Arriving at the Grand Bazaar

In From Russia With Love, after being picked up at the airport by Ali Kerim's son, Bond is driven through Istanbul to meet with Kerim Bey in his office. Bond notices that a black Citroën is following them and he is told that they are Bulgarians working for the Russians. After driving past some typical Ottoman houses, the arrive at the Grand Bazaar. Kerim's son parks the Rolls Royce just outside the Bazaar.

They arrive at the Nuruosmaniye Mosque, located right next to the Grand Bazaar. The lower part of the mosque is visible in the film as the Rolls parks. The narrow road leading up to the mosque is today a walking street and you should not expect to be able to drive in with a car. Just outside the mosque is a large parking, mostly filled up with tourist buses.

The Grand Bazaar and the mosque can be found in the Çemberlitaş neighborhood in the Fatih District. The facade and the place in front of the mosque visible in the film has not changed notably since 1963 apart from the stone pavement.

Later, when Bond is driven back to his hotel after the meeting with Kerim Bey, the Rolls makes a turn on the small square. Behind it is the main entrance to the Grand Bazaar visible.

The Nuruosmaniye Mosque was constructed between 1748-1755 and is considered to be one of the finest examples of an Ottoman baroque style mosque.

The Bulgar is played by Hasan Ceylan, in reality an Istanbul born actor. Grant kills him in the Hagia Sophia church later in the film.

The film team had major problems with crowd control during filming, something that is apparent in several scenes in the film. In several scenes in the film, crowds are seen in the background, just as you do at the end of the road where the Rolls drives in. A major crowd is also visible when Bond, escorted by the chauffeur, is entering the bazaar. The entire bazaar, including Kerim Bey's rug shop, will be covered later.

Maiden's Tower, Istanbul - Part 1

Elektra's hideaway for the finale of The World is not Enough is located in the Bosporus strait of Istanbul, namely the famous Maiden's Tower. Elektra captures M and holds her hostage in the tower, and later, both Bond and Christmas are brought to the island in Elektra's boat. For the finale, Bond kills Elektra in her bedroom and goes after the submarine by diving from the top of the tower.

The first time the exterior of Elektra's lair is filmed is when Renard arrives with the plutonium (top picture). He docks at a small quay and one of the mosques on the European side is visible in the background. Later in the film, Zukovsky would dock at the same quay when he comes to Bond's rescue in the end.

There are a few establishing shots over Maiden's Tower in The World is not Enough, but it is also visible several times in the background during Bond's boat ride in From Russia With Love. Unlike today, the house and the tower were all white in 1963, as seen behind Connery.

Connery observes Maiden's Tower. Knowing that Bond would return? 

Construction of the tower dates back to 12th century. The island has been used for many different purposes over the centuries, such as tax collecting station, defense tower (holding a Byzantine garrison in 1453), a quarantine hospital during the cholera epidemic as well as a lighthouse. After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Turks pulled down the original tower and constructed a wooden tower in its place, which unfortunately, was destroyed by fire in the early 1720's. After that it was rebuilt from stone once again.

In The World is not Enough, we get the impression that the island is located quite far from land, somewhere in the middle of the Bosporus, but it is actually close to the Asian side, some 150-200 meters off the shore of the Salacak district in Üsküdar.

Today, the Maiden's Tower is a major tourist attraction with boats bringing people out to the small island every 15 minutes. The price is around 20 Lira (€8). There is a restaurant on the first floor and a small cafe/bar at the top of the tower. The interior scenes in the film were shot in studio and when you are on location it is hard to see how a submarine even would fit on the island. Do not be disappointed if you do not find the magnificent water basin on the island...

The Gran Palacio beach bar - part 1

In Die Another Day Bond checks into El Grand Palacio Hotel on the fictitious island Los Organos. Bond, posing as an ornithologist, orders a Mojito as he observes Jink and La Clinica Alvarez. Through the bar you see a fort, Castillo de Santa Catalina, in the background. This is however not the same fort that served as La Clinica Alvarez, but both forts are located on either side of this beach and are visible from the bar. The bar was constructed for the film and is sadly, as non-existent as Bond's hotel (which is a maritime centre in reality).

