Contemporary Art Walk: Istiklal Street, Modern Art Museums

We met Art Historian Tuncer Gul at the Istanbul Modern Museum. We didn’t expect a tour guide with such an encyclopedic knowledge of Turkish art -- and how politics and leadership has changed it over the many centuries.

In addition, he gave us astute perspective on how Turkish arts figures in the worldwide scene.

One of us is a retired arts editor from the Washington Post, and learned more in six hours than she did in weeks of reading.

We took this tour in December 2019. Our guide Oguzhan could not have been more accommodating or helpful. His knowledge both art and historical is immense and he was very willing to try and help us understand about Turkey, the people, religion, way of modern life etc. He answered our endless questions with patience and sincerity. He also took us to some very interesting and quirky studios!

Very helpful and friendly tour guide - some good exhibits / artworks at the end

Chris

We took this excellent tour in October 2015. I thought we had reviewed this already! I would rate this tour as exceptional - our guide Tunchas - apologies for mis spelling was incredibly knowledgeable, enthusiastic and attentive to our interests. Along with the well known galleries, he showed us numerous small and intriguing galleries that we would never have discovered ourselves. Absolutely recommend as a way of learning so much about Turkish art and culture, politics and history. Magnificent!

My friend and I were the only ones on the tour and our guide was fantastic - knowledgeable, personable and willing to adjust for our interests. His enthusiasm for his subject and passion for contemporary art were very apparent. He was welcomed by gallery owners wherever we went and really gave us insight into the current art scene in the city. I would highly recommend this walk.

My experience was fantastic! As it turned out, I was the only person booked on the tour that day, and in addition to being very friendly and extremely knowledgeable, my guide went above and beyond to customize the tour to my interests on the fly!, adding stops and rearranging things to make sure I was seeing things I was interested in. He is clearly very passionate about modern art in Turkey and clearly loves his job. With his insider knowledge, I not only saw the museums but also got to meet a few people connected with the art scene in Istanbul as well. Excellent tour, highly recommended.

It was absolutely fantastic. I was the only one on the tour that day so it was a private tour with a wonderfully knowledgable guide Levent. I think it was lovely that the guide for this tour was an arts student. It was like being out on a morning stroll through various art galleries with a friend who is as passionate about the subject as you are. From the small galleries on the ISTIKLAL STREET to the stunning Modern Istanbul Museum, this whole tour was worth every penny. GO FOR IT :

p.s. - The tour is a morning tour, i.e., it starts at 11 am but Viator has it listed as an afternoon tour. I am glad I called the tour company to confirm the hotel pick up time or I would've missed out on it.

An unusual unique walk that art lovers should consider the guide was knowledgable, passionate, energetic and was always helpful and able to answer questions. This walk takes you around places, little galleries and museums that are not as widely advertised as the overcrowded and overestimated Sultanahmet district. It shows the vibrant contemporary part of Istanbul that is also notable and worth seeing into.

I went on the tour with Tuncer on May 14, 2015. He is an art historian who has vast knowledge of Turkish Art. Since I was the only attendee for the tour, I had a personal guide through the contemporary turkish art scene. We visited various art galleries starting from Istiklai Street. Tuncer explained the each exhibition even the history of building where the exhibition was held. We visited an artist's studio where he painted. It was amazing to see how the artist brought his vision to life. We walked through the different streets where to see the daily life of people in Istanbul from upcoming trendy streets to residential areas. It was great to get a feel of the local life. Then we went to Istanbul Modern Art Museum. It has a great view looking over the other side of the Istanbul across the ocean. The pieces in the museum were intriguing and displayed the current interests of Turkish contemporary art. The tour covered not only the Turkish art, yet also guided through the turkish daily life and their interests. It was one of the best experiences I had in Turkey. Thanks to Tuncer for his incredible guidance!

I have done a review for this in September. Tour was excellent. the guide was very knowledgeable and good fun.