Tdiver's VirtualTourist Home Page

Hello fellow travellers,i hope you will enjoy my VT pages and get a flavour of Istanbul where i live.Click on a coloured link to quickly access some items.It's a wet wet world out there so i try and put dive centres i come across on my pages to help others find them more easily and give you some photos of what to expect, if i've been there. Seeing as i'm living in Turkey then the majority of current entries will be from here and hopefully give a flavour of the country.When i can get some of my many photos from years ago copied to disc then i'll be adding them to my pages.Of course this will include underwater shots.TURKEY dive centres and underwater photos DUBAI DIVE PHOTOS
ISTANBUL TIPS AND TRANSPORT LINKS ROAD MAPS
For my most recent Istanbul days out look at SILE and Yuvacik dam, Camiduzu and Serindere
Nothing about Istanbul here just a link to my favourite cartoon at the moment.Changes every day so enjoy.
Sorry it's only in French but the humour is understandable GASTON LAGAFFE
For ASIAN/ANATOLIAN SIDE hotels especially 5-42 really for the Grand Prix HERE

Drink too much local Raki (the aniseed tasting spirit) and you may witness this phenomenom.Good tip is to drink it with at least the same amount of water and another full glass besides.Failure to do this will result in a large headache.
If you can find a hotel with a roof to get on, then sunrise is a great time to photograph some of the buildings.Of course the origins of Istanbul date back a long way to around 6000 B.C. is the latest opinion,as the oldest finds so far have been found on the European side in the Yenikapi area.
The earliest known inhabitants where Thracians of Indo-Germanic stock,as testified by Herodotus and Strabo.Around 660 B.C. King Byzas came from Greece and founded a new Kingdom here,hence Byzantium after him.Early in the 4th century Emporer Constantine the Great took it as the Capital of the Roman Empire and it became known as Constantinople.In 1453 Sultan Mehmet II conquered it with his Ottoman Turks and it became Istanbul.
Search for your hotel or just check where things are ISTANBUL INTERACTIVE MAP. New (YENI) map just introduced which is fast. Comes up with a satellite photo but will come up with a plain street map if you click on Harita on the top bar. If you have an address click on Arama at the top right side then under Ilce Adi the city district, normally Fatih, Eminonu or Beyoglu, then the street name Cadde/Sokak.Bina/Isyeri Adi is place name, Kapi Numarasi is the number ARA means show. No foreign language instructions as yet.
Find out what it's like at present with the WEATHER CHARTS
5 Day Turkey Weather Forecast Map.

Some handy words and phrases for you, without Turkish characters some letters are the closest approximations,followed by a phonetic equivalent :-
Tesekkur ederim ; Tesh-ek-oor ed-der-im ;Thank you
Bir cay lutfen ; Beer chay loot-fen ; A tea please
Bira var mi ; Beer-ra var mur ; Is there any beer
Bir neskafe lutfen ; Beer nes-kafe loot-fen ; A nescafe please
Sutlu ; Soot-loo ; With milk
Sutsuz ; Soot-sooz ; Without milk
Hesap lutfen ; Hess-app loot-fen ; Bill please
Buyuk sise su lutfen ; Boo-yook shee-shay su loot-fen ; A big bottle of water please
Gunaydin ; Goo-ny-dun ; Good morning
Iyi aksamlar ; E-ye ak-sham-lar ; Good evening
Monu lutfen ; Moo-noo loot-fen ; The menu please
Corba ; Chore-ba ; Soup
Cok guzel ; Chock goo-zell ; Very good
Sarap ; Sha-rap ; Wine
Sebzeler ; Seb-zay-lair; Vegetables
Meyveler ; May-vay-lair; Fruits
Patates tava (cips) ; Pa-tat-ez ta-var (jips) ; Fried potatoes (chips)
Evet ; Ev-et ; Yes
Hayir ; Hi-yer ; No
Sicak ; Sir-jack ; Hot
Soguk ; Sew-ook ; Cold
Beyaz ; Bay-az ; White
Kirmizi ; Cur-mer-zer ; Red
Kahvalti ; Car-val-ter ; Breakfast
Kizarmis ekmek ; Kuz-arm-ush ek-mek ; Toasted bread
Maden suyu ; Mar-den soo-yoo ; Mineral water
Meyve suyu ; May-vay soo-yoo ; Fruit juice
Afiyet olsun ; Af-ee-yet ol-sen ; Bon appetit (may it do you good)
Ne kadar ; Nay car-dar ; How much
Merhaba ; Mare-har-bar ; Hello
Daha ucuz var mi; Dar-har oo-juz var mer ; Is there cheaper
Paket ; Pack-et ; Wrapped (present)
Istanbul haritasi ; Istanbul ha-ree-ta-sir ; Istanbul map
Hali ; Ha-ler ; Carpet
Kilim ; Kill-im ; Flat weave rug
Canta ; Chan-tar ; Bag
Deri Ceket ; Derri Jeck-et ; Leather jacket
Cevze ; Jev-zay ; Turkish coffee pot
Affedersiniz ; Af-fed-dare-sin-iz ; Excuse me
Acik mi ; Aj-uk mer ; Is it open
Kapali ; Car-pa-ler ; Shut
Merkez ; Murk-ez ; Centre
Muze ; Moo-zay ; Museum
Saray ; Sa-ray ; Palace
Giris ; Gear-ish ; Entrance
Cikis ; Chick-ish ; Exit
Havaalani ; Har-var-al-ar-nar ; Airport
Bugun ; Boo-goon ; Today
Yarin ; Yar-roon ; Tomorrow
Nasilsiniz ; Nar-sool-soo-nooz ; How are you
Iyiyim ; E-yee-yim ; I'm well

Tylodina Perversa. One of the more colourful denizens of the deep, photographed in Ibrice, and not encountered by any of the people i dived with, there before.

Sepia Elegans. Initially the only one i saw, when just about to surface, then to my amazement another 6 rose up off the sand. A truly amazing end to a dive.

Many tourists to Istanbul only ever pass under the bridges on the Bosphorus cruise and leave a brief footprint on the Asian side at Anadolu Kavagi.Yes they're always busy but it's worth a day to visit the other side as there are lots of nice areas and things to see.
To get a flavour of the city have a look at the Istanbul city CAMERAS
Restaurants are everywhere in Istanbul and on the Asian side,which is a quick, cheap ride away,then you will find just as many but with a more local feel and cheaper. Most will understand English and maybe German but failing that just go to the counter and point at what you want.

In a city that just about never sleeps life goes by quickly.The trams are a cheap and easy way to see and get to go to more of the city.
A good way to relax is to visit the Princes islands, just a ferry away.
Although the sea is thought of as polluted, there is an amazing amount of life just under the surface.

Get the light right and sea pens shine like christmas trees.