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Some more questions about stay in Istanbul.

Some more questions about stay in Istanbul.

Old Jul 22nd, 2012, 10:02 PM
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Some more questions about stay in Istanbul.

1. How is Besiktas as an area to stay in Istanbul?
- taxi time from Besiktas to the main tourist attractions
- eating places nearby etc

2. Can anyone recommend a great Bosphoros ferry tour?
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Old Jul 22nd, 2012, 10:34 PM
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1. have a look at my Besiktas review on Trip Advisor.
can take commuter ferry to Eminonu 15 minutes, in the morning, for tourist attractions, plus tram if you wish. Otherwise taxi 20-35 minutes depending on traffic. Or also, taxi or 10-15 minute walk to kabatas and then tram.

http://www.sehirhatlari.com.tr/en/ti...horus-365.html

2. Can take short and long ferry tours from besiktas easily.
There are also smaller private tours, cheaper, lasting 60-90 minutes also leaving from besiktas, Kabatas, Uskudar and Ortakoy. (Turyol, Dentur and possibly others)

Can also check the ring ferry on the below site between Istinye, Emirgan, Bebek, Arnavutkoy in Europe and Kanlica, Anadoluhisar, Kandilli, Cengelkoy in Asia.

http://www.sehirhatlari.com.tr/en/ti...ables-338.html
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Old Jul 22nd, 2012, 11:12 PM
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Thanks for your response OC. I just read your tripadvisor review. Although I have no interest in shopping, the area does seem nice. And, hotel W in this area looks worthwhile.

I have keep the ferry link handy.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2012, 05:41 AM
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Shwets, Vogue restaurant, close to the W hotel has good TA reviews but I and many of my and my daughter's friends do not like it very much. Will make better sense, to go further up to tesvikiye/nisantasi area or up the Bosphorus to Ortakoy, Ulus or Bebek for high quality, upscale restaurants with better food.

my restaurant recommendations for the Bosphorus are, Mia Mensa, les Ambassadeur and Muse de Changa; Sunset and Ulus 29 in general and Divan hotel restaurant or Changa for a place near Taksim. tesvikiye has reasonably good ones but none as good as the above. The Divan hotel Pub has the best quick lunch in all Taksim area. We had doner kebap and mixed greens there today and were extremely pleased. Came to 109TL plus 15TL tip including two soft drinks ($70).

There are also some nice upscale cafes just outside the W on both side streets, although I would prefer to go down to the sea side for the magnificent view as well as the immersion in real life.

If you are in a hurry and do not wish to be in a dirty cab for close to an hour in a hot cab, you can get the hotel reception to arrange a sea taxi to take you to eminonu from the Besiktas ferry landing for about $40. (they also zccept credit cards) the trip will take only 10-15 minutes. (the cost is per trip in 10 passenger speed boat. So, if you make some friends in the hotel, this would be an excellent way of getting to the old city. Unfortunately the cabin is closed and the speed means that the windows are frequently washed with spray thus limiting your view.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2012, 06:43 AM
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Is this your first visit to Istanbul? Because Besiktas is quite a distance from the main sights. If you take the ferry or sea taxi to Eminou and want to visit the sights in Sultanahmet (like Topkapi Palace, Aya Sofia, the Blue Mosque, and the Grand Bazaar), these are still at some distance from the ferry port.

We recently made our first visit to Istanbul and stayed in the Sultanahmet. There are a number of nice hotels there.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2012, 11:11 PM
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OC - wow, thanks so much for all the restaurant recommendations. if you can add couple of names in sultanahmet area, my trip would be made!

Mimar - I have been to istanbul once in 2005 but this is the first time for my husband and I do want us to see ALL the main tourist sights. We are splitting our Istanbul stay into 2 parts (visiting cappadocia in between). We would be initially staying in sultanahmet. The reason to choose W at Besiktas for the second part of the stay is only because we would have done all the main sights by then (plus run out of money )and we can use starwood points to book W or Le Meridien.
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Old Jul 24th, 2012, 04:09 AM
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Sorry Shwets about sultanahmet restaurants.
The Four Seasons is good but very very expensive. Dub Ethnic is an acceptable Indian plus restaurant geared to a tourist/Turkish taste and with a limited menu. Sarnic, is an interesting venue but the food is nothing to rave about. Giritli has good meze but too expensive for what they force on you. Cavusoglu kebap at laleli is a decent kebap restaurant. Try their Katmer for breakfast if you can. There are also some reasonably good "kofte" restaurants at Sirkeci.

