zwho

Really a great trip report. Now I want to take my kids, and they're adults. Did you have some sort of itinerary or did you wake up each day and decide how you were going to spend the day? And the restaurants? Did you make reservations or just go in and hope for the best?

risab

zwho: I always go with an itinerary because I want to visit sites that are within distance to each other and I want to make sure they are open. So I usually research the points of interest and hours they are open and plan accordingly. Since Istanbul is a very large city - with the Asian side as well as day cruise options (we did not do a cruise up the Bosphorus) - it would be well worth planning an itinerary. Only on two rainy days did we revise our original plans to be able to do things inside.

As for restaurants the only restaurant that I made reservations before we left was 360. Rumeli Cafe was a lucky moment because they had a table left and we did not have reservations - we did make them for our last night.

We're planning on hitting a Turkish Restaurant in NYC tonight for dinner for a taste of Istanbul.

...don't mind the hijack on Paris (another one of our favorite cities- and next time we go we want to rent an apartment in Marais).

zwho

Thanks for the fast reply. I have many more questions, especially about the synagogue tours. We have been to Istanbul before, but didn't spend nearly enough time. BTW, we have gone to (2) Turkish restaurants in NYC. One off of Time Sq. on the East side of Broadway and another on the upper west side. I wish I could remember the names. The upper west side one was Kosher also! Quite a treat for a Ks. girl who doesn't keep Kosher. There is also one that Pacha tours used to recommend. We need to leave. I'll write later.

risab

Went to a lovely Turkish wine bar in the W. Village - Turks and Frogs. We had a bottle of sparkling wine, dolma, cheese platter, and eggplant salad. The dolma was among the best I have ever tasted -seasoned with great spices (allspice or cinnamon- yum).They also have a restaurant in Tribeca with a more extensive menu that I would love to go to next.

debwhite

Risab,
You replied to my query about Istanbul restaurants so I went to your trip report. I didn't get very far because your description of the guided tour of the Jewish section caught my interest. How did you arrange this and do you have the contact information for it? We leave in just 10 days and we would love to do this.My only concern would be to spend the entire day on it, when we only have 4 1/2 days total. Thoughts? We loved our Jewish tour of the Venice ghetto last year.
Much thanks in advance.

risab

I would be more than happy to give you the name of the tour guide if you can provide me with an email because I am not sure that she would like me to post her email address. She was just lovely and I am sure that you could arrange a 1/2 day tour although you need time because some of the sites are in different neighborhoods. Although you certainly could just focus on Galata neighborhood. I contacted the Jewish Museum in istanbul and she was one of a few tour guides they recommended.

sjj

Bookmark

risab

So glad to see that folks are still referring to my report...

It was such a great trip...my daughter keeps asking if we can go back to Turkey...

Istanbul is quite the city.
One thing that really did strike my husband, daughter and me was that Istanbul has a constant "beat" - there is always music playing and it is rarely western music that you hear but music is so dominant in the experience. Perhaps it is because my husband is a musician and we all love Turkish music and bellydance music...but it really is a city with a beat.

tcreath

risa, thank you so much for posting your trip report! We leave for Turkey in a few months and the more I read the more excited I get!

Best wishes,
Tracy

kikiv

Hello Risab,

I really enjoyed reading your trip report, it has given me some great ideas. My husband and my two young adult kids are leaving Sunday for 21 days to Turkey and will be staying on Beyoglu in an apartment as well. Our son is also a jazz musician, still in school, and I am sure he will be hitting the music stores much like your husband.

I hope to write a report when I get back.
Just wanted to thank you for writing such a detailed report!

telechick

bookmarking for future reference. Thanks for such a great trip report. Now I want to go to Istanbul!

risab

Kikiv: Your family should definitely go to the club Bedehane at General Yazgan Sk, 5 right off of Istiklal Caddesi on Wednesday night to see Selim Sessler. He and his band are really great - they play sitting down in this really tight little space it is quite amazing.

