Hello everyone, I will be traveling to Rome from Los Angeles. On my way back, I will be traveling alone back to Los Angeles. I have a 19 plus layover in Istanbul. I will be arriving at 7:05pm and leaving at 2:00 pm the next day. My question is since I have a long layover would it be safe to go explore the city at night by myself?

Thank you!

I'd book a room in Sultanahmet, have a nice dinner nearby, a good sleep, get up early and do your exploring in the morning.

Check into your Sultanahmet hotel, take a taxi to Ortakoy or bebek on the Bosphorus and have a good fish dinner there. Walk in that area a bit, take another taxi back to your hotel.

You can do some of the sites like Blue Mosque and/or Hagia Sophia and/or Basilica cistern before you take a cab back to airport about 11 AM.

Check the recent Turkey Forum threads on similar requests for additional analysis and info.

Book a night in Sultanahmet as suggested by MmePerdue, but don't have dinner there. It's pretty dead at night, and the restaurants in the area are lousy, save for Matbah and a few others.

I like the idea of dining in Bebek or Ortakoy given by Chelebi. And yes it's safe to go there by yourself. You can follow with a stroll and maybe some late night shopping across Istiklal Street which is always abuzz with people anytime of the day. Most shops stay open till 12:00 am.

Or you can book a table at Mikla or 360 bar for great views of Istanbul.

The next day start early with a visit to the Blue Mosque at 8:30, Hagia Sophia at 9:00 and the Basilica Cistern at 10:00. You can even spend a few minutes at Arasta Bazaar or the Spice Bazaar before going back to the hotel.

The Blue Mosque and Basilica Cistern require 15-20 minutes of your time.
I did Hagia Sofia in 1 hour but you may need more or less.

I'm not saying being out at night in Istanbul is unsafe. But you are until you aren't, right? As a woman who often travels alone, I'm not particularly comfortable most places out alone at night. So, since you arrive in the evening anyway, if it were me, I'd just make it an early night and be up early & rested to make the most of the daylight hours you'll have.