In 2004, Istanbul Modern opened in the former antrepo (warehouse) by the waterside in Karaköy/Tophane and instantly became an institution in a city devoid of publicly-funded modern art museums. With a strong permanent collection of 20th/21st-century Turkish art, it also hosts world-class temporary exhibitions. A separate photography gallery and a rich cinema programme spanning diverse genres and countries added to the museum’s appeal.

During a hiatus in which the antrepo was pulled down and reinvented by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano, it moved into the somewhat confined quarters of the Cercle d’Orient, close to the Pera Palace Hotel, in Beyoğlu. But Istanbul Modern is now back on its stunning waterside location, opposite Topkapı Palace, a setting spoiled only by hideously large floating hotels of the multi-storey refrigerator kind – read our blog

Istanbul Modern is such a suave, confident place – it is a shock to think that it is an entirely private creation, and pays a nice rent to the national maritime lines. Turkey is one of the few countries in the world not to have a national gallery, let alone a national modern art gallery.