russia and the Black Sea with the Mediterranean and the world.” (There was no bridge over the Bosphorus in Istanbul in 1967 – now, as of 2021, there are three bridges over the Bosphorus)

Some of the places in the video are:

Hagia Sophia

From the date of its construction in 537, the Hagia Sophia was used as a church for 916 years but, following the conquest of Istanbul by Fatih Sultan Mehmed in 1453, it was converted into a mosque. Then it was converted into a museum in 1935, and again into a mosque in 2020.

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
Hagia Sophia is a former Christian patriarchal basilica (church), later an imperial mosque, then a museum, and then again a mosque.
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul in 1967
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul in 1967

Galata Tower

Built in 1348, The nine-story Galata Tower tower is 66.90 meters (220 feet) tall (62.59 meters / 205 feet without the ornament on top, 51.65 meters / 169 feet at the observation deck), and was the city’s tallest structure when it was built. The elevation at ground level is 35 meters (115 feet) above sea level. The tower has an external diameter of 16.45 meters (54 feet) at the base, an 8.95 meters (29 feet) diameter inside, and walls that are 3.75 meters (12 feet) thick.

Galata Tower, Istanbul
Galata Tower, Istanbul (September 2016)

The Bosphorus

The Bosphorus also referred to sometimes as the Istanbul Strait (Turkish: İstanbul Boğazı), is a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia.

Crossing the Bosphorus by boat 06
The waterfront houses near the Bosphorus.

The Rumelian Castle

Rumelihisarı (Rumelian Castle, Rumelian means “greek land” in Turkşish) is a fortress located in the Sarıyer district of Istanbul, Turkey, on a hill at the European side of the Bosphorus. It gives the name of the quarter around it. It was built by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II between 1451 and 1452 before he captured Constantinople.

Istanbul in 1967 - Rumelian Castle
Istanbul in 1967 – Rumelihisarı (also known as Rumelian Castle and Roumeli Hissar Castle)

The Blue Mosque

It was built from 1609 to 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Its real name is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque and it’s not blue at all. Its popular name, the “Blue Mosque” comes from the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior.

Blue Mosque, Istanbul
The Blue Mosque (the Sultan Ahmed Mosque) Photo: nevworldwonders.com
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Published by Özgür Nevres

I am a software developer, a former road racing cyclist, and a science enthusiast. Also an animal lover! I write about the city of Istanbul on this website. I live in Istanbul since 1992.