Things To Do In Istanbul (In No Particular Order)

- Take a ferry from Europe to Asia (and back again, because you were only trying to get to Besiktas anyway)
- Take a tram through the city walls, down past the famous sights of the old city, across the Galata Bridge and the Golden Horn, all the way to Kabatas (because that's the route of the tram, on the way back from the airport)
- Buy and eat Balik Ekmek (Fish Bread) from a street-seller, for only £1.50, and be surprised how good it is
- Find a special souvenir in the Grand Bazaar, and haggle the price ("Chok pahaluh!" (Very expensive), "Ujuz, ujuz.." (cheap, cheap)[sic])
- Locate the Grand Bazaar coach inn, and take in the stunning views of across Istanbul, the Golden Horn, and the Bosphorus from the roof

- Be actually awed by the spectacle of the Basilica Cistern, a Roman underground reservoir built with over 300 columns, stolen from the Greeks (Did anyone else wonder where all those aquaducts went to?)
- Take the many steps to the top of the Galata Tower, one of Istanbul's old fire-towers, for great views across Beyoglu, to Sultanahmet, and across the water, to Usukudar and Kadikoy
- Use the fast, efficient, incredibly cheap, clean, (mostly) brand new metro system, and wonder why there's hardly anyone on it, and why, why do Istanbullus love their cars so much, considering the traffic (lazy? love their creature comforts? snobbish?)
- Walk alongside the Bosphorus from poncey Bibek to Sultan Mehmed's 15th century Rumeli Hisari

- Run from Bebek to Arnavutkoy, marvelling at the view whilst avoiding all the fishing poles
- Check out the authentic Ottoman mansions in the back streets of Arnavutkoy, and stop off for a drink and a feed at ANY meyhane
- Find the print shop in Ortakoy and buy a mounted Orient Express poster reproduction for £2, or treat yourself with an original print
- Have lunch or dinner on the top terrace at Epope in Ortakoy

- Have bira and an apple-flavour nargile at street level at Epope in Ortakoy
- Find a bar in the streets of Besiktas (be careful you don't have too many Efes)
- Go shopping at one of the three malls (in a row) in Levent
- Ask the barmen at Sponge Pub if any of them are called Robert, and wear boxer shorts
- Don't bother with cocktails at the Grand in Tarabya; overpriced and underprepared (despite the wait)
- Go for Thai at Cok, cok (pronounced Chok, chok) in Sisli (pronounced Shishli)
- Explore the modern side of art at Istanbul Modern, and then try something traditional which isn't a kebab at Karakoy Lokantasi, in Tophane
- Try something traditional (which is a kebab) at Hamdi's, overlooking the 'Horn and the Bosph'
- Find some expats to play football with, and then realise they all speak Turkish

Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque)

If visiting Istanbul, a visit to the Blue Mosque is essential. It is absolutely stunning. Despite being busy with tourists during my visit, it felt like a tranquil, peaceful place.

It is a working mosque so it is required to remove footwear and for women to cover their heads. Also, it meant that we waited in the courtyard for prayers to finish, a nice respite amidst the day's tourist grind.

Istanbul'da muze saatlar

Okay, so the title basically says in pidgin Turkce, "Istanbul museum times". What I'm trying to highlight is that Istanbul's sights are not open everyday, 24/7. Rather inconvenient if you've worked out what you want to see, but then find out on Monday that the archaeological museum is closed on Mondays, or worse, at about 3.30pm on Tuesday, closes at 4pm in the winter. So here's a basic summary of the sights with closed days and opening times.

Aya Sofya

 - closed Mondays, open 9am-6pm, 30L entry, 20L audio guide (recommended)

Basilica Cistern

- open daily, 9am-6.30pm, 20L entry for yabanci (foreigners)

Topkapi Palace

- closed Tuesdays, open 9am-4pm (winter), 25L

Archaeological Museum

- closed Mondays, open 9am-4pm (winter), 10L

Blue Mosque

 - open all week, various opening times depending on prayer times, free entry

Suleymaniye Mosque

- open all week, avoid Friday lunchtimes (sermon), free

Chora Church

- closed Wednesday, 9am-4.30pm (winter), 15L

Dolmabahce Palace

- closed Mon, Thurs, 9am-6pm, 30L palace/20L harem

Grand Bazaar

- closed Sundays, 9am-7pm, free entry (everything else priced at whatever they think they can get away with, e.g. haggle! "chok pahaluh! ujuz, ujuz..")

Arasta Bazaar (pictired)
- open daily (I think), 9am-7pm, closes earlier in winter and Ramadan; housed in former stables adjacent to the Blue Mosque.

