Istanbul Itinerary: Please advise!
 

Hi! We are going to be in Istanbul on the 1st of January(for one day) and then back again from the 8th to the 13th.

Will anything be open on New Year's day? If so, we were thinking of the following itinerary:

Jan 1st: Hagia Sofia, Basilica Cistern, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace

Jan 2nd - Jan 7th: Cappadocia, Pammukale and Ephesus.

Jan 8th: Spice Bazaar + Rüstem Paşa Mosque, Hamam(please recommend), Turkish and Islamic Art Museum, Galata Dervish House, Hippodrome

Jan 9th: Chora Chora Church, Sulemaniya Mosque, Archeological Museum Complex
Jan 10th: Bosphorus Tour + Dolmabahce Palace

Jan 11th: Yıldız Palace and Park, Kariye Muzi, Sokollu Mehmet Pasha

Jan 12th: Prince Island

Jan 13th: Fly back to NYC
Any other recommendations? Should we do it in any other order? Also, looking for recommendations for places to eat/drink. We are in our late 20's/early 30's from NYC.

Hi Srarterfoodie! In 2011 we wnt to turkey and did almost your same trip(Cappadocia, Pammukale and Ephesus on a tour), and we were really happy with Turkey.There is a trip report , wich you can read if you click on my name.
Related to your itinerary;I find Jan 1st a little ambitious(Besides the circunstance that attractions can be open or closed).We were at many attractions you are planning, and I want to tell you that the hippodrome is "interesting", but you are done in some 10 to 20 minutes there; located very close to Cisterna and Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque.Dohlmabace Palace can take either a full morning or afternoon;Spice Bazaar some 1 hour and Grand Bazaar as much time as you like.
Topkapi Palace is an absolute must and will also take a morning or an afternoon.Don't miss the park between B.Mosque and H.Sophia; best if when the call to prayer sounds.
You will love Istanbul and Turkey(also Pamukkale, Capadocia,Ephessus, Konia etc).
Enjoy your trip!

Starterfoodie:

Hope this catches you in time. I do not write trip reports, but I'll share photos which may serve to familiarize you with many of the sights you plan to see. It's divided into Istanbul, and around a goodly part of central and western Turkey(we independently drove about 1500 miles taking in a big chunk of real state...in close to a month..my second visit, wife Roz's first).

OtherCelebi reluctantly endorsed these posts/pix, after he received the customary, suitable bribe....wily wife Eser, insists on this.

Stu

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...nesOfIstanbul#


http://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/ScenesOfTurkey#

It depends on your preferred pace, but FWIW, I think your Jan. 1 plan is too full. I admit that I lingered, but I spent the better part of 2.5 days seeing the sights you list for this one day (and that included less than an hour in the Grand Bazaar).

Perhaps you are not aware that the Chora Church and the Kariye Muzi are one and the same?

Re: your day 10 plans, have you confirmed that you can take a Bosphorus Tour and visit Dolmabahce Palace on the same day?

You'll see some wonderful things. Hope this helps!

What the others said. You have listed most of the key sights but Jan 1 is too ambitious. After all, you want to savor the city, not just run from monument to monument. I would move Topkapi palace off Jan. 1 to another day. I didn't even get to the Harem and I still spent close to 3 hours there. Don't discount the length of lines for sites such as the Treasury and the Hall of Relics (can't recall its exact name.)

Glad you have the Chora Church on your list. It's an absolute must. Consider having lunch afterwards at Asitane. It's literally right next door. They specialize in Ottoman dishes recovered from 500 years of palace menus.