Castillo de Santa Catalina

The bar was built in front of the maritime centre, Centro de Arqueología Subacuática de Andalucía covered earlier, that doubled for Bond's hotel in the film. La Castillo de Santa Catalina is a 16th century fort, situated on the right side of Playa La Caleta, the beach which is the location of Bond's hotel. This beach is located in the heart of Cádiz and packed with people during the weekends. If you want to visit this location in peace, it is a good idea to get there early (before 10 am) or late in the evening.

The dialogue between Bond and Jinx is extremely poor in this scene and sometimes even painful to watch. Halle Berry's acting is perhaps one of the bigger jokes, among quite a few, in this film. She clearly did not earn her Oscar for her portrayal of Jinx... With that said, the Cuban scenes, especially the scenes with Raoul, are among the highlights of the film, and Cádiz is spectacular as a Bond location.

Meeting with Colonel Klebb

One of the most fascinating Bond locations in all of Istanbul I dare say, must be the house where you can find the secret office of Colonel Klebb. Still believing that Klebb is the head of the Soviet intelligence, Tatiana Romanova is forced to lure Bond to Istanbul. The house with the small courtyard can be found in a most unexpected place, namely inside the Grand Bazaar.

These characteristic houses with a courtyard in the middle are called Hans and are part of the classic architecture of Istanbul. The Hans functioned as inns for traveling merchants for centuries. Here, the merchants could do business and rest over night. It is not surprising to find so many hans inside the bazaar, since the Grand Bazaar, naturally, has been a major hub for travelling merchants throughout the centuries. Most commonly, the Hans consisted of a courtyard with a fountain in the middle, just like this Han seen in the film. There were often an adjacent kitchen or tea house.

Today there is a lot of manufacturing going on in these Hans. The different Hans were often, and still are, dedicated to a certain craft, such as gold and silver manufacturing. You can primarily find chain manufacturing in the small shops of Zincirli Han. Both the courtyard and the second floor is open for tourists so you should take your time at this location. You may find some of the shops on the second floor open. The Zincirli Han is beautiful with its marble fountain and the tree in the middle of the courtyard.

Tania is coming up these stairs and continues down to the left as Grant hides behind the right pillar. The pink facade has been renovated and the old wooden doors have been replaced. The interior of Klebb's office was most likely shot in Pinewood Studios.

"Moscow has kept my defection secret from everyone but a few members of the presidium."
                - Klebb to Blofeld during the SPECTRE meeting -

Given the numbers of people that live, work or visit the Grand Bazaar every day, it is close to a city of its own in Istanbul. This is definitely one of the most interesting locations in the entire Istanbul, in part because it has been almost untouched since 1963, but also thanks to Lotte Lenya's splendid performance as the unpleasant and evil Spectre agent number three, Rosa Klebb. 

The bazaar is a maze and is rather easy to get lost in, but the Zincirli Han is fortunately well signposted. 

Rolls Royce through Istanbul

After arriving in Istanbul, Bond is picked up by the chauffeur of Kerim and driven across town to Kerim's office. Kerim's car is a 1958 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith. On the way to the office they pass some typical Ottoman houses and large tower next to a big wall. This street can be found in the Sultanahmet District, right in the heart of the oldest part of Istanbul.

The larger street is Alemdar Caddesi and the Rolls is coming down Soğuk Çeşme Sokak. The wooden houses on the left side of the street are built in the traditional Ottoman style that still can be found in a few places throughout the city. The ground floor has been renovated since 1963 and converted to a cafe. The two minarets visible over the rooftops belongs to the Hagia Sophia, that is located only a few hundred meters from this location.

Right opposite the Ottoman houses is one of the famous round rococo kiosks that can be found throughout Istanbul. One of these kiosks also plays a part later in the film, as a cover for Bond and Kerim during the assassination of Krilencu.


"On one condition. That you went out to Istanbul and brought her and the machine back to England."

