I am planning my first visit to Istanbul in May. Doing my research, I came accross a cultural (and food) tour called The Other Tour. I want to contact someone who has done this tour. Apparently it can last for up to 12 hours and covers walking in out of the way places and having lunch in someone's home. It has been well rated. But being elderly I am concerned that there might be too much walking and/or too strenuous.
Hoping someone can help.

Hi

Reviews and website/email address at Trip Advisors - http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUs...-Istanbul.html. As a suggestion you could email the tour organiser and put your concerns to them.

Adelaidian, I just read some of the reviews ofthat tour and believe that it can be difficult for you although the luxurious pivate Bosphorus cruise and the lunch at the guide's home sounds good.

You may not enjoy the walks in shabby neighborhoods and the wine bar as much as the younger visitors.

there are two foodie tours that i have read about :

turkishflavours.com
and
turkisheats.com

These will also involve quite a bit of walking but you can contact them so that you can arrange to participate in part of the tour.

I also read your question at another thread about crossing the street after the ferry landing at Kadikoy to reach the market street and possibly Ciya restaurant after that.

You will be crossing two streets. I believe that one has traffic signals but one requires you to find an opportune time to cross. i do not remember if there is a pedestrian crossing there.

In any case, traffic will stop for you in general. Just lift your hand to show that you need their help.

One warning : After you cross the first street you will have to go through the grounds of an official building on its left on a foot path to get to the next street. Just follow other people doing the same. The market street will be almost directly across from you then. It is a pedestrian only street and so is the street of Ciya. Ciya also has two meat (kebap) restaurants. Ciya Sofrasi is the one you want.

Thankyou for taking the trouble to answer. The info is much appreciated.

Hey,

I was on the tour last year in april. i understand your concern, because the tour does last for a whole day. but because this tour is not about crossing of a lot of sights from a list and rushing from one place to another, I'm not worried for you. we were quite tired after doing the tour, because we had seen and experienced so much in a day, but not in a way that you become tired in your legs when you spend the whole day in a museum for example. since this is an everyday turkish life tour, it won't feel much longer than any other every day life day (in fact it passes so quick!). you spend a lot of time chatting with people, sitting and drinking tea. I also think the guides are nice and ready to take care of all the people in the group and adjust to their capabilities. so if at some point one person would want to see something else or stay in the bus for the time of a walk, that wouldn't be a problem at all. part of the tour involves walking through uncommon parts of istanbul, very poor districts, but i think walking there might be easier then along the streets close to hagia sophia, where there is many people and sellers throwing themselves at you. when I did the tour, in the end everybody loved it a lot, no matter which age. I'm just repeating the reviews here, but it's one of the greatest experiences i had, when I travelled. I would suggest you go for it and don't worry, because these are the friendliest people.
hope this was useful

Hi Adelaidian,

I'm so glad you've decided to travel to Istanbul. I'm not familiar with The Other Tour, but in general I wouldn't worry about mobility problems. Istanbul is big and hectic, yes, but people here are so friendly (I should know, I've lived here for four years!) and are very respectful towards the elderly. Public transportation is very good.

The main tourist neighborhood here is Sultanahmet, and you'll certainly want to see its main sites in addition to the out-of-the-way places on the tour. I've found a great summary of the major sites in Sultanahmet by Pat Yale (of Lonely Planet Turkey fame) on a website called The Guide Istanbul:

http://www.theguideistanbul.com/arti...anbul-470.html

I'd also recommend checking out the other articles in the website's Istanbul 101 section -- very informative.

Hope this helps! Enjoy your trip!

Jonathan Simmons

Thankyou so much mascha_fe and JonathonSimmons for your replies. I have been away and just checked to see if there were anymore replies and I was really pleased.

thanks for the website links Jonathon - I can see I need to do a lot more research. It was good to have your positive comments about Istanbul.

Your comments about the tour, mascha_fe, are very encouraging. I had not thought about it in that way. Also, the idea of asking to remain on the bus is a good fall-back. My main idea was to see the uncommon areas and also to try genuine traditional food and drinks so I think I will be brave and go for it.

worldinabag - Hi, thanks for the web link. I did email the tourdirector and got an indepth reply. It sounds flexible to some degree and I guess I need to remember that 'I am the customer'!

Thanks everyone.

I just returned from Istanbul. The other tour was one of our highlights of t
Turkey. I imagine it has a different flavor for every group. It is so custom made and all about cultural immersion. We loved it!

I am still in contact with Fethi! I have friends in instanbul!!