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Stories Set in Istanbul

Stories Set in Istanbul — top stories

Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul — one strait, three names, endless plots. Spies on the Bosphorus, heists at Topkapi, cistern chases and Pamuk's vitrines of love. These ten famous works span 1511 to today; on StoryTerra you can filter the city's stories by exact century.

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10 famous stories set in Istanbul

Live snapshot of the top 10 most popular catalogue items (2026-09-04). Click any card to open this entry on the live map.

Browse 68 books, 92 movies, 8 TV shows and 10 games set in Istanbul.

From Russia with Love

From Russia with Love

United Artists-Eon Productions-Danjaq
movie

Agent 007 is back in the second installment of the James Bond series this time battling a secret crime organization known as SPECTRE. Russians Rosa Klebb and Kronsteen are out to snatch a decoding device known as the…

Setting: Istanbul, Turkey; Venice, Italy; YugoslaviaTime Period: 1960s
Taken 2

Taken 2

EuropaCorp-Grive Productions-M6 Films-Ciné+-20th Century Fox-Canal+-Dune Entertainment-Taken 2-Fox International Productions
movie

In Istanbul retired CIA operative Bryan Mills and his wife are taken hostage by the father of a kidnapper Mills killed while rescuing his daughter.

Setting: Istanbul, TurkeyTime Period: 2012
Inferno

Inferno

Columbia Pictures-Imagine Entertainment
movie

After waking up in a hospital with amnesia professor Robert Langdon and a doctor must race against time to foil a deadly global plot.

Setting: Florence; Venice; IstanbulTime Period: Contemporary
Paper Lives

Paper Lives

OG Medya-OGM Pictures
movie

In the streets of Istanbul ailing waste warehouse worker Mehmet takes a small boy under his wing and must soon confront his own traumatic childhood.

Setting: Istanbul, TurkeyTime Period: Present Day
Three Thousand Years of Longing

Three Thousand Years of Longing

FilmNation Entertainment-Kennedy Miller Productions-Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer-Elevate Production Finance-CAA Media Finance-Sunac Pictures
movie

A solitary scholar discovers an ancient bottle while on a trip to Istanbul and unleashes a djinn who offers her three wishes. Filled with reluctance she is unable to come up with one so the djinn tries to inspire her…

Setting: Istanbul, TurkeyTime Period: Contemporary
Water and Fire

Water and Fire

movie

A pretty young girl falls for an enigmatic shy man who sweeps her off her feet. She becomes pregnant but is not allowed to tell him. His advisers are adamant. Back home they have set up a wedding with the daughter of an…

Setting: Istanbul, TurkeyTime Period: 2013
Kedi

Kedi

Termite Films
movie

A profile of Istanbul and its unique people seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known the Cat.

Setting: Istanbul, TurkeyTime Period: 2016
Al Hayba: The Movie

Al Hayba: The Movie

Cedars Art Production
movie

The murderer of Jabal’s father is spotted alive in Bulgaria. Jabal heads a fierce hunt passing by Bulgaria and Istanbul. With the aim to bring Nazem back to justice to Al Hayba village.

Setting: Lebanon; Bulgaria; Istanbul, TurkeyTime Period: 2020s
CMYLMZ

CMYLMZ

Imaj Film
movie

It contains a copy of Cem Yılmaz's show CMYLMZ staged between 2001-2007 recorded in Istanbul in March 2007.

Setting: Istanbul, TurkeyTime Period: 2007
The International

The International

Columbia Pictures-X Filme Creative Pool-Studio Babelsberg-Atlas Entertainment-Mosaic Media Group
movie

An interpol agent and an attorney are determined to bring one of the world's most powerful banks to justice. Uncovering money laundering arms trading and conspiracy to destabilize world governments their investigation…

Setting: Berlin, Germany; Milan, Italy; New York, USA; Istanbul, TurkeyTime Period: 2000s

The 10 stories above are just a sample of the 178 in the catalogue for this entry. For the full live catalogue with trailers and time filters, open Istanbul in the StoryTerra app. On the live map you can also filter by the exact time the stories take place — any year, decade or century, from BCE to the future.

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