My (24 year old) daughter KC and I spent 8 days in Istanbul in mid-March. Although I would have loved to see some of the rest of Turkey, we felt the travel time to get to and from Turkey was enough for an 8 day trip and so we didn’t venture out of Istanbul. We weren’t bored and didn’t even get to all the things I would have liked to have seen. You could see the main highlights in two or three days, but I felt I got to know the city a bit by exploring it for a whole week.

Definitely want to thank all the other posters who've been recently and posted their experiences. As usual, having all that first hand information made the trip less stressful and more enjoyable. So I'll try to give a few highlights, tips and my impressions in the hope that others can also benefit. But first – the photos are at www.pbase.com/annforcier/istanbul

Great pictures! You are not going to believe this, but the little dog, terrier type was running down the middle of the street by the Gulhane tram stop when we were there the week before you. You accomplished alot in 8 days. I look forward to your report.

Love your pictures, especially those of the bazaars and cats!

Looking forward to your trip report.

Nice pictures, but a few are sideways.

Wonderful images Ann--as usual. I may have to go now.

Opal - I do believe you saw that dog, I saw him several times, always near the back of Aya Sofya and the Topkapi gate. Many times during the week we'd see the same dogs in certain locations.

I'm working the the sideways photos problem.They aren't sideways on my computer. That's what you get for getting a new computer.

Bob, can't believe you haven't been yet.

I'll start the report with just some general observations and impressions, then get to the things we did.

First though - Several people recently reported that they were unable to get boarding passes for the second half of their flights when they arrived at the airport (both coming and going from Istanbul). We did not have this problem. We flew Air France, got boarding passes all the way through when we checked in in Boston, and again for the return. All flights were on time and we even made our 1½ hour connection through CDG with time to spare. Long, but painless.

We stayed at the Hotel Tashkonak. www.hoteltashkonak.com/ Between the Blue Mosque and the Sea of Mamara, tiny side street (but the whole area is like that), small but nicely appointed rooms, pleasant breakfast terrace (enclosed), nice staff. Since we were staying 8 nights both pick up and drop off at the airport was included. In most cities I have no problem taking public transportation from the airport and walking a few blocks to the hotel. I am soooo glad I did not have to do this in Istanbul. We never would have found it. The location is good, less than ten minute walk to Blue Mosque, it’s just the streets are so small (and poorly marked) that finding it in the first place would have been hell. Once we knew where we were going it was a fine location.

Istanbul Thoughts and Images
A very interesting city – some incredible sites and great experiences. Definitely different from other European cities I’ve visited (Turkey was the 17th European country that I’ve visited). Really on the edge of Europe – literally and figuratively. It has a buzz, a vibe - that’s exotic, unusual and intriguing. But it’s not a beautiful or enchanting place, it has character rather than charm. I’m very glad I went but I don’t have any desire to go back soon, and I don’t have those feelings of wanting to linger that I have about almost every other European city I’ve been too.

One of the foremost impressions I have of Istanbul is its size. With almost 13 million people it’s the largest city proper in Europe and fourth largest in the world. Even though there are several other metropolitan areas that are larger, it’s still a big place. In some ways it does feel large. It stretches on forever – you look at the horizon in the distance – to the east on the Asian side, to the North up the Bosphorus, etc, and all you see is city. Buildings are crammed together, no end in sight. In other old cities there is usually a “new” city of high rise glass skyscrapers somewhere to one side of the historic core (e.g. La Defense in Paris, Docklands in London). But in Istanbul there are not one or even two, but several areas of modern glass high rises.
But at the same time Istanbul feels quite small. On the peninsula where the ancient core is located (Sultanahmet), and also in the “new European” area just north of the Golden Horn, there seem to be no buildings more than 8-10 stories high. The majority are wooden which seems to say “village” rather than “city” to me. The streets are so narrow, that while traffic is horrible (cars drive on what little sidewalks there are) they can’t go very fast so it doesn’t have that traffic buzz. The whole week I can’t remember hearing any police or ambulance sirens. When I think of Paris or Rome I think of the distinct sound of sirens and this is missing in my memory of Istanbul.

The other impressions I have of Istanbul I’ve divided into “pros” and “cons”.
The positive things I remember include:
The sense of history – Istanbul (Constantinople) has served as the capital city of three of the greatest empires in history - the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire. It is deservedly a UNESCO site –“With its strategic location on the Bosphorus peninsula between the Balkans and Anatolia, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, Istanbul has been associated with major political, religious and artistic events for more than 2,000 years”.

