Day 1 — Kaleiçi: first steps beyond the Roman gate
🚶 Start at Hadrian’s Gate (Üçkapılar) — a white-marble triple arch (130 CE) that still serves as a “portal” into the Old Town. Walk to the square with the Yivli Minaret (Yivli Minare) — the Seljuk fluted tower is easy to recognize and sets the vertical axis of the entire historic center. Then weave through narrow cobblestone lanes with Ottoman houses: bright shutters, grapevines over awnings, carved doors. Come out to the sea-view terraces and end the day at one of the garden restaurants overlooking the Mediterranean.