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Istanbul in Movies

Istanbul, a city spanning on two continents and the site of many civilizations throughout history, is the choice of visitors both in terms of tourism and art. In many foreign films it has offered a viewing pleasure, sometimes in a scene, sometimes in the background of almost the entire movie. It's a unique visual backdrop for international filmmakers, and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, as well as the Municipality of Istanbul and other government agencies, are very cooperative with issuing filming permits for foreigners and hosting the film crew. There are many natural sites, cultural and historical venues and neighborhoods in the city which draws attention of producers for shooting world-famous films such as James Bond series. The city's world-renowned sites, such as the Topkapi palace, Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya), Sultanahmet mosque (Blue mosque), the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan), historic bazaars, Eminönü and Beyazit neighborhoods with old streets, and many other locations have drawn a long list of filmmakers.

Below is a list of some of the most known movies that were shot in Istanbul.

Movie	Year	Genre	Director	Stars	Locations
James Bond: From Russia With Love	1963	Action, Spy	Terence Young	Sean Connery, Robert Shaw, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn	Beylerbeyi palace, Dolmabahce palace, old Yesilköy airport, Sulukule, Grand bazaar, Spice market, Basilica cistern
James Bond: The World Is Not Enough	1999	Action, Spy	Michael Apted	Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Judi Dench, Robert Carlyle, Colin Salmon	Bosphorus, Kizkulesi tower, Dolmabahce palace
James Bond: Skyfall	2012	Action, Spy	Sam Mendes	Daniel Craig, Naomie Harris, Albert Finney, Judi Dench, Ben Whishaw	Grand bazaar, Eminönü, Beyazit And also in Adana province and Fethiye
Inferno	2016	Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller	Ron Howard	Tom Hanks, Jean Reno, Audrey Tautou, Felicity Jones, Ben Foster	Basilica cistern, Grand bazaar, Ayasofya, Sultanahmet square, Beyazit square
The Water Diviner	2014	Drama, War	Russel Crowe	Russel Crowe, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz	Topkapi palace, Sultanahmet mosque And also Kayaköy in Mugla province
Taken 2	2012	Action, Thriller	Olivier Megaton	Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace	Grand bazaar, old streets around Eminönü, Balat, Haydarpasa, Kadiköy
The Two Faces of January	2014	Thriller	Hossein Amini	Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, Oscar Isaac	Balat neighbourhood
Argo	2012	Biography, Drama, Thriller	Ben Affleck	Ben Affleck, John Goodman, Clea DuVall, Tate Donovan, Victor Garber	Ayasofya, Grand bazaar, Kabatas, Fatih, Karaköy, Sirkeci, Eminönü
The International	2009	Thriller, Spy	Tom Tykwer	Naomi Watts, Haluk Bilginer, Clive Owen, Ulrich Thomsen, Jack McGee	Sultanahmet, Grand bazaar
Hitman	2007	Action, Crime, Drama	Xavier Gens	Timothy Olyphant, Olga Kurylenko, Dougray Scott, Robert Knepper, Eriq Ebouaney	Galata tower
Sniper: Ghost Shooter	2016	Action, Drama, Thriller	Don Michael Paul	Chad Michael Collins, Billy Zane, Dennis Haysbert	Galata bridge, Eminönü
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy	2011	Spy, Thriller	Tomas Alfredson	Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Svetlana Khodchenkova	Karaköy neighborhood, Beyoglu istiklal street
The Reluctant Fundamentalist	2012	Thriller	Mira Nair	Kiefer Sutherland, Kate Hudson, Haluk Bilginer, Liev Schreiber, Nelsan Ellis, Riz Ahmed	Old city area And also Ankara
The Fall	2006	Adventure, Drama, Fantasy	Tarsem Singh	Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell	Ayasofya
