Free travel home page with storage for your pictures and travel reports! login GLOBOsapiens - Travel Community GLOBOsapiens - Travel Community GLOBOsapiens - Travel Community
 You are here: Member pages
Login
 Forgot password?
sign up


Top 3 members
wojtekd 100
Member snaps
rangutan Istanbul - A travel report by Rudolf
about me      | my friends      | pictures      | albums      | reports      | travel log      | travel tips      | guestbook      | activities      | contact      |

Istanbul,  Turkey - flag Turkey -  Istanbul
9869 readers

rangutan's travel reports

City between two Continents

  12 votes
Page: 1 2 3
Our company outing from Leipzig, Istanbul - $200 inluding flight and hotel (3-days) was a hit and opened the eyes and minds of all of us who dared take it. A fantastic adventure and cultural experience which all europeans should take!


With locals and guide overlooking Istanbul
With locals and guide overlooking Istanbul
Istanbul (previously called Constantinople), being centred around ancient oriental civilisation, is a dream-come-true for us historically hungary people. As the only city on two continents it's the link between europe and the arabian world and capital of the Ottaman Empire which once ruled from Iran to Marocco and most of southern europe, almost took Vienna too. The republic of Turkey was formed in 1923 by Mustafas Kemal Ataturk, who made the turkish europeans in style and also writing, forced the latin alphabet. The city is also a link between the Black Sea and the Mediteranean via the Bosphoros Straits. Water from the Danube must pass here and Gibralta to get to the ocean!

Favourite spots:
Ancient aquaduct
Ancient aquaduct
- Grand Bazaar (see rangutans's "pictures")

- Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) and Church of the Dive Wisdom was the biggest church in the christian world for a thousand years untill St.Peter was build. - The Blue Mosque (nicknamed for its interior tiling) is called Sultanahmet by the locals. Impresive, the only mosque with 6 minarets and inferior only to that in Mecca. The dome is 70 feet wide! - Oskudar, the eastern subburbs and stylish to young modern Turks - Sunken Palace Cistern, a network of ancient underground water reservoirs, hundreds of columns, scary - Obelisk of Theodosims, 3500 years old from Egypt imported stone in 390AD

What's really great:
Topkapi Palace entrance
Topkapi Palace entrance
1) Exploring Topkapi Palace, feel the power! It was home to the Ottoman Emperors for 400 years. Four courts and hundreds of rooms, including harems. A movie should be made of the story!

2) The subburbs on the east side where a lot af young people are building houses

3) the food - forget french!

Accommodations:
Bosphorus cruise
Bosphorus cruise






We stayed at Hotel Ilkay, included in the package and well worth it, satisfactory quality and service at budget price, and tourist friendly. Most hotels offer pick-up-tours to see the city and surroundings.



Restaurants:
Treated like kings
Treated like kings



Eat where the locals do, always my travel tip. Our local host took us up the road to the Black Sea one evening and showed us what value is... and fead us to our delight...




Other recommendations:
testin carpets, each one a work-of-art
testin carpets, each one a work-of-art
- buy a carpet, can be shipped

Web Tips:
www.istanbultravelguide.net (great!)
www.turkeytravelplanner.com (good info & pics)

Wish to see oneday:
- Gallipoli
- Turkish Riveirra

Published on Friday September 17th, 2004


send travelogue via e-mail    Publish on Facebook  



Thu, Aug 02 2007 - 11:10 AM rating by adampl

I'm visiting Istanbul this September so thanks Rudi for a handful of useful tips.

Information:
Login if you are a member, or sign up for a free membership to rate this report and to earn globo points!

 Hungary
   Budapest average user rating for this report
 Iceland
   Reykjavik average user rating for this report
 Italy
   Venice average user rating for this report
 Malawi
   Monkey Bay average user rating for this report
 Malta
   Valetta average user rating for this report
 Morocco
   Marrakech average user rating for this report
 Mozambique
   Maputo average user rating for this report
 Philippines
   Lipa City average user rating for this report
 Poland
   Stettin average user rating for this report
 Portugal
   Nazare average user rating for this report
 South Africa
   Johannesburg average user rating for this report
 Spain
   Barcelona average user rating for this report
 Tunisia
   Djerba average user rating for this report
 Turkey
   Istanbul average user rating for this report
 United Kingdom
   Salisbury average user rating for this report

 
Publish your own story!
 More on Turkey

   Marmaris - lonewolf average user rating for this report
   Goreme - sven_ak average user rating for this report
   Istanbul - ksb1960 average user rating for this report
   Istanbul - bagheri average user rating for this report
   Alanya - surreyman average user rating for this report




  Terms and Conditions    Privacy Policy    Press    Contact    Impressum
  © 2002 - 2024 Findix Technologies GmbH Germany    Travel Portal Version: 5.0.1