- M to Bond in London - 

The stone wall and tower to the left of the Rolls Royce is part the south western wall that runs around the Topkapi Palace. This palace was the primary residence of the Ottoman sultans for almost 400 years until 1856, when the ruling sultan decided to move the royal residence to the newly built Dolmabahçe Palace, on the shore of the Bosporus. The Dolmabahçe Palace is briefly visible behind Bond and Tania during their boat ride on the Bosporus and will be covered later.

The Rolls Royce street is today a walking street and not possible to drive down anymore. Other than that, this location has been fairly untouched since the 1960's, primarily because of its location in the oldest part of Istanbul. The cafe on the corner is a good place to have a break and to enjoy a medium sweet coffee and perhaps some Turkish delights. If you continue down the larger Alemdar Caddesi and take a left down on Ebussuut Caddesi you will, after a ten minute walk, reach the Sirkeci Railway Station, the end station for the famous Orient Express and the railway station from where Bond and Tania leave Istanbul. Another magnificent location that will be covered later.

Searching for Klebb

One of the most secret and least known locations in From Russia With Love is the long forgotten stone path that Tania walks up in her search for the office of Colonel Klebb, in the beginning of the film. Klebb has summoned Tania and she is on her way to the secret meeting after finishing her job at the Russian consulate. In the background you see the Şep Sefa Hatun Mosque, and right next to the minaret, is the Galata Tower visible in the far background.

This location, probably the most forgotten in Istanbul, can be found in the Zeyrek neighborhood of the Eminönü District on the peninsula that makes up the old Istanbul. One can imagine that this truly was the outskirts of the city at the time of filming in 1963. However, today this path is located in a rather busy part of Istanbul, right next to the large Atatürk Boulevard that runs straight across the Fatih district from the south bank of the Marmara sea up to the Golden Horn. But more exceptional about this location is that it is still there untouched. The stone wall has survived the otherwise extensive redevelopment.

"-Did you tell anyone at the consulate that you were coming here?"

Apart from the trees, not much have change A few meters up the stone paved path, Tania meets with a police officer. She asks him about the address to Klebb's office. He points her towards a house down a small street. A few of the houses visible behind Tania and the policeman have disappeared but one of the big houses on the left side can be identified from the film.

The street to which the policeman points Tania is an alley located some ten meters up Tania's path and even though the old stone paving has been changed it is still recognizable. This alley is the beginning of the bigger street Ibadethane Sokak which intersects with this small alleyway. Fortunately, the stone wall and the old houses seem to have been spared during the redevelopment of this area, but behind the stone wall, once part of a house, is some kind of vacant building lot. Hopefully, the exploitation of this lot will not mean the tearing down of the ruins.

The mosque, Şep Sefa Hatun Camii, seen in the background behind Tania was built in 1787. It is situated along Ataturk Boulevard. Its construction was commissioned by Şebsefa Hatun, a wife of Abdulhamid I (1725 -1789). She had it built in commemoration of her son. There is one existing picture of Tania, taken with another camera that shows a little more of the background and that makes this place easier to determine.

You will easiest get to the location if you walk down the Ataturk Boulevard in the northern direction. If starting in the Sültanahmet district, near the Hagia Sophia, you can take the tram along the Ordu Caddesi, to the Aksaray tram station, where Ordu intersects with Ataturk Boulevard. If walking down this large boulevard you will also, after a few hundred meteres, walk past the Valens Aqueduct, one of the most important landmarks of the city. Some three hundred meters after the aqueduct, you find Tania's path on your left.

This Roman aqueduct which was the major water-providing system of Constantinople. It was completed by Roman Emperor Valens in the late 4th century AD. The aqueduct also provided water for the Basilica cistern, the location where Bond and Kerim Bey takes the boat to the Russian consulate.

Ataturk Boulevard passes under the Valens Aqueduct's arches

At the time of filming of From Russia With Love, only 2 million people lived in Istanbul. Today, the city has over 14 million inhabitants, and is one of the sixth largest cities in the world. Naturally, the Valens Aqueduct and Tania's path in her search for Klebb is a must see when in Istanbul.