Turkish Mosaic Lamp Workshop in an Ottoman Art School Sultanahmet

The Ottoman art school on Ankara Caddesi, Cağaloğlu

The workshop is held in a beautifully restored Ottoman-era building that once served as a calligraphy school, standing on Ankara Caddesi in Cağaloğlu, the old printing and publishing quarter on the slope between Sultanahmet and Sirkeci. Look for the historic pink façade; your instructor waits at the entrance. Inside, the high ceilings, arched windows and painted woodwork make it one of the most atmospheric places in Istanbul to learn a craft, and the building itself is part of the experience.

Getting there is simple: the Cağaloğlu exit of Sirkeci Marmaray station is a two-minute walk, the Sirkeci and Gülhane stops of the T1 tram are five minutes away, and Hagia Sophia and Topkapı Palace are ten minutes uphill on foot. Our Istanbul team recommends pairing the 9:00 session with an afternoon in Sultanahmet, or the 18:00 session after a day of sightseeing, since the lit lamps look their best as the evening draws in.

The history of Turkish mosaic lamps

Every session opens with a short presentation on the craft. Turkish mosaic lamps grew out of the Ottoman tradition of coloured glass and the tiled geometry of mosques and palaces, and the artisans explain how the patterns relate to the Iznik tiles and stained glass you see in Sultanahmet. You learn why the glass is cut into small pieces, how the metal fittings are made in the workshops of the Grand Bazaar quarter, and what distinguishes a hand-laid lamp from the mass-produced ones sold in tourist shops.

The talk is relaxed and in English, with Russian and Turkish also spoken by the instructors, and it is pitched for all ages. Children follow it easily, and many adults say it changed how they looked at the lamp shops in the bazaar afterwards. Then the trays of glass come out and the hands-on part begins.

Laying your own mosaic design

You start with a clear glass sphere and a geometric template, which the artisans show you how to place so that the pattern stays symmetrical. Then you choose from more than 45 colours of mosaic stones and glass beads, pressing them one by one into the adhesive and building outwards from the template: a star, a flower, bands of turquoise and ruby, whatever you like. The artisans move between the tables, correcting spacing and suggesting colour pairings, so beginners end up with lamps that look professionally made.

This stage takes most of the session and is quieter than you might expect; guests often describe it as meditative. The final step is grouting the gaps with a white paste that sets the pieces, which is when the pattern suddenly comes alive. While it dries, you move to the tea table.

Tea, cookies and taking your lamp with you

Unlimited Turkish tea, coffee and water with freshly baked cookies are served while the grout dries, and the artisans use the break to share their favourite places in Istanbul, from quiet mosques to the best simit stands. Then you assemble the remaining pieces, fitting the sphere to its brass-coloured base and fittings, and switch it on for the first time. Everyone leaves with a working lamp in a protective bag, complete with a US adapter.

The lamp is light and travels well in hand luggage if you keep the bag upright; many guests buy a second template to make another lamp later. The workshop runs daily at 9:00, 12:00, 15:00 and 18:00, is wheelchair accessible and welcomes children from the age of three with an adult, which makes it one of the best rainy-day activities in Istanbul for families.