Bosphorus Sights Question
May 20th, 2008, 01:35 PM
#1
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Bosphorus Sights Question
I will be doing the Bosphorus ferry trip on my trip to Istanbul in a few weeks, and have a couple of questions.
I plan on taking the 10:30 ferry (the first one I think) north and return to Istanbul by bus in order to see a few sights. I had the Sadberk Hanim Museum, the Rumeli Fortress, and the Dolmabahce Palace in mind, and realize that I may not have enough time for all. Which would you do if you had to pick one or two? Is Anadolu Kavagi the best stop to get off or is Rumeli Kavagi or Sariyer better?
Thanks.
I plan on taking the 10:30 ferry (the first one I think) north and return to Istanbul by bus in order to see a few sights. I had the Sadberk Hanim Museum, the Rumeli Fortress, and the Dolmabahce Palace in mind, and realize that I may not have enough time for all. Which would you do if you had to pick one or two? Is Anadolu Kavagi the best stop to get off or is Rumeli Kavagi or Sariyer better?
Thanks.
May 23rd, 2008, 03:06 AM
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Sariyer and Rumeli Kavagi are on the European side; Anadolu Kavagi is on the Asian side. Getting a bus or shared taxi back to the city would be easier from the European side. There is a map and schedules on IDO's website (www.ido.com.tr).
May 24th, 2008, 08:14 AM
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SLC,
Howdy from your neighbor to the north who just took that cruise a week ago and enjoyed it. We got off at Sariyer (where the Sadberk Hanim Museum is located), visited it, walked through Sariyer a bit and then waited for the bus to take us down to the Dolmabahce Museum. 25E was the bus I think. The bus took FOREVER. It crawled thru traffic. A taxi would have been no better, they were stuck too. We did not stop at the Rumeli fortress and we still did not get to Dolmabahce in time - we got there about 3:45. and it closes at 4pm per my guide book. I did not walk up to the gate to check however. We knew we were WAAY to late for the last tour.
So, I have no idea if the traffic was especially bad that day, or what. It was Friday, May 15. I have to say, I was not that excited about the Sadberk Hanim, though I had no special interest to explore there and you may. I would have gone directly to Dolmabahce if I had to do it over again.
BTW, we got to the ferry at 9:40 or so. All the top deck seats were taken before 10 and so many people had to go to the lower decks. It was a beautiful day when we went, so may have affected ridership,
but keep that in mind if you want to ride up top.
I won't see it for a while if you post a response. We are on Chios Greece right now, heading to Santorini tomorrow and I do not expect to be near a computer. I will be home in another week tho.
Howdy from your neighbor to the north who just took that cruise a week ago and enjoyed it. We got off at Sariyer (where the Sadberk Hanim Museum is located), visited it, walked through Sariyer a bit and then waited for the bus to take us down to the Dolmabahce Museum. 25E was the bus I think. The bus took FOREVER. It crawled thru traffic. A taxi would have been no better, they were stuck too. We did not stop at the Rumeli fortress and we still did not get to Dolmabahce in time - we got there about 3:45. and it closes at 4pm per my guide book. I did not walk up to the gate to check however. We knew we were WAAY to late for the last tour.
So, I have no idea if the traffic was especially bad that day, or what. It was Friday, May 15. I have to say, I was not that excited about the Sadberk Hanim, though I had no special interest to explore there and you may. I would have gone directly to Dolmabahce if I had to do it over again.
BTW, we got to the ferry at 9:40 or so. All the top deck seats were taken before 10 and so many people had to go to the lower decks. It was a beautiful day when we went, so may have affected ridership,
but keep that in mind if you want to ride up top.
I won't see it for a while if you post a response. We are on Chios Greece right now, heading to Santorini tomorrow and I do not expect to be near a computer. I will be home in another week tho.
May 25th, 2008, 08:49 PM
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We will be going to Istanbul in August, so Happy Cheesehead, I'm really interested in the time you spent there. Where did you stay, any great restaurants to recommend, more local than tourist?
Can't wait...
thanks
Can't wait...
thanks
Jun 1st, 2008, 01:59 PM
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Well, I am home and I am so sorry, Murat, that I did not see your message in time to contact you!! We would have loved to meet up with you and I think you would have been interested in seeing the hotel we were in.
Next time perhaps?? We did love meeting your lovely bride Pinar. She is a gem.
Sarabeth, I will bet you will enjoy your trip! I will say that it was already quite warm (especially for a cheesehead who has just gotten thru a looong winter) so in August you may want to assure your hotel has good AC, and I would have chosen the Sultanahmet area if I was paying for a room.
We stayed out at the new Holiday Inn north of the airport which I know sounds strange, but we got the Presidential Suite (1420 square feet)for 5,000 points a night (Pointbreaks) and that deal could not be beat. We had two HUGE balconies (each was the size of a small apartment) two bedrooms, three bathrooms, living room, sitting room, dining room, office area. The normal nightly rate for that room was over 1000 euro, but that seems way high for where it was.
As far as eating goes, I am the last one to ask about that. We ate at the koftesi(sp?) place near the Sultanamet tram stop one night, and did not really eat dinner the three other nights. One night we had a banana, ice cream bar and a cheese borek, LOL. Normally we are hearty eaters but for some reason did not have much of an appetite those first few days.
Next time perhaps?? We did love meeting your lovely bride Pinar. She is a gem.
Sarabeth, I will bet you will enjoy your trip! I will say that it was already quite warm (especially for a cheesehead who has just gotten thru a looong winter) so in August you may want to assure your hotel has good AC, and I would have chosen the Sultanahmet area if I was paying for a room.
We stayed out at the new Holiday Inn north of the airport which I know sounds strange, but we got the Presidential Suite (1420 square feet)for 5,000 points a night (Pointbreaks) and that deal could not be beat. We had two HUGE balconies (each was the size of a small apartment) two bedrooms, three bathrooms, living room, sitting room, dining room, office area. The normal nightly rate for that room was over 1000 euro, but that seems way high for where it was.
As far as eating goes, I am the last one to ask about that. We ate at the koftesi(sp?) place near the Sultanamet tram stop one night, and did not really eat dinner the three other nights. One night we had a banana, ice cream bar and a cheese borek, LOL. Normally we are hearty eaters but for some reason did not have much of an appetite those first few days.