The setting – the water everywhere, the boats and ships, the sea gulls. I can’t think of any other city, even those with major harbors where you get such a sense of being on the water. Really adds to the ambiance. Plus, Istanbul is the only city in the world on two continents.

Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque – among the world’s most amazing buildings.

Sense of a different culture – While I’ve traveled fairly extensively in the US and Europe, and certainly there are many cultural differences, this was to me at least, the most different.

Cats and Dogs – there are cats and dogs all over the city and most are in really good condition. Apparently they “adopt” shops, or restaurants or hotels. But they are clean, well fed and very friendly and serve to “soften” the rather harsh atmosphere of the city.

Prices (on some, not all things). There are some very good buys on some things. Things like post cards and small souvenirs are mere fractions of what they cost other places. Some jewelry is quite reasonable. Some of the food is really cheap yet good. The public transportation is a bargain. Other things are more in line with other European cities in terms of price, and admissions are even on the high side.

Baklava – what can I say – it was wonderful.

As much as I enjoyed Istanbul, there were some negative things. In no way do I regret going but I think an honest overview of the city should include these things.
The people in your face trying to get you to buy something, to eat in their restaurant, etc. Especially the guys trying to start a conversation with you on the street (presumably to get you to go with them to their carpet shop). They are just downright rude. Although I certainly read about them in advance I was not prepared for how bad they were. Sure you can just ignore them, and I did, but it does detract from your ability to just stroll or stop and look around. If you slowed down some guy would start bugging you: “Hello! – Excuse me!– Lady! – Please! – Madame! – Senora! – Hey! – Hello!”. They walk right up next to you and are quite loud. In any other city if someone walks right up to you and tries to get your attention by saying “excuse me” most people will turn and see what they want. They count on this. I was prepared for it in the Grand Bazaar (where interestingly, it wasn’t bad at all) but not everywhere else. And while no one tried it with us, we did observe the “dropped shoe brush scam”.

The dirt/filth - trash in the streets, crumbling, decaying buildings. Definitely the dirtiest city I’ve been in. Cars drive and park everywhere, narrow or non-existent sidewalks, crumbing pavement. If you just stay around Sultanahmet park/Hippodrome you won’t notice this, but every where else it’s impossible to ignore. Very few parks or gardens or even benches.

Lack of presence of women – there are men everywhere – all the shopkeepers, restaurant workers, etc are men (less so in Beyoğlu). There are gaggles of men – sometimes 50 or more just standing around a square hanging out. Obviously it’s part of the Muslim Culture which is male dominated, but it was still kind of creepy. And even though we were wearing jeans and black coats (so nothing remotely revealing or “inappropriate”) they frequently stared. I’m sure it wasn’t dangerous but it was a tad off-putting.

Next I'll get to some of the specific things we did.

Beautiful pictures!

We've "penciled" in Istanbul for next year at this time. I will admit it's a bit intimidating, out of our comfort zone so to speak. But each time I read reports and see photos such as yours, the pencil marks slowly get erased and replaced with pen.

I look forward to the rest of your report. But so far I've really enjoyed your city impressions, pro and con.

Fascinating, thanks Isabel.

<i>Although I certainly read about them in advance I was not prepared for how bad they were. Sure you can just ignore them, and I did, but it does detract from your ability to just stroll or stop and look around.</i>

From our experience, Morocco was much, much worse. So if ever going there, be prepared.

swisshiker - Istanbul's not really intimidating, just a bit different, but really just as "easy" a city as most other European cities. Certainly very easy if you stick to the main tourist attractions.

Hi Nikki - glad you're enjoying it

Michael - I fixed the sideways pictures problem. Good to know about Morocco, it's on my "list" but not at the top so I think it will be a while.

I'll post the rest of the report tomorrow, had a slight family crisis that got in the way today.

Here are the highlights of our tip - The first evening we walked around Sultanahmet Park, were appropriately awed by the site of the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya and had dinner at a place on Divan Yulo (more expensive and less good than the rest of our meals). If any place in Istanbul is a tourist rip off it's Divan Yulo.

Day 1 - On our first full day we decided to start by checking out the Arasta Bazaar, right around the corner from the hotel, to sort of get our feet wet before we eventually tackled the Grand Bazaar. Actually a very nice shopping experience, no pushy salesmen at all. Very few prices listed and they did bargain, but not a hard sell. Then we checked out a few government run places where prices are fixed. There are two Dosim stores, just outside, and then inside the first court of the Topkapi Palace. They guarantee the products are made in Turkey and are reasonably (but not really cheaply) priced. The carpet store in the Baths of Roxelanna (which I had really wanted to see) was closed for renovations.

