Travel Guide : Turkey

[droogist]

I'm going to be in Istanbul for a few days next week. So far the only thing on my list of things to do is visit the Hagia Sophia...could anyone suggest some places to go, things to see, food to eat, shops to blow money in, etc? Recommendations will be greatly appreciated!

 

[cloud9]

i was gonna say haghia sophia! but nevermind.
i went to turkey last summer but i only stayed in instanbul for three days..

the blue mosque, and topkapi palace are both worth visiting.

definitely visit the grand bazaar for some cheap shopping - tons of cute necklaces etc, pashimina scarves, tea cups, turkish apple tea, etc.

about food... hmm.. the only place i remember is a restaurant called bayti. i think its a pretty well known restaurant in istanbul....

will you be visiting any other cities in turkey?

cappadocia, pamukkale and antalya are all worth visiting if you have time.. imo.

 

[fashion_victim]

I'm from Istanbul but I've moved to London last year...Anyway, you should go and see the Bosphorus of course ( you could go on a tourist ferry). You should see Haghia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar( keep an eye out for jewellery), Yerebatan Sarayi which is near Haghia Sophia if I can remember correctly and is an underground cistern ( btw it's where they shot a scene of a James Bond movie ( From Russia with Lovep
You can go to Istiklal Street in Beyoglu which became really popular in the last few years (it used to be considered too 'hippie'),there are some very nice cafes and bars and shops. You could go to Dolmabahce Palace and also to the street market which takes place on Sundays in Ortakoy which is along the Bosphorus and is something between Portobello Road and Covent Garden in London. (sorry about the comparisons )
You can go to Nisantasi, but I wouldnt say it's a very touristic place, you would see lots of women with dyed blonde hair and Hermes bags and shops like Valentino, Louis Vuitton etc. ( I dont think you would want to do designer shopping in Istanbul, they are much more expensive over there...) You could go to Beymen though, which is a department store and again sells designer clothes for twice the price but also has its own label. If you go Nisantasi, you should go to House Cafe, they do the best salads but as I said, it's not a touristic place, it's just where fashionable Turks go to...

For food, you should go to the Tarihi Sultanahmet Koftecisi to eat meatballs( koftes) which is very cheap and it's near all the major sights in Sultanahmet. For the best kebab, go to Beyti, Kosebasi and Tike. For spicy south-eastern food( Arab-Kurdish) go to Hamdi in Eminonu.(The food there is just delicious, believe me). If you want to eat fish with meze( appetisers) which tourists call Bosphorus meal, then you can go to Kiyi Restaurant in Tarabya which has very good views of the sea.

That's it ,I guess... If you have any other questions, you can always ask me..

 

[Lena]

if u r there, check out Umit Unal , he's a great Turkish designer droogist
and try this new 'alternative' turkish magazine, i think its called 34 (occasionally comes up as an ad here at tFS) and its all writen in english

i think you will have a good time, some great old lux hotels to visit

 

[snowqueen]

Istanbul will always have a place in my heart !! its were the european championship what we won was held. yay.

I would visit markets !! and shop shop shop 2 most popular are Misir Carsisi (Egyptian or Spice Market) and grand bazaar

check out

http://www.virgin.travel-guides.com/City.jsp?City=ist&Section=Key%20Attractions

and

http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=istanbul@77&cur_section=sig&property_id=13686

 

[cloud9]

I'm from Istanbul but I've moved to London last year...Anyway, you should go and see the Bosphorus of course ( you could go on a tourist ferry). You should see Haghia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar( keep an eye out for jewellery), Yerebatan Sarayi which is near Haghia Sophia if I can remember correctly and is an underground cistern ( btw it's where they shot a scene of a James Bond movie ( From Russia with Lovep
You can go to Istiklal Street in Beyoglu which became really popular in the last few years (it used to be considered too 'hippie'),there are some very nice cafes and bars and shops. You could go to Dolmabahce Palace and also to the street market which takes place on Sundays in Ortakoy which is along the Bosphorus and is something between Portobello Road and Covent Garden in London. (sorry about the comparisons )
You can go to Nisantasi, but I wouldnt say it's a very touristic place, you would see lots of women with dyed blonde hair and Hermes bags and shops like Valentino, Louis Vuitton etc. ( I dont think you would want to do designer shopping in Istanbul, they are much more expensive over there...) You could go to Beymen though, which is a department store and again sells designer clothes for twice the price but also has its own label. If you go Nisantasi, you should go to House Cafe, they do the best salads but as I said, it's not a touristic place, it's just where fashionable Turks go to...

For food, you should go to the Tarihi Sultanahmet Koftecisi to eat meatballs( koftes) which is very cheap and it's near all the major sights in Sultanahmet. For the best kebab, go to Beyti, Kosebasi and Tike. For spicy south-eastern food( Arab-Kurdish) go to Hamdi in Eminonu.(The food there is just delicious, believe me). If you want to eat fish with meze( appetisers) which tourists call Bosphorus meal, then you can go to Kiyi Restaurant in Tarabya which has very good views of the sea.

