Sign in with Facebook"Fascinating and Captivating Istanbul!" Istanbul by Hopkid
Istanbul Travel Guide: 7,623 reviews and 19,412 photos
We landed in Istanbul via an air-hotel package through Gate 1 Travel. We'd always wanted to take a couple of weeks to visit Turkey and while this trip would only be 5 days we figured 5 days in Istanbul was better than zero days in Turkey. So we jumped at it. And boy are we glad we did! Istanbul has gobs of history (Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans), culture, cuisine, and some of the nicest people we have met anywhere. Despite the not-so-high standing the U.S. has these days in the Middle East we never had reservations telling people we were from the U.S. and we never felt threatened. We were noticeably two of the few American tourists in Istanbul during our stay but we are very glad we went and are dying to return.
Some of our favorite experiences included:
- Hearing the enchanting call to prayer for the first time (although hearing it at 5am the first night we were there wasn't the greatest...)
- Having a home-cooked meal at (pay attention now) the home of the parents' of a woman who used to work for a work colleague of Rita's despite only having met us two days earlier.
- Being invited into a bakery in the Draman neighborhood by a very pround owner of an old fashioned in-wall oven and walking out with a bag of cookies that we weren't allowed to pay for.
- Watching club age group boys (11-12 years old) playing football on fenced in pitch near the Golden Horn on a bright sunny day.
- Briefly talking about the prospects of local football powerhouse, Fenerbahce, in the upcoming Champions League quarterfinals with workers in the Grand Bazaar
- Playfully chatting with guards outside the Topkapi Palace early on a Monday morning
- Standing in awe at the interior of the two mosques we visited that were designed by Mimar Sinan: Rustem Pasa and Sehzade Mehmet camiis
- Walking through and taking photos in the fish and produce markets in Kadikoy and Galatasaray
We even had a very enjoyable and unsolicited experience purchasing carpets even though we had vowed before coming that we weren't going to buy any carpets. And the food, oh the food! It is truly something that we don't get here in Richmond, VA and everything we had was delicious. Probably the worse thing we had was a rather old simit (a sesame-covered bread ring) although we had good simit every morning as part of our breakfast at the hotel. Our favorites were:
- Kofte at Sultahamet Koftecisi in Sultanahmet
- Pide at Karadeniz in Sultanahmet
- Kokorec sandwich at Sampion Kokorec in Galatasaray
- Lamb with quince, potato, and chestnuts at Ciya Sofrasi in Kadikoy
- Lamb shank in puff pastry over pureed eggplant at Asitane in Erdinekapi
- Fried bluefish at Kor Agop in Kumkapi
And of course the multi-course meal we had at our new-found friend's parents' home. What a feast!
Tips to come!
- Pros:Friendly people, great food, culture, history
- Cons:Not enough meals in the day to try all kinds of food
- In a nutshell:A fascinating place and people; should be on everyone's travel wish list
Reviews (53)
Balik Pazar - Fish Market off Istiklal...
Off The Beaten Path
(6)
Tucked away on a narrow sidestreet off the pedestrian-only thoroughfare of Istiklal Caddesi, there are a group of... more travel advice
Get your Turkish Delight from the...
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These guys invented lokum, or Turkish Delight way back when and started sellling in their shop in 1777! The original... more travel advice
Baklava Heaven!
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Located in the heart of Sultanahmet, this place creates some of the best baklava you'll get anywhere. Stop by there to... more travel advice
Kumkapi - Old Fishing District
Off The Beaten Path
(6)
Situated near the shores of the Sea of Marmara and down the hill from Grand Bazaar, Kumkapi is an old working class... more travel advice
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Comments (16)
Hi Andy, Great info and tips on your I' page... I will be there next week. best, karl
wonderful tips all the way around. love the idea of getting decent korean food so far from home. thank you for the extensive effort is presenting a detailed tip in every instance. j
Fantastic tips on Istanbul! Thanks!
Excellent tip, we folowed your guide and were in the Tourist Hotel region for pennies.
Your website is fascinating and captivating as well. Thanks for the tips!
Only you could make sheep's intestines sound appetizing and make me hungry again after dinner. 8) Excellent job! Cheers, Mark
Hi Andy, I have written down your recommendations; what a great trip you had! I will report on my trip when I return. Thanks for the tips. Bill
Great Istanbul pages. We are hopefully heading there later this summer.
Great page on Istanbul! I loved the cookie story, we also found the locals to be very friendly. Did you get to a hamman? Whirling dervishes? Those are musts if you go back!
Hi Andy! Looks like you & Rita had a fantastic trip to Istanbul! And, you must have enjoyed the food! Looked Great! Making me hungry at the moment. Great pics, too!