It had been partly sunny when we set out but then it started to rain so we decided it was a good day for the Archaeology Museum, also in the first court of Topkapi. It’s a really nice museum, with quite a lot to see. We spent a couple of hours and by then the sun was out. KC opted to stay and go through again, I left to photograph some of the sites. But within an hour it looked like rain again so I figured it would be a good time to go into the Blue Mosque. Of course the Blue Mosque is almost as incredible inside as out. Not as blue as I expected though. There were a good number of tourists, and signs indicated that tourists are not welcome during prayer time, but when I was still in there when afternoon prayer began they didn’t indicate that anyone should leave. I sat in the back (just in front of the “women’s” section) and observed. Some tourists though kept walking around and taking pictures. The prayer service only lasts 10-15 minutes. Later that evening we walked around the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya again. They’re magical all lit up in the dark. And when the evening call to prayer sounds you really do feel transported to another place and time.

Day 2, Sunday, we did the Topkapi Palace in the morning (were there about 3 hours). Definitely do the Harem, it’s the best part. It was 20 TL for the main entrance plus 15 more for the Harem so about $21. I couldn’t help comparing it to the Alhambra, and frankly the Alhambra is much better – more interesting architecture, gardens and pools, just overall more pleasant. Topkapi does have some incredible tile work though. I would say the interiors in Topkapi are better but the overall is more interesting at the Alhambra. After we left we walked through Gulhane Park, originally part of the palace grounds but now distinct from it. Lovely views out over the water to the far reaches of Istanbul. It’s a relatively short walk (on a busy street) from there to the Galata Bridge.

The Galata Bridge/ Eminönü area is one of my favorite areas in Istanbul. It’s the place where I got the most sense of what Istanbul long ago might have been like. On Sunday the bridge was full of men fishing (who were not there the rest of the week) and lots of tourists and locals just out enjoying the relatively sunny day. About a million boats (mostly ferries, but a few cruise ships on the other side, some fishing boats), about a zillion sea gulls. We had fish sandwiches in a restaurant on the bridge, but one that seemed to have mostly locals (no English menus or English speaking waiters, and it was considerably cheaper than the rest of the restaurants, which were considerably less crowded than this one). Again I’m going to use the word “interesting” cause I can’t say I really liked it (and I love seafood) – but it was filling and cheap and an Istanbul experience. Across the street (there’s an underpass – lined with stores selling cheap non touristy things like sneakers, flashlights, watches,…) is the Yeni Camii/ Spice Bazaar area - Eminönü encompasses this also. But this day we kept going across the bridge to explore Beyoğlu. The area on this side of the bridge, Karaköy, is more “modern” but also run down and dirty. We found the entrance to the “Tünel” and took it (an “underground funicular”) up to Beyoğlu (Pera) the “new European” part of the city. Definitely a different feel than Eminönü and Sultanahmet but you can’t honestly compare it to Paris or Vienna or even Budapest. There is some nice art nouveau architecture, though most of it is in need of repair, but overall it’s much more run down. But still, the feel was distinctly more modern, even today, than Sultanahmet – more fashionable, more women, etc. Pedestrianized Istiklal Caddesi is lined with clothing stores (a few international chains like Topshop and Benneton, but mostly local places) and restaurants, including several Starbucks and Gloria Jean’s Coffee shops (although there is even a Starbucks in Sultanahmet). We hung out in a coffee shop having tea and people watching for a while and did some shopping in the Avrupa Pasaji, which is just off the Cicek Pasaji (Flower Passage) and the Balik Pazari (fish/produce market street). The Flower Passage, while very pretty, is entirely restaurants but the Avrupa Pasaji has lots of interesting shops including several with antique (or at least old) jewelry stores where we eventually ended up spending quite a bit.

The Tünel ride up the hill was so fast (about 3 minutes) we figured how hard could it be to walk down. We found out. It is a really steep hill. And the neighborhood is really run down, with some pockets of affluence and interesting things (like these art nouveau stairs -Kamondo Stairs). We finally found our way to the bottom and the tram stop and took the tram back to Sultanahmet. The tram is totally modern, fast and efficient and I can certainly see how it would take five times longer to drive the same distance.

Fascinating trip report, Isabel. I'm researching a future trip to Turkey and your observations are very helpful. Can't wait for more!

