Istanbul Tourist Trap Tips by pflewis123

The Sultanahmet area of Istanbul (where the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, and Hagia Sofia are located) is one giant tourist trap - there are thousands of peddlers selling the same souvenirs, and myriads of carpet and leather salesmen standing on the streets trying to get you to come into their shops.

But you mustn't miss this area if you are visiting Istanbul, so you have to learn to deal with it.

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At Least Do This: Just say "No Thank You," over and over, and keep walking. If they say, "Can I ask you just one question," just say "no thank you." If they say ANYTHING AT ALL, ATTEMPT ANY KIND OF CONVERSATION, just say "No Thank You" AND KEEP WALKING. DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT.

You may feel silly answering the question, "Where are you from" with "No thank you", but you have to learn to do this. Otherwise you'll spend all your time trying to extract yourself from these guys rather than seeing the sights.

They are counting on your politeness to get you into their shops. You can be polite but firm. And it is imperative to learn this very early on, because there are literally no streets where you can walk in this area without getting accosted by carpet and souvenir salesmen.

The Cagaloglu Bathhouse is expensive, the massage was very short and only so-so, the washing was lifeless, and my hamam guy started hitting me up for a tip while he was washing me. Talk about killing the experience.

The hamam itself is pretty nifty - very old, totally in marble.

My wife, daughter, and a friend went to the women's side, and said that they came and stripped off their towels on that side. On the men's side, you wear a towel at all times.

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Alternative: If you're going to visit a hamam (you should, because it's part of the Turkey experience), I'd find a less touristy one.