Skyfall: Istanbul for James Bond fans But then Istanbul has always been something of a paradox, a thriving metropolis where tradition sits, sometimes incongruously, alongside modernity. Istanbul is thought to be Ian Fleming's favourite city The Bond film producer Barbara Broccoli claims it was Ian Fleming's favourite city and it's James Bond's third outing here, having served as a backdrop for From Russia With Love and The World Is Not Enough. Read Telegraph Travel's guide to Istanbul Read the full Skyfall review Straddling two continents, Istanbul is a tale of two cities: East meets west; old meets new; Christianity meets Islam and Turkish pop merges with the call to prayer. The past is never far away. City engineers have been trying to build an underwater tunnel linking Asia and Europe but have been forced to down tools countless times after stumbling across ancient shipwrecks and having to call in the archaeologists. So it's fitting that the longest running movie franchise of all time, which mixes old world charm with boys-own state-of-the art technology, should choose a city which effortlessly weaves between Byzantine/Ottoman dreamscape and European mega-city. The fact that they allowed motorcycles to tear across on the roof of the Grand Bazaar only goes to prove they take their sense of tradition with a good pinch of irony. Even when one of the stuntmen accidentally crashed through a 15th-century shop window while trying to avoid extras during filming, the owner Mete Boybeye, told Reuters, with characteristic Turkish nonchalance "We didn't realise the shooting would be quite like this ..." If you love Istanbul you might want to cover your eyes for the opening scene of Skyfall, as Eminonu Square, the Grand Bazaar, and the New Mosque all take a battering at the hands of Sam Mendes, the film's director, and Daniel Craig. Motorcycles tear down the labyrinthine corridors, astonishing the locals and sending sheep heads and bolts of silk flying. Revving engines drown out the bustling chatter and haggling while clouds of exotic spices are overwhelmed by diesel fumes. It's frankly deeply distressing for fans of markets and I would suggest hanging about at the hot-dog stand until they go back to more sedate activities, like floating down the Bosporus. The film is exhausting, but it does showcase the old quarter beautifully. The Grand Bazaar is the beating heart of Istanbul. A seemingly endless maze of trinket stalls, jewellery shops, spice merchants, tinkers, tailors and candlestick makers. Deceptive and confusing, it's quite easy to go in one entrance, walk in a straight line and end up back where you started. It's vast yet evokes the intimate arboreal atmosphere of a forest at twilight rather than a sprawling mall. Branches of goods arch into the lanes. Intrigue and history seem to seep from the walls. It has an inherent filmic quality. Spies could lurk around every Turkish delight stall. Puppies pace in cages, leeches crawl up the walls of their tanks. Our guide seemed nervous to be shepherding six women through it and hurried us anxiously past the cajoling traders as if fearing we would be picked off by Mossad or Baader-Meinhof. Most stallholders just wanted to chat about London and offer us apple tea - a drink reserved entirely for foreigners. None were offended when we didn't buy anything. While the nearby Byzantine Hagia Sophia mosque was the focal point for "From Russia With Love," the New Mosque takes centre-stage in Skyfall. A still from 'From Russian with Love' It is the jewel in Istanbul's crown, located on the banks of the Golden Horn near the Galata Bridge. Don't let the name fool you. Work began in the 16th century and it was finally completed in 1665. The exterior consists of a great courtyard with two minarets and 66 Ottoman domes tumbling down in a pyramid, like a vast architectural stack of profiteroles. Inside blue tiles, gold white and marble line the domes catch the light like cavernous Jerusalem candles. In fact, with the exception of the Grand Bazaar, Mendes appears to have steered clear of previous Bond locations including the incredible Basilica Cistern, or 'sunken palace" in Sultanahmet Square, an eerie flooded underground chamber with row upon row of Roman pillars, which dates back to 532AD. In From Russia With Love Connery sails beneath it to listen into the Russian Consulate above. Previously a water store for Constantinople, it's now a museum, where, amid the gloom you can just about spot huge shadowy fish swimming in the inky subterranean pools. One of the mysteries of the cistern is the two large Medusa heads which act as pillar bases in one corner. One sits on its side, the other upside down, some say to negate the petrifying impact of the gorgon's gaze. So far nobody as been turned to stone, although the broken English of the guidebook does warn, that "Visitors melt into disappearance when they are here in the cistern." Although Craig exits the city by road, Bond fans may want to follow Connery's footsteps aboard the Orient Express from Sirkeci station. And while in the district it's worth a visit to the historic post office which has been given a spruce up ahead of "Skyfall" and plays a prominent role in the film. If you don't have secret agents on your tail, there is plenty else to do in Istanbul However if you are not being chased from the city by foreign secret agents it's worth paying a visit to the fabulous Istanbul Modern art gallery or stopping to eat fresh fried fish straight from the harbour boats. Or take a boat trip along the Golden Horn to remind yourself where Pierce Brosnan averted a dastardly scheme to increase fuel prices by triggering a nuclear meltdown in The World Is Not Enough. Without a doubt, Istanbul is heaven for fans of 007. Skyfall is released on October 26. Read our full Istanbul guide Atlasjet flies to Istanbul Ataturk 6 days per week (Sunday-Friday), direct from London Stansted; the route is to go daily with effect from 3 November. EkonomiPlus fares start from £144 return and include taxes, 20kg luggage allowance, in-flight meals/drinks and online seat selection. Book online at atlasjet.com Five other films where Istanbul stars Midnight Express (1978) Midnight Express: not the best film for the Istanbul tourist board Perhaps not the best film to sell Istanbul to the traveller, Midnight Express tells the story of a young American student sent to a Turkish prison for trying to smuggle cannabis out of the country. The film's title is prison slang for an inmate's escape attempt from the notorious Sağmalcılar jail. The International (2009) The film follows Clive Owen as an Interpol agent and American attorney Naomi Watts as they fight to expose corruption in a merchant bank. Owen travels to Istanbul to try and catch bank bosses buying missile guidance systems but finds himself fleeing from assassins. Murder on The Orient Express (1974) The adaptation of Agatha Christie's detective novel begins in Istanbul station from where the Orient Express leaves en route to Venice only to become the stage for an intricate murder plot. In the 1974 film starring Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, most of the exterior shooting was done in France with a railroad workshop near Paris standing in for Sirkeci station. Topkapi (1964) Peter Ustinov leads a team of crooks in a madcap attempt to steal an emerald-encrusted dagger from the Topkapi palace museum in Istanbul. The classic heist film is said to have inspired Ocean's Eleven and The Pink Panther. The film won Ustinov Best Supporting Actor in 1964. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) The newest adaptation of John le Carres cold war spy thriller saw Hong Kong swapped for Istanbul as the venue where Mark Strong gets apparently bumped off. Director Tomas Alfredson mostly ignored Istanbul's tourist spots to film in the achingly-hip bohemian suburb of Taksim.