Great stuff, Isabel. And nice photos. What were the temps in mid March?

I thoroughly enjoyed the photos and your trip report. We are going via cruise in July so now I know what to look for and to avoid. Thank you for sharing. by the way, the photo of the car of 'cemente'(sp) and tea brought back tons of childhood memories when we were living in Ankara (Air Force). My two sisters and I would buy that break for 25 Karush (sp) which is an old currency. To this day, I can still taste it and cannot wait to buy it when we are there. I am emailing the one photo to my sister. She will be so jealous...

You had some truly remarkable photos.

I just had a chance to look at the photos. Terrific, as always. I see they still have beautiful women in the harem, but I would not have expected them to be dressed in jeans.

Hi Nikki - took me forever to figure out what you were referring to. I think I finally did.

cathyanddave22 - I'm not sure which photo you are referring to ("photo of the car of 'cemente'(sp) and tea").

Holly - the temps were pretty cold, colder than their usual for March. It was in the 40s a lot, and even colder at night. There were a couple of days when it was warm enough mid day to eat lunch outside but mostly we were pretty cold. I had a very heavy sweater under a rain coat, and I wore my silk long johns (top and bottom) many days, and every evening when we went out. But I'm still not complaining cause I think all the people who went in the few weeks before we did had a lot of rain, and we only had one full day of rain, and a few showers. If had a choice though, I'd probably wait till April or May.

Day 3 - Monday was our favorite day. We took the tram to Eminönü with plans to do the Bosphorus Cruise. There was absolutely no crowd at the ticket booth, it wasn’t even open yet (around 9am, the cruise is at 10:30) so we checked out Yeni Camii and the Spice Market, both very well worth it. The mosque is just about as impressive as the Blue Mosque, and not full of tourists. The Spice Market is great, extremely atmospheric and the “hard sell” is not so hard, and actually adds more to the atmosphere than detracts from it. I went back to this area several times during the week. Around 10 there was a crowd forming for the cruise, and I’d say it was a little more than 50% full, easy to move about and change seats from inside to outside (it was pretty cold even though it was sunny).

We LOVED this cruise. Istanbul’s fate in history I believe is so much due to its setting, and the water is so much a part of it. Not to mention all the interesting buildings, the bridges, etc. Just overall very enjoyable. At the little fishing village (Asian side) at the top of the Bosphorus we did the hike up to the castle ruin (again, extremely steep, but only about 20 minutes long). The views as the Bosphorus opens into the Black Sea are indescribable and the photos don’t do it justice. Back in the village we had some amazing waffles and tea at a tiny table right on the dock. There are a ton of fish restaurants but they seemed overpriced and rather boring and we were very happy with our waffle lunch. The cruise is 1½ hr each way plus 3 hours there so total of 6 hours. But it’s relaxing so you can do things before and after it.

In the late afternoon/early evening we walked through the Arasta Bazaar again (it was kind of a short cut to our hotel, but I also just liked the atmosphere so we walked through it frequently). We stopped at a shop that sold jewelry and pashminas and scarves. This was a fairly typical shopping experience – you ask to see a bracelet and how much it is. They weigh it on a little scale, punch some numbers into a calculator and tell you “150 lira”. While I mentally calculate what that is in dollars they say “but with the discount it’s 120 lira”. Now I hadn’t even said anything, I might have been about to agree to the 150. So I ask to see another piece, same routine. Then they offer to lower the price to 100 lira. In five minutes without me making any counter offers it’s come down 50 lira. Also, if you are interested in more than one piece the total price comes down. I ended up buying two bracelets (about $50 US) and a pendant (for about $20). Then KC starts looking at the pashminas. There are apparently two qualities of pashminas in Istanbul, they are the same price everywhere– the 10 lira and the 20 lira. Sometimes they start just a little higher than this and come down to it, sometimes they start much higher (like 50 lira), but always come down to the same prices. You can tell the difference between the 10 and 20 lira quality. And really, that’s just a little better than the prices in London or Paris where I’ve bought pashminas for 5 euro. While we were buying the stuff the salesman shows us a newspaper photo of himself with an older woman buying one of his pillow covers – it was Queen Elizabeth! (I did hear she buys her underwear at Marks and Spencer, I guess she’s a bargain hunter). He also said Bill Clinton visited his shop.

Love your photos. Hoping to go to there next year. Have been to other parts of country, you need to go I loved Turkey.

What kind of camera did you use?