That's it ,I guess... If you have any other questions, you can always ask me..

oops i guess it was beyti, not bayti

 

[luxmode]

I'm so envious of you, droogist. It's a dream of mine to go to Istanbul and Cappadocia...

Have a wonderful time

 

[droogist]

Wow, fantastic, thank you so much everyone! I'm going to have to print this page out.

cloud9, unfortunately I'm only going to be in Istanbul, and only for a few days. Seems like there's more than enough to do for that time. I hope I can cram everything in...

fashion_victim, thanks so much for your suggestions, very comprehensive! I will definitely try to hit that market on Sunday. And I might visit Nisantasi just to gawk; you've piqued my curiousity a bit.

Lena, I will keep an eye out for both designer and magazine. btw if anyone knows of any other Turkish designers that I should check, please post.

tiamaria - congratulations! That was some insane football. I was pulling for Liverpool too, I don't think Milan deserved to advance against PSV. It should have been Liverpool vs. PSV!

...and thank you luxmode

 

[Lena]

droogist, why dont u drop by Athens on your way back?

*if you need to contact Umit Unal and see his work (he shows in Paris, Dusseldorf and i think he has a showroom in London during FW) i'll be happy to PM you their mail..
*as for the mag, its the only international turkish mag with a number on the cover.. wont be hard to grab (think wallpaper/another mag/ etc. great publication)
*btw, where are u originally based?

 

[droogist]

droogist, why dont u drop by Athens on your way back?

Ha, I was tempted to do just that! But no time, alas...

If you could send along the designer/company's email, that would be fantastic!

...I'm originally from Chicago and New York, and I now live in the Netherlands (by way of Vienna and Antwerp)

 

[berkeleygrrrl]

of course you must visit hagia sofia and the blue mosque but avoid falling into the trap of visiting a lot of other mosques, istanbul is full of historic mosques, like churches in rome, but the city has more to offer. visit the fatih neighborhood in the old city, it's off the tourist track and isn't modernized, it's like stepping into a different world..

 

[Urban Stylin]

Turkey

I might be traveling to Turkey in a couple of days and was wondering what you woyuld recommend for a fashion, nature, architecture, history..etc buff like me.
Also what else can you tell me about the capital where I plan to stay

 

[Urban Stylin]

wow lots of info here hadn't seen the thread seems like such an exciting place

 

[sonjanicky29]

I lived in Turkey for awhile and it has a very special place in my heart <3
Some notes for the wise:
Be careful in the Grand Bazaar by Sultanhamet, there are lots of good deals, but also a lot of clever scams.Especially watch out for jewelery scams. They often will "weigh" silver, gold etc and charge on that. However, the scales may not be the most accurate.
Also, ALWAYS explore more, never settle for the first booth of goods you see. Chances are, you will see the same items for cheaper deeper in the bazaar.ALWAYS HAGGLE! The first price they give you is often much too high. If they say 50 lire, start at 15-20 and work from there. Be jovial and good-natured, they will appreciate it. If it gets too much, start to walk away, its amazing how much of a friend you become when they feel you are leaving!

I also recommend you learn some basic terms in Turkish too like "Ne Kadar" for how much or "Tessukur (pron. teshacur) ederim", for thank you or "hayir" for no and "evet" for yes. Note, they will often tip their head up and tsk for no instead of saying the word.

I never got a chance to go to Ankara when I was in Turkey.Hopefully when I go back next summer I will. However, you can visit the Tomb of AtaTurk which is in Ankara. AtaTurk is the "Father" of modern Turkey and a very important figure for many Turks. You will see his picture everywhere. Do not say anything bad about him. It does not go over well, even in jest.It is also inland and very hot in Ankara.There are also several beautiful parks in Ankara like Kugulu. Ankara has many ancient sites as well like the Citadel, Roman Theater and the Temple of Augustus and Rome. A great deal of museums are also present such as the Ethnography Museum of Ankara which displays folkloric art which is stunning!

If you have any questions please PM me! I know a lot about specific haunts in Bursa/Istanbul, so if you head that way, I can give you some pretty local places that are off the beaten track! I hope you enjoy your time in Ankara!

 

[Fennella]

Istanbul is the most fantastic city I have ever visited! I cannot wait to get back there! I have visited many times in other parts of Turkey and I was expecting Istanbul to be more like typical big city (only busy people, a bit heartless and cold etc), but wow how it surprised me! It had so typical warm Turkish atmosphere! And even though there are over 10 million people over there and it's huge city, sometimes I really felt like being in the small town. Taksim was terrifying me but otherwise it was so great.

My recommendation is to go Miniatürk where you can discover all Turkey's important buildings and places in one day. Very interesting and nice to get known other parts of Turkey as well without actually leaving Istanbul!