Explore the real-world places that appear in 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Galata Bridge, Golden Horn (Haliç), Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii), Beyoğlu District, Taksim Square and 10 more.
Golden Horn crossing — Tequila Leila's final moments
Tequila Leila, the protagonist, lies dead beneath Galata Bridge where she was murdered and thrown into the water. The novel opens with her consciousness awakening as her body floats in the Golden Horn, and she has exactly ten minutes and thirty-eight seconds as her brain dies. She recalls her life—her work as a sex worker, her exile from her family and conservative village, her friendships with her fellow street women. The bridge represents the threshold between life and death, the boundary between Istanbul's old and new worlds.
Galata Bridge has connected the Golden Horn's shores since the 15th century and has been rebuilt multiple times, most recently in 1992. It's one of Istanbul's most iconic structures, bustling with fishermen, vendors, and tourists. The bridge has witnessed centuries of the city's commercial and social life.
The modern Galata Bridge is a major pedestrian and vehicular crossing, always crowded with foot traffic, street musicians, and vendors selling fish sandwiches. The lower deck is lined with restaurants and cafes, while the upper deck is a main thoroughfare between Eminönü and Beyoğlu districts.
Visit: Galata Bridge (landmark)
Body of water — Site of death and memory
The Golden Horn is where Tequila Leila's body is disposed of after her murder. As she floats dying, she experiences her entire life in flashback—memories of swimming as a girl, of ships and fishermen, of the waterway as a connector between different communities. The Horn symbolizes both the city's vitality and its capacity for violence, harboring secrets and carrying away the forgotten and the dead.
The Golden Horn is a natural inlet that has been the lifeblood of Istanbul for over two thousand years, serving as a natural harbor for Greek, Roman, Ottoman, and modern Turkish civilizations. It was historically one of the world's busiest ports and shipbuilding centers.
The Golden Horn remains a crucial waterway but is now heavily controlled for pollution and tourism. Ferry boats cross regularly, and the shoreline has been transformed with parks, museums, and restaurants. The water quality has improved significantly in recent decades.
Visit: Golden Horn Ferry (tour)
Sultanahmet, Old City — Spiritual devotion and loss
Tequila Leila recalls the Blue Mosque from her childhood when she was still Sapiha and lived a respectable life with her pious family. She remembers her mother's devotion, the cool tiles, the call to prayer echoing through the city. The mosque represents the world she was expelled from, the spiritual anchor of the Istanbul society that rejected her when she became a sex worker.
The Blue Mosque was constructed between 1609-1616 under Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I and is one of the last great imperial mosques built in the Ottoman period. It's famous for its blue İznik tiles that give it its English name. The mosque continues to serve as an active place of worship.
The Blue Mosque is one of Istanbul's most visited tourist attractions and a functioning mosque. Visitors must remove shoes and observe prayer times. It remains a masterpiece of Ottoman architecture with six minarets and stunning interior decoration.
Visit: Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii) (historic site)
Across the Golden Horn — Urban underworld and survival
Beyoğlu is where Tequila Leila lives and works as a sex worker among Istanbul's marginalized communities. This is the world of the novel—narrow streets, cheap hotels, bars, and the network of women, transgendered individuals, and migrants struggling to survive. She meets her found family here: Zaynab, Z, Jeanette, Zambak, and Caddy—women bound by circumstance and genuine love. The district represents the city's hidden underbelly of poverty, exploitation, and resistance.
Beyoğlu has been Istanbul's entertainment and commercial district since the 14th century. It was the European quarter of Constantinople and became a haven for artists, bohemians, and immigrants in the 20th century. The neighborhood housed cabarets, theaters, and later nightclubs and sex work establishments.
Beyoğlu remains Istanbul's lively cultural and entertainment hub. Istiklal Street is the main commercial thoroughfare with shops, restaurants, and galleries. The neighborhood still retains its gritty, bohemian character alongside gentrification, with museums, theaters, and upscale venues mixing with traditional establishments.
Visit: Beyoğlu District (neighborhood)
Beyoğlu's central square — Urban heart and political memory
Taksim Square appears in Tequila Leila's memories as a space of urban life, a meeting point and gathering place. The square represents the pulse of modern Istanbul where her story unfolds. It is referenced as part of the city's political landscape—a space where demonstrations occur and where marginalized people navigate the streets of their city.
