Istanbul detailed itinerary - please critique
 

We will be in Istanbul for 4-5 days in July, at the end of our 17-day trip to Greece & Turkey. Our tentative list of things to do in Istanbul is as follows (on which we would like suggestions):

Day 1 (Wednesday) : Arrive Ataturk by 10:45am, and probably reach hotel by noon (Millennium Suites in Sultanahmet). Have lunch somewhere in Sultanahmet, visit Hippodrome, Blue Mosque and Tomb of Sultan Ahmet, take a stroll on Divan Yolu, peep briefly into the Grand Bazaar, followed by dinner in Sultanahmet area.

Day 2 (Thursday): Visit Aya Sofya and Basilica Cistern in morning, followed by lunch at Sultanahmet. Then catch a Bosphorus cruise in afternoon from Eminonu (return cruise), returning to Eminonu by about 6 pm. Cross the Galata Bridge, take furnicular to Istiklal Caddesi, and stroll down the street. Have dinner at a Meyhane at Nevizade or Sofyali Sokak, followed by drinks at a rooftop bar.

Day 3 (Friday): Stroll on Sogukcesme Sokak, and visit Topkapi Palace in morning. Go for lunch towards the Spice Bazaar, and stroll through the Spice Bazaar after lunch. Later, make a trip to the Cemberlitas hamam and give it a try. In the evening, catch a ferry to Kadikoy, and spend the evening there (including dinner and drinks).

Day 4 (Saturday): Visit Suleymaniye Camii in morning, followed by extended shopping session in Grand Bazaar. Have lunch in Grand Bazaar while shopping. Continue shopping after lunch. Catch a performance of Whirling Dervishes in the evening at Contemporary Lovers of Mevlana. Late in the evening, cross over again to Beyoglu, and repeat the experience of dining at a Meyhane followed by a late night out on a rooftop bar.

Day 5 (Sunday) : Visit Chora Church in morning. Have to catch an evening 7pm flight out of Ataturk to home.

Would like Istanbul experts to critique this broad plan.What have we missed out, and what can be avoided ? All suggestions are most welcome.

i like istanbul so much and i want to go istanbul where i enjoy my holidays and i hope this time i will go there
World cup live

Istanbul is my favourite, and I really like your itinerary, I think it could be used as a good example. Of course it depends on you, but I needed longer time for Topkapi Palace. Lines were long although it was December, and there was a lot to see (don´t forget the string from Mohammed´s beard!). And I love mind games, so it takes a little time to paint pictures in my head: The sultan watching his harem women bathe in the outside swimming pool, parties, the hustle and bustle in the kitchen, and so on.

ttt

I hope you are aware that this is a standard tourist itinerary with no surprises, no deviations from what any other tourist would do - and thus, no ventures into "real" Istanbul. This is fine as long as you are fine with it, but OTOH, it's also a pity since this city is so fascinating, so rich, so varied, and so extremely lively once you leave those over-trodden pathes. Plus you have only one place with those famous and stunning ornamental tiles (the Topkapi) - and only one Sinan mosque (the Süleimaniye), which is almost a shame in a city full of tiles and full of Sinan mosques.

franco, i hope you can come back again so that i can direct you to hidden nooks and crannies you have not had a chance to locate. Couple of months should be sufficient.

Istanbul is, as franco says, an almost unfathomably huge and rich trove of experience. But as a 5-day itinerary for a first-timer, I think you're doing it all right.

To get "off the beaten path" would require you to cut something else out from such a brief and jam-packed itinerary. Should you travel all that way and NOT see Topkapi Palace, NOT see the Grand Bazaar, NOT see the Chora, etc.? Of course not. Like OC says, the nooks and crannies (delightful as they are) of Istanbul are so varied, numerous and far-flung that even a knowledgeable guide would need months to visit them all.

Speaking for myself, a whirling dervish exhibition might not be as interesting as getting off-track and exploring Beyoglu on our own some evening. Other than that, your schedule looks fairly similar to what we did (as first-timers) last year (you can search for our trip report). And we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

(Note: My principle regret from our trip is that we had a chance to meet-up with OC for drinks and whatnot, and circumstances forced us to bale on those plans at the last second... sorry again for the misunderstanding, other.)

You might want to get the Rick Steves book on Istanbul. It is very good and offers various walks in the city, thus rationalizing some of the sights into different days. You might want to take a look at my trip report; just click on my name to find it.

