Turkey in early march
 

my wife and i spent the first 2 weeks in march in turkey. istanbul was crowded but a MUST SEE. the larger interior cities can be missed without much loss. three suggestions in istanbul: 1. confirming Fodor choice, empress zoe hotel in sultanahamet is really good. great location helpful folks on the desk and very reasonable cost, <$50 with breakfast. 2. fine new restaurant just down the street from the empress zoe: CAFE MAGNAURA owned and operated by "abyey": 100%25 turkish but a graduate of U of Maine/orono; married to a woman from vermont. great food, lamb stew is marvelous, and lots of other choices. service is good also. price for 2 with drinks is under $20. 3. i am a rug nut: suggestions about avoiding the grand bazar for rugs is 100%25 correct. if you get a chance to shop in the interior, prices will be much lower -- maybe 40-50%25 lower. before you go into the interior, check out the istanbul rug shops and learn a little and get a handle on prices. in istanbul we did find one shop which was highly recommended and purchased 2 pieces there. good folks, low pressure, and good prices for istanbul. NOAH's ARK, look for Eddie - he is a naturalized US citizen and a partner. they speak fine english. location is just up the street from "sophia" along the railroad tracks in front of the university area on a side street to the right as you walk along the tramway street away from sophia. address: Divanyolu, Ticarethane Sokak No. 11, Sultanahamet. telephone (212) 511 8050.

i recommend early march. pre season, very few tourists. weather is a bit cool but not cold. prices are reasonable. the roads are fairly empty. we drove 2200 miles through the interior.

d. booth

Appreciate your comments. Any suggestions about a self generated tour to Istanboul would be appreciated. We are considering a cruise from Athens to Istanboul via Crete in the fall but concentrateing on Istanboul as much as we can. If you had onle four or five days in istanboul what would you target as must see. Many thanks and regards.

I've been to Istanbul 5 times, it remains my favorite city to visit.
Istanbul must sees and do's: Hagia Sofia,Blue Mosque, Hippodrome,Grand Bazar, Military Museum, Go to top of Galata Tower for view of Istanbul, Bosphorus cruise to mouth of Black Sea, Walk across
bridge crossing the Golden Horn. Enjoy the food,smells, ambiance and people of Istanbul.
Bonne Voyage:
Marty

If you plan to stay 4-5 days in Instanbul you will get to see everything. One of the most beautiful things we did was take the ferry up the Bosphorus to the Black sea. It takes the entire afternoon, but you get to see all the small towns on the water, plus some beautiful views of Instanbul. Don't miss the Topkapi palace, the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the underground cistern, browsing the grand bazaar. Try to stay in the old part of town, it's very convenient to the main sites, and you can walk everywhere. Try to get a hotel with Air conditioning, we didn't and were devoured by mosquitoes.

Go ahead, make the trip, it's really memorable,

Eugenia

Our group of four women just returned from a 16-day tour of western Turkey, including Istanbul, and had a fantastic time! We organized a private tour through Argeus Travel in Urgup (Cappadocia) and were delighted by the care they took in arranging every aspect of our stay. If you are looking for something other than a large bus tour of Turkey or just need some help with hotel bookings, I recommend that you check with Aydin at Argeus first...you won't be disappointed! (http://linux.ada.com.tr/argeus)

I love Istanbul (in small doses) and agree with all the above correspondents. In 4-5 days you should be able to capture the atmosphere of Istanbul very well. I'd like to add the Kariye Museum to the list of must see sites. It is well off the beaten track out near the city walls along the Golden Horn. The Kariye is an old greek church which when converted to a mosque had its wall paintings and mosaics covered with whitewash. Restoration has been carried out and the museum is a gem for lovers of mosaics and wall paintings. Outside the Blue Mosque every evening there is a son et lumiere. It is in a different language each night and a calender is posted on a board by the sitting area, the show is free.

Based on Fodor's recommendations, I faxed Hotel Empress Zoe for a room. I received a faxed reply from the American-born owner, offering us a suite for $90 a night (as hotel was fully booked during period chosen). Within minutes, I faxed my confirmation with credit card details. I assumed that all was arranged, but 2 days later, I received a fax from the owner, saying that they had overbooked, and had already promised my room to a travel agent earlier! She could not help us, but she was sorry etc etc. I had to scramble to find other accomodation, which I did, but the experience with Hotel Empress Zoe's management was unfavorable.
Visit http:www.geocities.com/Baja/4464/ for photos of Istanbul.