Most of the others that we have tried at Sultanahmet are ersatz local cuisine, produced with the belief that tourists will not know the difference.

A simple measure I use for a good restaurant is to see if they serve very fresh lettuce and mixed green salad which does not contain iceberg lettuce and secondly if they serve a decent sorbet (not only ice cream). I would not expect the sorbet at a meat or kebap restaurant, but they should definitely have fresh lettuce and arugula.
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Old Jul 24th, 2012, 04:24 AM
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glad to see that the divan is back in business/

what about the garden restaurant at yesil ev in/

sultanahmet/

very pretty at night with the fairy ligts/


the performance artist known as razr//
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Old Jul 24th, 2012, 05:35 AM
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Rami in the Sultanahmet is very good. We ate at Yesil Ev; it was good not great, but very restful in the garden away from the crowded streets. Alas too early for the lights or rather the wrong time of year.
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Old Jul 24th, 2012, 06:14 AM
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We were in Istanbul in May and found Sultanahmet to be the perfect place to stay for the first time visitor. Stayed at Hotel Ottoman Imperial located near Hagia Sofia. The major sights are within walking distance and nearby is a tram to use to explore areas not walkable. Ate at Rami but a better choice is Balikci Sabahattin located in an old three story wooden building. The food was great and a reservation is a must. Never have I have seen so many stray cats! They need to create a safe sanctuary (like the ones in Rome) for these poor animals.
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Old Jul 24th, 2012, 04:38 PM
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In Sultanahmet, I enjoyed meals at:

Pasazade
Ahirkapi Balikcisi (fish only, and only a few tables) and
Imbat

Enjoy your trip!
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Old Jul 24th, 2012, 06:26 PM
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I was also thinking of using the starwood point to book W or Le Meridien, then i saw some post on Trip advisor that made me changed my mind.
We were very happy with our stay in the Sultanahmet area.
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Old Jul 24th, 2012, 06:39 PM
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i don't like sultanahmet/

it is too touristy for me/

yes rami is good/

enjoyed their eggplant/

too many people at rami jockey to get close to the balcony/

to see the light show at blue mosque and arguments ensue/

the beautiful people don't stay in sultanahmet sweetie darling/


razr//
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Old Jul 24th, 2012, 09:48 PM
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OC - i eat indian all the time at home, so I refuse to eat indian in turkey! One meal at Four Seasons has to be tried. i will not let the cheuqe spoil my appetite

Mimar, Nini, Kja - thanks for the restaurants' recos. will try some of them for sure.

Snoot - 'sweetie', 'darling', wohohooo....moi (besides being beautiful!!) is also coming with a 15 month baby. so got to stay in sultanahmet for part of the trip to be near tourist sights.

Mohan - Even I read about W Istanbul not being upto the usual W standard elsewhere. But it cant be all bad. I really need to save money somewhere....
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Old Jul 25th, 2012, 06:18 AM
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shwets, it's location, location, location. Do a search on Trip advisor and see what people say about that location.

I stayed in a small family run B & B with an elevator and a great rooftop restaurant in Sultanahmet. It's not a boutique hotel for sure but it's really comfortable. i rather enjoyed my breakfast with a view and that meant a lot to me.

I would forgo fine dining for a convenient location. Imbat offers good food and a great view. Not the greatest food but for that kind of price and that kind of view it's worth it. There is no shortage of good eateries and restaurants there, so food should not be an issue. You want to be in a convenient location where you could get to places easily.
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Old Jul 25th, 2012, 06:32 AM
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taxis are cheap in istanbul/

it is no big deal to take a cab from ortokoy/

over to topkapi palas area for day of sightseeing/

we stayed at ritz-carlton/

and took taxis around istanbul/

carpet salesmen in sultanahmet can drive you to drink/


razr//
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