Istanbul, city of great art despite restrictions

CAN a city have too much history?

Istanbul feels that way sometimes, being at the crossroads of civilisations, where the outer edges of Europe meet the outer edges of Asia. As the former capital of three empires – Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman – it has majestic centuries-old churches and mosques all within walking distances of each other. They are surrounded by markets so large that one needs a few days to cover them all.

It comes as a surprise, then, that the new Istanbul Modern museum building looks flat, grey and boxy from a distance. Designed by the company of Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano, it betrays almost nothing of the city’s storied past, and instead exudes a cold and detached air that appears almost as a rebuke to Istanbul’s opulent attractions.