Taksim Square has been Istanbul's central public square since the 19th century. It became iconic as a gathering place for celebrations, protests, and political demonstrations. The square's modernization in the early 20th century symbolized Turkey's secular transition.
Taksim Square remains a major public square and transportation hub. It's surrounded by hotels, shops, and restaurants. The square is frequently used for protests and public gatherings, making it one of Turkey's most politically significant public spaces.
Visit: Taksim Square (landmark)
Sultanahmet — Imperial past and forgotten history
Tequila Leila observes Topkapi Palace as a symbol of Ottoman grandeur and power, representing the imperial Istanbul of centuries past. The palace stands as a monument to a lost world, much like her own loss of identity and status. She sees in it the grand sweep of history that has forgotten people like her—the marginalized, the exiled, the discarded.
Topkapi Palace was the primary residence of Ottoman Sultans from 1465 to 1856, representing the seat of power during the Ottoman Empire's most glorious centuries. It's one of the oldest and largest palaces in the world.
Topkapi Palace is now a major museum and UNESCO World Heritage site, displaying Ottoman treasures, manuscripts, and artifacts. It's one of Istanbul's most visited tourist attractions, offering insights into imperial Ottoman life.
Visit: Topkapi Palace Museum (museum)
Sultanahmet — Spiritual monument transcending empires
Hagia Sophia represents the spiritual and architectural glory of Istanbul's past. Tequila Leila is aware of it as a living symbol of the city's layered history—Byzantine, Ottoman, secular, religious. Like the city itself, the building has transformed across centuries, and like Leila herself, it contains multiple identities and purposes.
Hagia Sophia was built in 537 CE as a Byzantine cathedral and remained the world's largest building for centuries. It became a mosque under Ottoman rule and later a museum. It's considered one of history's greatest architectural achievements.
Hagia Sophia was converted back to a mosque in 2020 after serving as a museum for nearly a century. It remains Istanbul's most iconic structure and a UNESCO World Heritage site, accessible to visitors who observe appropriate dress codes for a functioning mosque.
Visit: Hagia Sophia (historic site)
Sea of Marmara — Childhood memories and lost innocence
Tequila Leila recalls summer days on the Prince's Islands from her childhood before her fall into ostracism. She remembers the ferry ride, the sea breeze, swimming and laughter with family—a pure, innocent time before she discovered her sexuality and was branded an outcast. The islands represent paradise lost, the time before she became someone the society around her deemed disposable.
The Prince's Islands have been inhabited since ancient Greek times and served as places of exile during the Byzantine period. They became fashionable retreats for Istanbul's wealthy during the 19th and 20th centuries, with summer mansions and small farming communities.
The Prince's Islands remain a popular summer getaway destination with ferries regularly departing from Istanbul. They're known for their car-free streets, horse-drawn carriages, Victorian mansions, and beaches. The islands attract both locals and tourists seeking respite from the city.
Visit: Prince's Islands Ferry Terminal (tour)
Water passage — Separation between continents and worlds
The Bosphorus frames Tequila Leila's world, separating the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. It represents the divisions in her life—between her past respectable self and her present marginalized identity, between the worlds of the wealthy and the poor, between those accepted by society and those cast out. The strait is a constant presence in Istanbul's geography and in her consciousness.
The Bosphorus Strait has been one of the world's most strategically important waterways for thousands of years, controlling passage between the Mediterranean and Black Seas. It has determined the fate of empires and remains crucial to global commerce.
The Bosphorus is still a vital shipping lane and scenic attraction. Ferry boats cross regularly, and the shoreline is dotted with palaces, fortresses, and residential areas. Boat tours along the strait are popular tourist activities.
Visit: Bosphorus Ferry (tour)
Beyoğlu — Neighborhood of the dispossessed
Tarlabasi Street represents the gritty, impoverished neighborhood where Tequila Leila and her circle of friends survive at the margins of Istanbul society. The street embodies the novel's central concern: those whom the city has forgotten, the poor and marginalized who navigate survival with dignity and dark humor. This is the street-level reality of Istanbul that tourists don't see.
