We are usually pretty leisurely sightseers but in May we will be in Istanbul for only 2 and a half days so we are going to have to move a little faster than we usually do. I am thinking our must see's are Haji Sophia, Blue Mosque (and maybe the cistern since it is so close), Topiki Palace (include harem?), the Chora church and then a day cruise on the Bosphoros. I am thinking we will do Haji Sophia and Blue Mosque on the half day, the Topiki Palace and Chora church, with maybe a stroll alnong the city walls, on the second (full day) and then the cruise on the last day. Comments? advice? am I making good choices for my limited time?

Half a day is plenty of time to do the Agya Sophia, Blue Mosque and Basilica Cistern. We were there for 9am, had to queue for a bit to get into the Mosque and probably spent 20 mins in there. It is only 5 minutes across the park to the Agya Sophia where we had to queue for about 20 mins and spent about half an hour in there. A couple of minutes across the road to the Basilica Cistern which really was well worth visiting. The queue was 10 - 15 minutes and we spent a leisurely half hour in there. Including queueing and refreshments we were through by midday but we took our time.

You could also walk the 15 minutes or so up to the Grand Bazaar from the Cistern.

We had 2 full days and 2 half days in Istanbul and did a lot of what is on your list. We only took the 3 hour round boat trip which was plenty for us.

The 3 hour cruise on the Bosphorus is more than sufficient.
You may also want to visit the Spice Bazaar and, definitely, the Grand Bazaar. Save some time for just wandering and exploring - you will love it.

Have a great time.

When you are at Topkapi, I'd add a stop at the Archeological Museum. It is a surprisingly impressive collection and I'm so glad we didn't miss it.

I also agree with Carrie Ann--you shouldn't miss the bazaars!

You might also want to add a stop whenever convenient to visit a hamam. They are all over the city, but Cemberlitas is a really good one near the bazaars. It's a really fun experience!

For more info on our trip: http://patrinadoestheglobe.blogspot....ul-turkey.html

I am thinking I may HATE the bazaars - my preconceived notion is a crowded place with aggressive salespeople, that if I even just want to look at something, begin immediately to haggle with me. That is why I have not included them in my planning, but maybe this is an incorrect imptression.

Your feelings about the Grand bazaar are correct in IMHO. I would still go for an hour and just smile and say NO! They are charmingly aggressive and just enjoy it as another Istanbul attraction. I agree that a 3 hour cruise is long enough, and you can do that after visiting the spice bazaar. It's right across the street. You have to account for traffic and getting lost and finding something fabulous that's not on your must see list. Don't drive yourselves nuts. See what you can that's most important to you, and promise to go back again someday. That's what we did. One suggestion. We loved a neighborhood called Ortokoy and if you can go there in the evening, it's a very cool area.

Tokapi Palace and the Harem can take all day, but I would plan on 3-4 hours unless you need to read everything you see. Aya Sophia is closed on Mondays and I would suggest getting there early to beat the crowds, probably 45-60 minutes and the Blue Mosque another 30 minutes or so. If you do the Harem I would suggest going there first and if the line is short do that before exploring the rest of the site.

Every where you go in Turkey you will find vendors asking you to come into there store or to buy on the street. Generally a gentle no thank you works, although some are more persistent and may follow you for awhile. The bazaars were interesting but not as intimidating as I expected.

This may be heresy on this site, but Rick Steves has a wonderful walking guide to Istanbul, which includes several areas as well as the Grand Bazaar, Tokapi Palace and Harem, Aya Sophia.

If you are visiting bosphorus, you GOTTHA have some seafood there. Their appetizers are awesome. Best seafood I had in my entire life. Also the night life is pretty amazing. Clubs and bars in Istanbul have a lot of colors.

"...my preconceived notion is a crowded place with aggressive salespeople, that if I even just want to look at something, begin immediately to haggle with me." Your preconceived notion is true so avoid them! If you had to choose I would visit the Spice Bazaar - this seemed less agressive. And if you're into museums I agree with Katrina re the Archeological Museum. It was fabulous! As part of your Bosphorous cruise disembark at Beyoglu and have a look at "European" Istanbul. Whilst in Beyoglu you may be able to cram in Dolhambce Palace - this was one of my favourites!

I just got back from Istanbul last night, won't have time to do a trip report for a few days at least. Two and a half days is not much time. You can do Aya Sophia, Blue Mosque and the Cistern in half a day but it will be rushed. We spent well over an hour in each of them, but with less time you'd still "see" them (definitely worth while) just not leisurely. You can also do the Topkapi Palace in half a day. I think we spent about three hours there (definitely do the Harem - it's the best part).We spent another several hours at the archaeology museum on a different day but if you only wanted an hour you could rush through it. Admission fees are 20 plus 15 for the Harem, Archaeology Museum 10, Aya Sophia is also 20, the Cistern is 10 (Turkish lira). We did the full day Bosphorus Cruise (18 lira) which includes three hours at the fishing village on the Asian side. This was our favorite day. There's a castle ruin at the top of the (steep) hill (about 20-30 min walk) with fantastic views of the Black Sea. The shorter cruises don't include this. We did the New Mosque and the Spice Bazaar before the 10:30 cruise as they are right across the street. And since you get back at 4:30 and you are right there you can cross the Galata Bridge and do Iskatil Street (the "European" district). That would take up two very full days.

