24 hours in Instanbul - Few questions
 

Would you be able to list in order the items worth seeing in Istanbul. I arrive at 10 am on Saturday and Depart on Sunday around noon.

My plan in order is to visit

1. AyaSofia
2.Topkapi palace
3. Blue Mosque
4. The inside shopping area
5. Spice market
6. Underground sistern??

Is there tour guides that I can hire for a visit at AyaSofia or Topkapi palace? Recommended time to go, early morning or evenings?

Would love to be able to do a short cruise on the Bosfor. Is there a company that one can recommend that I can use for 1 hour or two for a cruise?

I know there is plenty to see, but my time is limited and will see as much as time permits. More next time.

Thanks!

Is your hotel in the Sultanamet area? If you arrive at Istanbul airport at 10 then you probably won't get to your hotel room and get settled until at least noon, I think. I would head to the Aya Sofia for a few hours and then hit either the Spice Market or the famous souq (I think both close at 7pm). The next morning you'll have some time to hit the Blue Mosque, but beware that there could be a long line of people waiting to get inside. You could squeeze in seeing the underground cistern sometimes either on Saturday or Sunday. Just be aware of when everything is open and then you can plan accordingly.

Many of the historic sights are closed in the evening, so you're limited there, but you can definitely visit and go inside the mosques in the evening.

Topkapi Palace is a huge place, and you'll need a couple of hours to see everything there. I think you can skip this if you're extremely limited on time.

I think that the Topkapi Palas is amazing and I would never skip it if I were in Istanbul.

You can hire a guide for the Topkapi outside the gates where you buy your tickets. They are all lined up there.

DO NOT SKIP THE HAREM, especially if you have a guide to tell you about the place.

If I had to skip anything, it would be the Spice Market, especially if you are going to the Grand Bazaar.

And I don't think you need a few hours for the Hagia Sophia, 45 minutes should cover it.

I should only take you a half hour to do a walk through of the Blue Mosque. There is very little to see inside aside from the beautiful tile work.

One thing that is not on your list--and it is a shame to skip it--is the Chora Church/Mosque. The mosaics are PUKKA!!!!

I also love the Dolmabache Palas; it looks like a place Liberace would live in. It really is over the top.

Have fun in Istanbul.

Tschuss,
Pepper

Thanks for the feedback. These are great suggestions. Any suggestions on the cruises?

I would 2nd not missing the Topkapi Palas. As for the two Mosque's, i was personally more impressed with the pure size of the buildings and the outter tributes compared to the inside of them. I did like the cistern, thought that was just cool...it's a quick self tour and if you have time. I also didn't care for the grand bazaar, just a bunch of shops and tourists. I really enjoyed taking a ferry across to the Asia side of the city...much more relaxed pace over there.

Enjoy your trip

If you start early (earlier) in the morning, it is pretty easy to find an inexpensive taxi to take you to your next destination. They're quick, cheap and easy to find.

BTW: The duty free shops at the airport (leaving) has some surprisingly good bargains, if you know what you're shopping for.

1. AyaSofia
2. Topkapi palace
3. Blue Mosque
4. The inside shopping area
5. Spice market
6. Underground cistern??

"Is there tour guides that I can hire for a visit at AyaSofia or Topkapi palace? Recommended time to go, early morning or evenings?"

Morning : Ayasofya, Blue Mosque, Underground Cistern, Topkapi Palace. Then spice bazaar and if you have time Grand Bazaar. I wouldn't recommend to hire a guide in Ayasofya or Topkapi Palace.

I will be going to Istanbul for 5 nights, arriving in the afternoon of Thursday April 12.

May I add a few questions to this thread? I'll do some research and return with questions, if the OP doesn't object to "highjacking".

It appears we both want to do the same sort of things, so I thought it silly to start another thread...

I would order them as follows:

2.Topkapi palace
1. AyaSofia
3. Blue Mosque
4. The inside shopping area (Grand Bazaar)
5. Spice market
6. Underground Cistern

All of them are really worth a visit, and you can get guides for the major ones. Enjoy your trip!

I had wanted to see the AyaSofia for years and in the end I was underwhelmed. I liked MUCH MUCH more Topkapi Palace and harem is certainly worth the extra E's - it will take you several hours to do the whole place.

Blue Mosque and Cistern do not take much time - I found the Cistern quite unique and I've seen alot of European sights. There is actually a small mosque near the spice market that to me was more dynamic decor wise (not size wise) that the Blue mosque. It is something liek Rustan Pashtan (in RS guide)

Grand Bazarre and spice market pretty, much as long or as short as you wish. Rick Steves has a walking tour in his guide book that takes you thru the area nearby these markets that to me was more interesting in some ways than the markets themselves. I was amazed at the variety of items for sale in these small warehouse like "shops" - half the stuff in the world must pass thru this area.