Spice Bazaar

- open daily, 8am-6pm, free entry

Istanbul Modern (art)

- closed Monday, 10am-6pm, late opening Thursday (free entry for Turkish residents, otherwise 17L

Sakip Sabanci Museum (art)

- closed Monday, 10am-6pm, late opening Wednesday (free entry!), otherwise 20L

Rumei Hisari ('fortress on the Roman side')

- closed Wednesday, 9am-4.30pm, 6L

Bosphorus Ferry Tour

- daily, 10.35am from Eminonu, 25L return

Hagia Sophia - Aya Sofya - icon of Istanbul's horizon

Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore describes the Hagia Sophia, or Aya Sofya, as the greatest building in Europe.

Although looking very much the grand camii it was until the last century, with its impressive Byzantine dome, and minarets, it was consecrated as a Greek Orthodox basilica in the 6th century, and was the focal point of the Eastern Orthodox church for nearly 1000 years. It was commissioned by Emperor Justinian I, the Great, by most accounts a nasty slice of ambitious tyrant, for his empress, Theodore. It was instrumental in its own downfall, being site of the start of Christianity's Great Schism. (It's amazing what you can learn on BBC iplayer).

Ataturk clearly recognized its importance to modern, secular Turkey, and turned it into a museum.

Arnavutkoy

Arnavutkoy (meaning Albanian village; koy always means village) is a Besiktas waterfront neighbourhood, just along from Bebek, before Ortakoy (Middle village).

It has some stunning Ottoman and Ottoman-esque mansions. It is also a real example of secular harmony within Istanbul; as I was walking through the back streets this morning, past the camii (mosque), I heard the village church bells peeling.

You can run along the front, aside the Bosphorus, if you keep your eyes open for rods leaning across your path, and weights flying out to the water, from the many balikci who line the shore.

Canon picture styles

Okay so this post will be of limited interest to those of you who wanted some insight into living in Istanbul, but I've just figured out the picture styles on my DSLR and want to put them up on-screen side by side to compare, mainly for my own benefit. So:

All photographs were taken with a Canon 450D with a 50mm lens, f2.0. Recording to jpg (obvs not RAW as effects would be added in processing, rather than on the camera with these 'picture styles').

The numbers after the setting correspond to: Sharpness, Contrast, Saturation, and Color Tone. Shot indoors, under flourescent lighting, and the white balance was set accordingly.

Standard 7,-2, 1, 0

Neutral colours, slightly saturated reds.

Portrait 7, -2, -1, 0

Hue shifted to magenta.

Landscape 7, -2, -1, 0

Slight orange tone.

Neutral 7, -1, 1, 0

No overtones.

Faithful 7, -1, 1, 0

Pinkish overtone.

Monochrome 7, -2, Red filter

Filter emphasises contrast.

'Portrait-Snapshot' 7, -2, -1, 0

Well-modulated contrast.

'Autumn Hues' 7, -2, -1, 0

Colours more vivid, midtones brighter.

'Twilight' 7, -2, -1, 0

Magic!













The last three picture styles (more are available, but I can only store up to three 'User Defined' picture styles on my camera) are downloadable from Canon's website.

Thanks to this article for the advice in setup.

Traffic on the Bosphorus

 Some usual traffic on the Bosphorus (above), and some not so usual traffic (below):

KıdzMondo

There is a place in Istanbul called KidsMondo where children can 'work' and then you get money (but not real money!).

You make Coca Cola and lollipops, and you can do your own pızza, and you can be the polıce too.

The best dessert

Istanbul is a wonderful place for Turkish desserts.

For example the famous Turkish delight, baklava, is filled with nuts, such as pistachios and almonds, and syrup.

A long time ago in 1423, Lokum was made and the first person to try it was the  Sultan Fatih.

These are the most popular sweets in Istanbul. Every day thousands of people eat them.

Try it, you would love it!

Amazing food in Istanbul

    

When I first came to Istanbul, I had no idea how good the food would be. But, when I tasted it, it was great! When I tried the doner I almost ate two of them! The Turkish meatball is called kofte, you should also try that.

Also try pide, a boat-shaped bread with cheese on it.

Another delightful Turkish food is yaprak. Yaprak means leaf; they are vine leaves stuffed with meat and rice, or just rice. One of the delicious types is Dolmasi, which is lamb wrapped in vine leaves.

            

Animals all around Turkey

Dolphins are very beautiful and they love to splash in the Bosphorous.

Cats are also seen all around Istanbul. Dogs are often seen in the streets.

Unfortunately, animals in Turkey that are not adopted are very thin and very hungry because no body feeds them so they some times starve to death.

Key Spots

All of the key spots you need is right here so read on!

One of the key things is go though all the tiny roads and you’ll find loads of little, tiny interesting things you wouldn’t even know it’s there if you hadn’t explored. If you like this stuff then I definitely recommend Sishane but watch out for beggars because there are some.

Another thing I recommend , is staying in the Pera Palace hotel in Istanbul which has Turkey’s first elevator (as well as modern elevators!).

If you want to stay there then make sure you don’t go to eat there because it is expensive and not good, and you could go to DeliStan instead.

Another place is Istanbul Modern art gallery because it has a very interesting modern art collection.