Nearly 4 hours flying time from London and two hours time difference, Istanbul is the second largest city in Turkey. Ankara is the capital, however Istanbul the heart, cultural and financial centre.
The Blue Mosque
Whilst being the densest city in Turkey, Istanbul has been the capital various times in the city’s history.
It is the only city in the world that sites on two continents, in the west Europe and in east Asia. It has the country's largest port and is situated on the Bosphorus straits; the narrow strait between the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea. It has two bridges – The Bosphorous Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge which is closer to the Black Sea.
When arriving into Istanbul Atatürk Airport, which is about 20km west of the city centre, it will cost around 20 Euros to take a taxi from the airport. There is a good public transport system available from the airport, including an express bus and metro system.
Traffic within the city limits can be manic and to drive very stressful to drive, especially as the city has more than 1,500,000 automobiles and 12 million people.
Most western European passports are exempt from visa for their travels between 60 to 90 days. However for UK citizens they are required to have visa which can be obtained at the border gates.
The currency used is the New Turkish Lira (YTL) although the euro is also accepted at many tourist locations. It was recommend to only exchange what I needed, as outside of the country, I could find it difficult exchanging my leftover lira. However more and more, ATMs are being used for cash and they aren't that expensive.
Favourite spots:
Hagia Sophia
Evening entertainment is fabulous here in Turkey, whether is seeing the whirling dervishes or belly dancing. I found to be surrounding by all the colour and fabrics, just relaxing on cushions.
What's really great:
Views of the city
Taking in Turkey's tourist 'culture' can be fun. Here's three to experience:
Definitely an essential part of any trip to Turkey is visiting one of the many Turkish bath (hamam). Many hamams were built during the Ottoman era and have a distinctive domed profile, with bottle glass directing light inwards. As you enter the first room is the camekan, a square court with a fountain surrounded by small individual changing cubicles. This leads into a small cooling off section, opening into the hararet, the hot and steamy, marble inlayed baths.
The Old Grand Bazaar has an estimate of 4000 shops in its covered walkways. Exploring this labyrinth of side streets can be daunting at first, but yet again an experience that shouldn’t be missed. The shops are organized by what they sell, for example the silver jewellers, the carpet shops, the shoe shops etc.
The Egyptian or spice bizarre is located on the golden horn and is know as a place to buy spices for cooking and medicines.
Sights:
Topkapi Palace
These are main 3 historical places:
The church of the Holy Wisdom or Hagia Sophia, was designed by Sultan Ahmet and was at that time the greatest building in the world. It dates back to the 6th century and was built on the ruins of an old pagan temple. It was constructed for the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and became a mosque in the 15th century when the minarets were added and finally turned into a museum in 1930's.
The Topkapi Palace is a fine example of the Ottoman emperor and is lavishly decorated, with four courts of increasing grandeur. An additional ticket can be purchased to see the Harem in the second court and the State Treasury. The former imperial residence it is a spectacular museum that has one of the largest collections of Chinese and Japanese porcelain.
The Sultanahmet or Blue Mosque is a working mosque, where their traditions must be respected. Shoes must be removed before entering the building as well as no bare shoulders or shorts should be worn.
Accommodations:
Topkapi Palace
The Intercontinental is a fabulous five star hotel, located in the heart of Istanbul only 20 something kilometres from the airport. It is in the hear of the city and only fifteen minutes away from Taksim square, Blue Mosque, the Old City and Topkapi Palace.
It has great facilities including I believe five restaurants; some of the rooms have views over the Bosphurous and other over the city. My room had a city view and it was so nice to watch the traffic and lights way down below.
Restaurants:
Inside the mosque
Food is not especially spicy and is served with a lot of vegetables. The most popular meat is lamb and a Kebab is the national dish.
Turkish coffee is stronger than espresso and is drunk without any sugar as they believe this takes away from its rich flavour.
Breakfast is a very important meal in Istanbul and usually includes fresh olives, cucumbers and tomatoes with bread and cheese and of course coffee.
There is an aniseed flavoured drink (I can’t remember the name) that I tried, it was so weird becuase I'm not used to that flavour.
Raki is Turkish brandy and is usually served with meze, appetizers such as roasted chickpeas, freshly salted almonds, olives, tomatoes or cheese.
Turkish Tea is the national drink, and is usually drunk from a little tulip-shaped glass with a cube of sugar, but never with milk or lemon.
Off course a must purchase is fresh Turkish Delight and with the variety of flavours avaialble it was hard to choose.
Other recommendations:
Crossing the Bosphurous
To visit Istanbul and not jump on a ferry to get to the otherside would be criminal. It is really cheap and takes around 30(?) minutes.
The Asian (Anatolian) Side of the city has many sights which include:
The Camlica Hill is one of the highest hills of Istanbul; there is a park with a few cafes with an Ottoman atmosphere.
The Beylerbeyi Palace was built by Sultan abdulaziz over four years and was completed in 1865. It sites near the Bosphorus Bridge.
The Princes' Islands lies on the southeast of Istanbul, and consists of 8 islands. Buyukada is the largest and has a peak that reaches to 202 metres high.
Btw, both bridges are tolled, so which ever way you chose to cross (excluding walking) you have to pay.
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