Turkey

Britfag here,

I'm going instanbul on Saturday, staying until the Friday after.

I got a brilliant deal on my hotel with Expedia. I'll be staying in Sultanahmet.

If you're about and want to meet, let me know. It's the first time I'll be going abroad on my own too.

>>1121362
Britfag here again, I'll reply to this post at 2pm UK time.

>>1121362
damn, OP here, I'll be there between 18th and 24th. Was also looking at staying in Sultanahmet, also using expedia.

Britfag here,

Damn, op

That sucks, it would have been good to have a travel buddy

>>1121364
Let me know if anything changes in your plans, as a travel buddy would be cool.

>>1121368
It's a shame, but I can't change my plans (interlocked with other things). What are you planning to do there by the way? any advice/tips? Just sight seeing in the Sultanahmet area?

>>1121369
Yeah bro, that's cool.
I'll let you know how the trip goes in this thread or on Snapchat etc.

I'm just seeing the area, I figured visiting the old cathedrals (now mosques) would be great while it's the Ramadan holidays.

That and taking advantage of shopping for duty free and inexpensive designer clothing.

Walking about exploring the area, eating in restaurants, and sitting in bars, observing random people. Lol (just like a Starbucks)

>>1121369
I don't have many tips as, I only travelled to Turkey once as a child

>>1121369
Also (samebritfag, sorry!)

Make sure to come back to this thread sometime on Wednesday tomorrow, I'll let you know if my plan on visiting dates change.

>>1121344
Source lived about 6 years in Istanbul, here's what you should expect:

Sultanahmet: Old Byzantine stuff and Ottoman stuff. It's a well known tourist destination, and has a lot of places to see.

Sirkeci: Close to Sultanahmet, you may want to visit on the way but there's not much there except for a museum or two, but I don't remember well.

Eminonu: Is one of the places that is not listed here and you might want to visit there. It also has some Ottoman architecture that is interesting, but more importantly it has the iconic view of Galata tower and Karakoy.

Taksim: Is the entertainment district, check out Istiklal Street for bars and stuff, also walk from one end to the other at least once, it is an interesting place. Go further down to see Galata Tower and get up there, it has nice view.

Besiktas: Dolmabahce Palace and Ortakoy are places you might want to check out in Besiktas, also has nice and cheap restaurants in the market district.

Sisli: Avoid Mecidiyekoy unless for public transportation transfers. It's crowded always and always have heavy traffic. Unfortunate thing is it's a hub for public transportation. Nothing really worth seeing there. But on the other side, you can walk to Taksim from Mecidiyekoy, the road is not very historical but has nice view and you may find things that may interest you occasionally.

Galata: Kind of like a must.
Grand Bazaar: Again kind of like a must.

Aksaray: Not a lot of interesting stuff, but check out, there have been developments (museums and such). And walls are close from here.

Kadikoy: Not very historic but has a nice entertainment district with nice view.

Nisantasi: It's on the way between Mecidiyekoy and Taksim, it's not very interesting but it's basically a district with European influenced architecture.

Umraniye: How did you even find Umraniye :D There's not much interesting there.

Uskudar: Nice coastal view and it has a view of Maiden's Tower. You may want to visit.

Ok, I'm bored and out of space.

>>1121770
>Ok, I'm bored and out of space.
please do come back if you've got more info. And thanks for the post, much appreciated

>>1121780
Sure.

- Get an akbil or whatever ticketing system they're using nowadays. Istanbul has a well integrated public transportation, everything uses the same card, so buy one, fill it up and don't worry about getting somewhere, that is unless you can't stand crowded busses.

- Turkish people are nice to be honest. Compared to western culture, they get too friendly too soon though. Even in short time I'm pretty sure you might be able to make friends. You'll be the center of attention if you try to speak a Turkish word or two. Shopkeepers on the other hand are quite pushy. Just say no, it's not as big of a deal as it is in western culture. People in Turkey curse at each other before becoming friends and curse more when they are. So it's no big deal.

- Property crime in Istanbul is above average, but violent crime is low for city of that size. Use common sense, avoid back alleys especially around Taksim. But main places you'd be interested in will be pretty safe.

- Use ferries whenever possible, they're not the fastest option (fastest is Marmaray or Metrobus) but they always have gorgeous view. And throw simit (bagel with sesame seeds) to seagulls, it's a cliche.

Have fun during your visit, I liked Istanbul very much, I hope you do too.

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Another Dutchfag here, I had a Turkish gf and went to Istanbul quite a lot. I'll share some of my tips.

You can scrap most of the areas that away from the Bosphorus/Golden Horn. The city gets shittier the further away you go from the water, and it's mostly residential areas anyway.

My absolute favorite place to be in is Besiktas. It's great as an "operating base" for your trip, since it's very close to Taksim, the Bosphorus, the ferries, the metro and it has a big bus station too. It's also a very vibrant part of the city, with a lot of young people and lots of bars, cafes and restaurants. And luckily not much tourists either, which makes staying there even better. I mostly used Airbnb, so can't recommend any hotels there though.

You can do the touristy stuff in 2-3 days if you want to get it over with. Visit Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, Grand Bazaar, Sulemaniye Mosque, Istiklal street, Galata tower and explore Fatih/Beyoglu for a bit. I wouldn't recommend staying or eating in either of those areas, as it's mostly very touristy and more expensive than elsewhere.

Do a Bosphorus tour (they start everywhere, check for Dentur/Turyol ferries). Take the bus to places like Ortakoy, Arnavutkoy, Bebek and Istinye. Eat kumpir, lahmacun, gozleme, borek, menemen. Take a daytrip to one (or more) of the Prince Islands and have a walk/swim there (you have to pay a bit for the beach). Take the ferry to Uskudar, walk south and have some tea along the Bosphorus.

For traveling you buy an Istanbulkart and put some money on it. You can use it for every bus, tram, metro and ferry. Public transport generally works great, although getting in the right bus can be a bit tricky. It's all dirt cheap too. I would avoid taxis, take the metro if you want to go from Ataturk airport to the city or the Havatas bus if you want to go from Sabiha airport to the city.

I hope you have as much as fun there as I did. I absolutely love the city despite all its flaws.

>>1121344
I was in Istanbul for a week or so

the old districts, near sultanahmet
>all the tourist attractions are near here
>food can be really expensive
>lots of tourists to hang out with
>I found a place for 20 euro night or something at a backpackers, so not the chepest place to stay
>stay here for a day or two to get your bearings and see landmarks (get up early, pack lunch)

taxim:
>hipster districts, party town, nice people, fairly western, cheaper than old district, I think most backpackers stay here

asia side:
>nothing really of interest, full on islamic, kind of expensive

public transport is unusual, you get these little tokens that work for trams, ferries, trains; however the fare is based on how many times you get on/off the system, so a short mixed trip costs much much more than a single long one
there is considerable risk of terrorist attack, trains esp; it's a matter of when, not if- your call
don't fare evade, simply not worth it

liquor consumption is a very grey area, fine in tourist areas, taxim etc, but very quickly becomes unacceptable
nowhere is allowed to sell liquor past a certain time, blind eye turned in tourist areas but be aware if you are drunk and a nuisance you could get arrested

islamic fundamentalism quickly becomes the norm when leaving tourist areas, women will be mistreated and chastised for not wearing head scarves, things get poor very quickly etc etc