The Net 2.0	2006	Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller	Charles Winkler	Nikki Deloach, Cengiz Bozkurt, Demet Akbag	Nuruosmaniye, Grand bazaar, Beyazit
A Touch of Spice	2003	Drama	Tassos Baulmetis	Basak Koklukaya, Tamer Karadagli, Georges Corraface, Ieroklis Michaelidis, Renia Louizidou	Kadiköy market and nearby Haydarpasa station
The Rebound	2009	Comedy, Romance	Bart Freundlich	Catherine Zeta-Jones, Justin Bartha, Lynn Whitfield, John Schneider, Tom Riis Farrell	Ortaköy mosque, Bosphorus
The Accidental Spy	2002	Action, Comedy, Thriller	Teddy Chen	Jackie Chan, Min Kim, Eric Tsang, Vivian Hsu, Hsing-kuo Wu	Grand bazaar, Topkapi palace, Sultanahmet
Race 2	2013	Action, Crime	Abbas Alibhai Burmawalla, Mastan Alibhai Burmawalla	Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Anil Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, John Abraham	Galata bridge, Eminönü And also in Northern Cyprus (KKTC)
Hamam: The Turkish Bath	1997	Drama, Romance	Ferzan Ozpetek	Alessandro Gassmann, Francesca d'Aloja, Carlo Cecchi	Aynali Sultan Hamam, Pera Palace hotel
Murder on the Orient Express	1974	Crime, Drama, Mystery	Sidney Lumet	Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, John Gielgud	Sirkeci train station, Pera Palace hotel
Topkapi	1964	Crime, Adventure, Comedy	Jules Dassin	Peter Ustinov, Melina Mercouri, Maximilian Schell, Danyal Topatan, Senih Orkan, Jess Hahn, Robert Morley	Topkapi palace, Sultanahmet, mansions on the Bosphorus, Fatih neighborhood
Midnight Express	1978	Biography, Crime, Drama	Alan Parker	Randy Quaid, John Hurt, Irene Miracle, Paolo Bonacelli, Brad Davis	Sagmalcilar prison, Bakirkoy mental hospital
The Girl on the Bridge La fille sur le pont	1999	Drama, Romance, Comedy	Patrice Leconte	Vanessa Paradis, Daniel Auteuil, Frederic Pfluger	2nd suspension bridge (FSM)
You Can't Win 'Em All	1970	Action, Adventure, Comedy	Peter Collison	Tony Curtis, Charles Bronson, Michele Mercier, Fikret Hakan, Salih Guney	Sait Halim pasha mansion And also in Izmir
Vampyros Lesbos	1971	Drama, Horror	Jesus Franco	Soledad Miranda, Dennis Price, Paul Muller	Eyüp neighbourhood, Pierre Loti hill, Eminönü, Kabatas, Büyükada island
Tintin and the Golden Fleece	1964	Adventure, Drama	Jean-Jacques Vierne	Jean-Pierre Talbot, Georges Wilson	Bosphorus
Journey Into Fear	1943	Drama, B/W, Thriller	Orson Welles	Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dolores Del Rio, Ruth Warrick	Pera neighbourhood
Background To Danger	1943	Drama, War, Thriller	Radul Walsh	George Raft, Sydney Greenstreet	Old city area
Istanbul	1957	Crime, Drama, Romance	Joseph Pevney	Errol Flynn, Cornell Borchers	The old Yesilkoy Atatürk airport, Galata bridge, old city walls, Ortaköy, Sultanahmet
America, America	1963	Drama, B/W	Elia Kazan	Stathis Giallelis, Frank Wolff, Elena Karam	Sultanahmet, narrow streets in Eminönü, Karaköy
L'immortale	1963	Suspense, Thriller	Alain Robbe-Grillet	Francoise Brion, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze	Old city area, Golden horn, Dolmabahce palace, Bosphorus, Üsküdar, mosques and old city walls
The Secret of Stamboul	1936	Adventure	Andrew Morton	Valerie Hobson, James Mason, Frank Vosper, Kay Walsh	Ayasofya, Bosphorus, Golden horn
Tyrant series	2014-2016				Bosphorus, Sultanahmet, and many other

Some other international movies and series that were shot around Turkey, other than in Istanbul, are:

Movie	Year	Stars	Locations
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare	2024	Henry Cavill, Eiza Gonzalez	Antalya province
Operation Fortune	2023	Jason Statham, Hugh Grant, Aubrey Plaza, Josh Hartnett	Antalya and Aspendos
Ghost Rider; Spirit of Vengeance	2011	Nicolas Cage	Cappadocia and Pamukkale
L'empire des Loups	2005	Jean Reno	Cappadocia
Criminal Minds series: Beyond Borders	2016-2017		Antalya province in chapter 9

Hope to see you soon in Istanbul.