I've not yet done the Bosphorus cruise - hopefully on a future trip. I was a bit disappointed in the Chora church (there are better mosiacs elsewhere in Europe IMO) but the ride up there and back on the local bus, now that was an experience in cross cultural travel.

A few purely practical questions to the experts:

1. Airport to hotel: we prefer rapid over comfortable. Should we take a taxi or the subway/tram?

This is really a question about how heavy the road traffic would be at 430 PM on a Thursday.

2. Public restrooms: Where can a 59 year old male find restrooms?

3. Tipping: I gather one tips, on top of service charges, 10% in a restaurant. In a taxi, merely round up the fare. What about mid-level hotels? Whom and how much?

4. Any recommendations for a hammam/ baths?

A few questions about sites:

1. No one has mentioned Suleimaniye mosque. To visit?

2. Any recommendations for Bosphorus day-trip and where to stop?

3. Is the mosque recommended immediately above perhaps the "Rustem Pasa" mosque?

4. We have a very modest interest in sculpture and ancient art. Is the Archaeological Museum something a non-expert would enjoy?

I would do Topkapi first thing Sunday morning. Ge there at 8:45, you can be out by 11.

I would see Blue Mosque first. Then the cistern. Then Suleymaniye Mosque. Then Aya Sofya. This is in order of 'importance' to me, not a reflection on where they are geographically.

Loved the grand bazaar. Spice bazaar is a really great place to get gifts to bring back; I wish we'd brought back different teas for everybody.

I wanted a river cruise a great deal, but we were also on a very tight schedule. I settled for a ferry across to the Asian side. We got off, viewed a couple of mosques, and headed back; couldn't have taken two hours.

Also wanted to recommend supper on the rooftop of one of the restaurants south of the Blue Mosque. Goergous. Like somewhere around Kucuk Ayasofya Cd.

Take a taxi from the airport to your hotel. Taxis are cheap in Istanbul.

You can find public toilets at Topkapi Palas. There are lots of little cafes in Sultahamet where you can use the toilet.

If you are around Taksim Square, you can always pop into the Intercontinental Hotel to use the WC.

Lots of cafes on Istiklal Caddesi with WC.

Public toilets at Dolmabache Palas.

I have never been to Suliman Mosque, but was asked by a tour guide why Americans all want to see the Blue Mosque when the Suliman was so much more interesting.

Do NOT SKIP CHORA. People always come here and say there are better mosaics elsewhere in Europe and I always ask, "Really? Where?"

The mosaics at Chora are some of the finest examples of Byzantine mosaics anywhere in the world.

Did I mention I work for one the world's greatest auction houses? I think I know a little bit about art and antiques.

Tschuss,
Pepper

Well I'll ask the expert, Pepper (and admittedly I am not) I personally found the mosiacs at Ravenna, St. Marks and also St. Peter's (the "paintings" that are in fact mosiacs)more, shall we say, dynamic, than the Chora church. Please educate me as to why they are inferior.

The Blue Mosque and Aya Sofia are just a very short walk from each other across a little bit of park and the Cistern across the road from Aya Sofia so it makes sense to do the three together. Agree with Pepper - half an hour for the Blue Mosque and 45 mins for the Aya Sofia. I think we spent 30 -45 mins in the Cistern. Including queueing times we happily did the three in less than three hours.

Tedgale - my 15 year old daughter and I enjoyed the Archaeological Museum and we are definitely not experts.

Um, I never wrote that any mosaics were inferior.

Where are you getting that from?

And by the way, the mosaic "paintings" in St. Peter's in Rome are all fakes. The real ones are locked away. (My good friend works at the Vatican.)

Tschuss,
Pepper

keano, check out
http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/g...rusCruise.html

This website will answer a lot of your logistical Qs for your short trip to Istanbul. We used it extensively to plan our trip. Due to bad weather, we couldn't squeeze in a Bosphorus cruise -- but probably the option you are looking for is the privately run Turyol, which does short cruises.

>>Do NOT SKIP CHORA. People always come here and say there are better mosaics elsewhere in Europe and I always ask, "Really? Where?"
<<

The mosaics in the Mosaics Museum at Gaziantep are spectacular :) - the famous Gypsy Girl is underwhelming though.

Axel, be fair. I just came back from Gaziantep and, yes, I did find the mosaics saved from Zeugma, and displayed very nicely in the new museum to be awesome. Many of the mosaics at Antakya museum, which I visited five years ago were also very nice.

However, seeing them in their original abode adds something that a museum location would never provide. It is not only mosaics but columns, temples and similar structures alo that strike me as much more spectacular when viewed in their original location even when hey are dirty or covered with ivy and thorn bushes.

cannot imagine the 12,000 year old temples at Gobeklitepe in Sanliurfa transported to a museum and put on display.

(My head is spinning with all the references immediately above. We have 5 nights but really only 4 full days -- will I see anything at all in that time??? Just feeling a little overwhelmed and sorry for myself here.)

OK, I've vented.

Now back to travel planning. Departure day is just 2 weeks away now!