Even with a full week we didn't get to the Chora Church. It's quite a hassle to get there. One day we took the suburban train to the Fortress of the Seven Towers since I really wanted to see the walls and that was quite easy and very enjoyable and only took a half day.

You're right about the pushy sales people in the grand bazaar, but really, they are not limited to there. They are EVERYWHERE. In fact, they were among the least obnoxious in the Grand Bazaar (Spice Bazaar was even less though).

Thanks for the good input - I was thinking I really wanted to see the Chora church for the mosiacs but maybe I can get my mosiac fix at the Haji Sophia. Now I am debating whether to do the full day cruise or a shortened version - Rick Steves (my frequent "travel partner") makes the day long trip up to the fishing village on the Asian side sound like a great way to spend a relaxing last day before the long journey home. I'm hoping I don't find the vendors so pesky as to make me not want to return to Turkey but just in case I want to maximize my time there in case it turns out to be a one time visit.

While the Hagia Sophia is incredible, for mosaics and frescoes (I believe that it is a combination), the Chora Church is more impressive because it is complete. We did not find getting there a hassle, just a single bus ride from the main bus terminal near the Galata bridge. You might want to click on my name to find my trip report on Turkey; the last part covers Istanbul.

If I was only in Istanbul for two days, I certainly wouldn't waste my time on a cruise of the Bosphorus.

I would rather spend the extra time wandering around the Spice Bazaar, Grand Bazaar, seeing the Whirling Dervishes, wandering around Istaklal Caddessi, eating fabulous mezzes, etc.

I agree that there is not much to see inside the Hagia Sophia, a few frescoes, that's about it. It is very "atmospheric." You really don't have to spend much time there.

Thin

The agressiveness of the shopkeepers really isn't that bad. No worse than the perfume girl or product of the week at the mall guy. There are some that will pester, but most will take your no at face value and leave you be. I never had any trouble.

As to the tour, if you love water, then you will enjoy the Bosphorus and it will be worth it.

Absolutely do the Harem. I did it at the end and actually appreciated what I saw more because I had seen the rest of the Palace Grounds. I believe it is closed on either Monday or Tuesday.

You can do the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi all in one day. Don't miss the hippodrom area in front of the three. The Cistern is across the street and up about 1/2 block.

It would be a long day, but if you only have two it can be done.

There have been many posts about the obvious things to see in Istanbul. I was there last summer and there are a few things that really stick out: a delicious fish sandwich off the boats outside of the Spice Market, the Spice Market, the Harem, and finally a Hamam...I have never been so clean and relaxed in my life. If I were you, I would MAKE time to go to one...you won't regret it.

DH and I returned from Turkey about a week ago-- we spent 4 nights/3 full days in Istanbul. What a city!! Don't miss the cisterns, it won't take you more than half an hour but they are very very cool. Also don't miss the Harem at Topkapi, and the Archaeological Museum (and the small-ish tile museum, in the same complex right across the way) too. We were prepared for aggressive salesmen at the Grand Bazaar but were very pleasantly surprised by their relative lack of aggression... we had no problem saying no or bargaining. Spice Market is well worth a walk-through.

Re: the Bosphorus cruise... we did the 3-hr up to Anadolu Kavagi on the Asian side. If we had been in Istanbul any fewer days than we were, I would have been disappointed that we took up so much time with this. I love boats and being on the water, but there's just SO MUCH to do in the city. We were glad we did the cruise but only because we also got to do everything else on our list. If you have limited time, I would really recommend the "must-do's" in Istanbul before considering going up the Bosphorus.

Our hotel desk clerk highly recommended Taksim after dark; Istiklal Cad. is a pedestrian-only street that was really fun on a Sat. night.

Give yourself plenty of time to wander and explore, and have a wonderful trip!

I think that the Bosphorus boat ride is worth it especially when one is jet-lagged or tired: we arrived in Istanbul at 4 a.m. from Basel and we were not about to start serious sight-seeing on that day. A relaxing ride on the water was just the ticket.

We were in Istanbul last night and only had about 3 days and I was surprised by what we were able to fit in. I think a lot of it just depends on the crowd levels (non-existent in February when we were there) and how fast you travel. Everyone has their own opinions on how long something will take, but our interest levels can differ. We spent half a day in Topkapi Palace and the Harem, half day in the Archeological Museum, and we easily saw the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia in a few hours.

As mentioned above, the sales people are aggressive everywhere. It really annoyed me at first but I learned to not make eye contact and to basically ignore them. The Grand Bazaar is definitely worth seeing, although after an hour or so I had my fill. I much preferred the Spice Market.

We spent one evening strolling Istiklal Street and it was wonderful. Pedestrian-friendly and more modern, with lots of shops and restaurants.

Tracy

We are going this summer. So all this information is amazing. Can anyone recommend good places to dine? Also are we better off bringing Euro or Turkish Lira?
Thanks

We were in Turkey last year, and we didn't find the sales people aggressive. If anyone approached us, I just smiled and said no thank you, and the response was often, "Okay. Maybe next time." and I would say, "maybe." And we all smiled and that was that.

We didn't bring money into the country, but we used the ATM at the airport to get Turkish Lira, which we used rather than Euros.