Balat

Urban design practices and façade restorations carried out by the municipality in the Balat neighborhood of Istanbul's Fatih district have made neighborhoods on the shores of the Golden Horn a frequent destination for photographers.

As part of the June 5 World Environment Day, children across the country have picked up rubbish on the streets in various organizations to raise environmental awareness.

In Istanbul, the Fatih Municipality gathered around 300 young volunteer environmentalists to collect garbage on the streets of the Balat neighborhood.

Mafia groups composed of illegal parking lot operators known as "değnekçi" continue threatening locals in the Balat neighborhood, a UNESCO-protected district on Istanbul's Golden Horn waterway.

Security units have found a tunnel, which is some 30 meters deep and leads to a church nearby, under a house, which they raided in the Balat neighborhood of Fatih district in Istanbul early Dec. 22.

"The tunnel has two entrances," an official said.

Academy Award-winning Hollywood star Michael Douglas visited Istanbul's historic Grand Bazaar on Jan. 5.

The 75-year-old actor was accompanied by his children Dylan, 19, and Carys, 16, during the Istanbul tour.

The Hollywood couple, award-wining actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Douglas are in Istanbul to celebrate their 20th anniversary of marriage.

Academy award-winning actors Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas embarked on a world tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their marriage, and the couple arrived in Istanbul on Jan. 3 following an Africa journey.

Secondhand objects, from used furniture to toys, go for knockdown prices at auctions in Istanbul's trendy neighborhood Balat, a historic neighbourhood on the shores of the Golden Horn estuary. Click through for the AFP story...

A three-story derelict building in Istanbul's Balat neighborhood collapsed on Feb. 16. No injuries have been reported yet.

Istanbul's Governor's Office has released a statement regarding the incident, saying that the building had been cordoned off previously as a "precautionary measure."

Situated along the Western bank of Istanbul's Golden Horn, the intertwined neighborhoods of Fener and Balat are among the historically richest quarters of Istanbul. 

Turkey today might be doing its best to pave over Istanbul in concrete, but the city continues to resist, maintaining its status as the most beautiful in the world, said prominent travel writer and guide Saffet Emre Tonguç.