Simon Reeve has named Istanbul as his favourite city in the world, saying the Turkish metropolis feels like the place where history never really stops. The broadcaster, who has visited more than 130 countries over a years-long career, said the city is split between an old quarter, a modern side and an eastern area beyond the Bosphorus, and that it is where East and West have met for more than a thousand years.

“In terms of a city, I think Istanbul is not just spectacular, but you can't go there and not smell the history and the culture there,” Reeve said in an interview with The Express. He described Hagia Sophia as his favourite “little quirky thing” in the city, calling the around 1,600-year-old building “an incredible building” and “one of the most stunning buildings on the planet.”

Reeve said what caught his eye most was not only the size and history of Hagia Sophia, but a small carved inscription on its upper balcony. He said there is graffiti etched into the stone, which he described as a “chill down the spine moment.” The National Museum of Denmark has confirmed the Viking visitors as Halvdan and Are, while Atlas Obscura reports that the inscription likely reads “Halfdan carved these runes” or “Halfdan was here.”

That detail matters because it turns one of the world’s best-known landmarks into something more intimate. Hagia Sophia began as a church, later became a mosque and is now open as an attraction, and the Viking runes were carved during its time as a church. Reeve said ancient explorers left marks on incredible sights for the same reason people do now: they wanted to be remembered. “It's just a reminder that our ancestors travelled, and they were quite similar to us, actually. They probably wanted a beer, a selfie, and to leave a little bit of a mark behind,” he said.

Reeve’s remarks put a modern frame around a city that has always been hard to pin down. Istanbul straddles both Europe and Asia and sits on the Bosphorus, and its geography still explains the split he described. His answer is clear: Istanbul is not just his favourite city because of what it shows about the past, but because it still feels alive with the same human urge to cross borders, leave traces and be seen.