Can't wait to read your report.

tower

risab:


Exceptionally enjoyable, detailed interesting report. I do hope that next time you plan to visit a good part of the countryside, including Cappadocia...you'll love it. We've driven 1000's of miles around Turkey...it is a very unique land.

I might mention, that in the early 90's security was non existent even after the Neve Shalom attacks...and the door was wide open...but we were invited into the sinagoga by the president and a congregant who happened to be standing outside. They both spoke adequate English and explained a bit of Istanbul's Jewish history (which I had researched beforehand)...they also directed us to the other sinagogas and points of Jewish interest which I had previously noted through my tax accountant, a Muslim Turk very familiar with the Jewish community. Fascinating city as you certainly found out...

Thank you again for the wonderful report. Any pics?? Please post or send to me.

Although my scanned pics were pre-digital, nearly ten years ago, I thought you might like to see a few of them..Just view as slide show...or they can individully be magnified by the magnifying-glass icon.

Keep on travelin' and truckin'...

http://tiny.cc/sbORi

stu t.
[email protected] (in L.A.)

kikiv

Risab,
We will definately go to Bedehane, thanks for letting me know S.S. plays on wed. nights, my son is over the moon.
We leave tomorrow, yay!

lucy_d

Hi risab, Don't know how I missed your wonderful report the first time. It sounds as if your family had a great trip! Thanks for posting such a lovely and informative report.

risab

I am thrilled to see this report "resurface" and people still responding. It is good to be of help to fellow travels - especially since so much of my trips have been planned through Fodors. Isn't this just a great website!

Sally30

Risab - thanks for the great report. Hope you are still checking back.

My husband and I are picking a destination for a week long trip in early March. It looks like the weather in Istanbul for March is like that of NYC - 40s, maybe rain. Is Istanbul the kind of place that is still enjoyable if the weather isn't great? For example, I've enjoyed Paris, London, Rome, etc in the cold and snow but I feel like you really miss out on some place if you don't go in the nice weather.

Also, it sounds like there is plenty to occupy a full week there?

zwho

Hi, Even though I'm not Risab, I'd like to try and answer your question, because we have been to Istanbul, and we've also travelled to cities where the weather was a factor. Istanbul is a very large crazy city where there is always something or someone to look at on the street. So ofcourse, nice weather makes that so much more pleasant. But it's got so many sites to see indoors that having some rain or chilly weather doesn't make for a bad "vacation". It's not like you're spending a week on the beach! I would rather spend my time seeing all the incredible history in Istanbul on rainy, chilly days, then spending a week cooking on a beach in the sand. But thats me! Since you've enjoyed many European cities in cold & snow, I can safely predict that you'll have a great time in Istanbul. My 1 suggestion is that although you can fill up a full week in Istanbul, I would take a day and night and fly out to see Ephesus or even take 2 days and see Cappadocia. The flights from Istanbul are very reasonable and both side trips are beyond remarkable. Pick 1 or better yet, extend your stay and see both. You can get tours on site or arrange them before you leave. Many posters on Fodors will tell you to just stay in Istanbul, but unless you are sure you're going back to Turkey, cut a few days off Istanbul and do a daytrip. Whatever you decide, Turkey is (to use that too often used word) amazing! Enjoy it.

kikiv

Hi Risab, it seems unbelievable that we got back from Turkey 3 weeks ago and I only just got started writing the report today. I am afraid it's going to take a bit of time to finish but I'll get it done soon, I hope!

I wanted to let you know that your suggestions were very helpful and we had a fabulous time. Unfortunately we were not lucky enough to see Selim Sesler since he was away during that time. I suppose that just gives us another reason to return to Istanbul...

opaldog

kikiv: We are going to Istanbul for the first time this March. I look forward to your trip report, especially as it pertains to Istanbul. Hope you have it written before we leave.