NIGHTLIFE
Turks take nightclubbing seriously, so they start at midnight and end after dawn with soup in Taksim Square. In summer, revelers flock to outdoor Reina (44 Mulaim Naci Cad.) and Blackk (71 Muallim Naci Cad.) on the Bosphorus. Angelique has a well-heeled clientele and a terrace overlooking the Ortaköy Mosque (5 Salhane Sok., Mualim Naci Cad.).

Mikla, in the Marmara Pera hotel, has a stupendous view of the Golden Horn—which it capitalizes on by charging exacting prices for its cocktails (167/185 Mesruiyet Cad.). Sekiz, with just eight prized seats, is more a see-and-be-seen experience (1 Gazeteci Erol Dernek Sok.). If that's not enough, you can hit the new Otto Sofyali (22A Sofyali Sok.). More restaurant lounges than clubs, perennial favorites Sunset (2 Yol Sok., Adnan Saygun Cad.) and Ulus 29 (1 Kirechane Sok., Adnan Saygun Cad.; 212-265-6181) are known for their views of the Bosphorus. For a night of upscale belly dancing, go to Al Jamal, in Maçka Democratic Park (3 Taŝkiŝla Cad.).

Pool clubs are a popular and uniquely Turkish phenomenon: Clubbers pay a fee for access to swanky swimming pools, often in hotels. One of the most popular is Suada, where guests drink tea on a floating private island in the middle of the Bosphorus (212-263-7300; day pass, $29-$41).

MUSIC
You can't take home the water or the breeze, the mosques or the dervishes, but you can bring back some of Istanbul's rhythms. Serdar Ortac's Mesafe is the ultimate in contemporary pop music. For a more classical vibe, try Mercan Dede's mystical beats with Sufi influences, horns, and a dance beat. The Romanian-born Husnu Senlendirici is a wizard on the gypsy clarinet, combining electronic and belly dancing sounds. Influenced by Greece, Macedonia, and Azerbajian, Serkan Cagri plays the Turkish clarinet, and makes it sound like nothing else. His "Nefesim" ("My Breath") is entrancing. Tarkan is the Turkish Elvis and his oeuvre includes everything from rapid electronica with tambourines to rhapsodic love songs. It's also worth seeking out Turkish Sufi and Sema ceremony harmonies. Music by these, and many other local artists, can be purchased online at Tulumba.com.

READING
Constantinople, City of the World's Desire, by Philip Mansel, is a well-written history (St. Martin's Press, $18). Orhan Pamuk's Istanbul: Memories and the City is a beautiful portrait of a complicated place (Knopf, $27). Lesley Blanch drove generations of women eastward with her classic The Wilder Shores of Love (Da Capo Press, $14). The letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, wife of the British ambassador to Istanbul in 1717, are compiled in Turkish Embassy Letters, and they give the best firsthand descriptions of the time (Little Brown, $17). John Freely and Hilary Sumner-Boyd's Strolling Through Istanbul is too heavy to carry as you wander, but it is the definitive book on the city (Taylor and Francis, out-of-print).

Luxe Guide Istanbul ($10) and Lonely Planet: Istanbul ($12) are useful primers on the perennially changing city. Pick up Wallpaper Istanbul for cutting-edge intel (Phaidon, $9). Things change quickly here; keep pace by reading the weeklies: Istanbul Guide (free) and the English-language Time Out Istanbul ($4).