Oh well. Skip the Topkapi, skip the Grand Bazaar, skip the Chora Church, certainly not. But a whole day, all in all, out of only slightly more than four full days, for the Grand Bazaar? That seems really much! A Bosphorus cruise, delightful as it is, rather than seeing more Sinan buildings like - at the very least! - the Rüstem Paşa and the Atik Valide Mosques? Definitely not what I would recommend! And the Blue Mosque, that's one of those amazing misunderstandings that are so typical of modern tourism. Just because it's so centrally located, and mentioned in detail in even the lousiest guidebook, that doesn't mean it's one of Istanbul's important monuments by any standard, and it wouldn't be the very slightest loss to skip it (even if millions of other tourists visit it every year, and like to believe they'd seen something spectacular), and substitute nearby Sokullu Mehmet Paşa Mosque and, even more important, the Küçük Aya Sofya (originally the Sergios and Bacchos Church) for it. Visiting the Spice Bazaar is fine if you have two weeks in Istanbul. But with just four days? And with all due respect, mr_go, but getting off the beaten path in Beyoğlu could be difficult. Off the beaten path, what I was thinking, would rather mean, for example, venturing out to the stunning Theodosian walls between, say, Kara Ahmet Paşa Mosque (by Sinan), Takkeci Ibrahim Ağa Mosque (one of Istanbul's last wooden mosques) and Mihrimah Mosque (one of Sinan's most important works). Or taking the opportunity of being in Üsküdar (for the Atik Valide Camii) and explore further mosques around there. Or adding some works by Sinan's imitators and successors to the mix, like the Nişancı Mehmet Paşa Mosque on the Fifth and the Cerrah Paşa Mosque on the Seventh Hill. Or one of the few pre-Sinan mosques like notably the great Piyale Paşa Mosque in the quarter of Kasım Paşa. Of course, all of these will not be possible to hit in just four days. But some of them, definitely.

Michael, I did go through your TR of Turkey. Looks like you found the Rustempasa Mosque quite interesting. Will check that out. Franco also highly recommends the same mosque in his posting above.

Franco, thanks for the wealth of possibilities listed by you. This is exactly what I was hoping for. I fully realize that my itinerary was straight out of a guide book, and I was looking for suggestions on how to improve it. You have given many possibilities, which I now have to research and add a few to our list.

Mr Go, I could not find your trip report on Turkey. Could you give the link to it ? It does not show up on clicking your name.

Michael, I am using the Lonely Planet guidebook, as the Rick Steves books are not readily available in India.

More suggestions are welcome.

If you want one more suggestion, don't have three meals in Sultanahmet. Sultanahmet has of course excellents sights, but as far as what is around those sights, it has more in common with a theme park in the desert of Nevada than with Istanbul. I don't think any locals would go there without being forced to (otherchelebi will probably confirm), and thus is the standard of restaurants and any other service in that district. Of course, you'll have lunch there on your first day for reasons of practicality, but for the two other meals, do yourself a favour and go someplace else. (For that first lunch in Sultanahmet, you could try whether Türkistan Aşevi on 36, Tavukhane Sokağı, has kept up their standard over the years that I haven't been there. A tourist trap, as well, but it used to be one with surprisingly fine food for such a place.)

Hi

If you can cram it in or you think it's important enough to change your itinerary I thought the Dolmabahce Palace was pretty special - http://www.dolmabahcepalace.com.

indiancouple:
We posted that trip report under my lovely wife's log-in (we work as a team). Sorry, should have mentioned that before.

Here's the link:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...cappadocia.cfm

Your itinerary looks just fine. I just got back from a week-long trip there and would not mind going again. It is such a stunning city. Do not miss Cemberlitas Hammam! If you have time, I would recommend Dolmabahce as well. It is a bit over the top, but I loved it...:) I liked climbing to the top of Galata Tower - it offers really great views....

Franco, after doing some research, have added Rustem Pasa Mosque, Kucuk Aya Sofya and the Sokollu Mehmet Pasa Camii (all recommended by you) on our itinerary for Istanbul. Many thanks for the suggestions.

Mr Go, went through your trip report in detail, and was a fantastic read. Must remember to visit Ozsut for desserts on Istiklal Caddesi.

Still researching the other suggestions. Great advice; thanks everyone, and keep them coming !

Great - enjoy Istanbul!

Glad you enjoyed it, IC. I feel certain you will enjoy Istanbul. It's a truly fascinating city.