Tarlabasi Street was a bohemian and artistic quarter in the mid-20th century but declined into a poor, crime-ridden neighborhood. It became associated with drug use, sex work, and economic desperation. The area has been the subject of urban renewal debates.
Tarlabasi remains a neighborhood in transition, with gentrification projects alongside persistent poverty. Recent urban renewal efforts have involved demolition of old buildings and construction of new developments, displacing longtime residents.
Beyoğlu nightclub — Community and solidarity
The Kurultay Club is where Tequila Leila and her found family gather, find moments of joy, dance, and forget their sorrows. This is a space of queer resistance and community, where the marginalized create their own culture and celebrate their existence outside mainstream society. The club represents solidarity among the dispossessed and their refusal to be completely erased.
Beyoğlu's nightclub scene emerged in the late 20th century as spaces where LGBTQ+ communities and artistic bohemians gathered, creating alternative cultures away from conservative Turkish society.
Beyoğlu continues to host nightclubs, dance venues, and queer-friendly bars, though gentrification has changed the neighborhood's character. Some venues have closed while new ones open.
Sultanahmet — Remnants of historical protection
The old city walls represent the historical protection and boundaries of Istanbul's past, a contrast to the unprotected vulnerability of Tequila Leila and others like her in modern times. The walls once protected a community; now they stand as ruins while people on the streets have no protection from violence, exploitation, and poverty.
The Walls of Constantinople were built in the 5th and 7th centuries and protected the Byzantine city for over 1000 years. Stretching over 6 miles, they were among the strongest fortifications in medieval history and resisted countless sieges.
Sections of the ancient walls remain standing in the Sultanahmet and Fatih districts, now protected as archaeological monuments and UNESCO World Heritage sites. They're accessible to visitors and remain powerful symbols of Constantinople's past.
Visit: Walls of Constantinople (historic site)
Sultanahmet — Preserved histories of the forgotten
The Archaeological Museum stands as a repository of Istanbul's layered history—artifacts from the civilizations that built and inhabited the city. Tequila Leila's story, like the artifacts in the museum, risks being forgotten and erased. The museum represents how history preserves some stories while others disappear entirely, much as marginalized lives like hers are lost without record.
The Archaeological Museum of Istanbul was founded in 1891 and houses one of the world's finest collections of Classical, Byzantine, and Islamic artifacts. It includes treasures from excavations across Anatolia and the Mediterranean.
The Archaeological Museum remains one of Istanbul's major cultural institutions with extensive collections spanning multiple civilizations. It's housed in several buildings within Topkapi Palace grounds and offers insights into the region's rich history.
Visit: Archaeological Museum of Istanbul (museum)
Beyoğlu — Contemporary witness to urban life
Istanbul Modern represents the contemporary artistic and cultural witness to the city's modern life, including the stories of people like Tequila Leila. While she exists outside the official cultural establishment, the museum symbolizes how art can document and honor the lives of those the mainstream society ignores.
Istanbul Modern was founded in 2004 as Turkey's premier institution for modern and contemporary art, housed in a converted warehouse in the Beyoğlu neighborhood. It showcases Turkish and international contemporary works.
Istanbul Modern continues as a major venue for contemporary art exhibitions, artist talks, and cultural programming. It features works by Turkish and international artists and has become integral to Istanbul's contemporary art scene.
Visit: Istanbul Modern (museum)
European and Asian sides — Sites of final rest
The cemeteries of Istanbul, on both shores of the Bosphorus, are where the dead rest. Tequila Leila's fate is uncertain—she has no proper burial, no ceremony, no place of remembrance. While others rest in cemeteries marked and mourned, she will be an unknown body, unclaimed and unmourned, denied even the dignity of a grave.
Istanbul's cemeteries date back centuries and reflect the city's diverse religious and cultural history. Ottoman-era cemeteries contain elaborately carved tombstones while modern cemeteries serve the contemporary population.
Istanbul's major cemeteries remain active burial grounds and are maintained as religious and cultural heritage sites. They're accessible to visitors seeking historical monuments or paying respects.
Visit: Historic Istanbul Cemeteries (historic site)
More by Elif Shafak: The Island of Missing Trees locations map · All Elif Shafak books