"Kumkapi" Istanbul Tourist Trap Tip by AcornMan

Kumkapi is the seafood restaurant district located to the southwest of Sultanahmet, just off Kennedy Caddesi and the main railway loop. I read a lot about this historic area in tour guides, but it was a huge disappointment. Our first mistake was to walk to Kumkapi from our hotel in Sultanahmet, which took us through a confusing maze of streets in a run-down, dirty, and somewhat frightening residential area. We made it safely, but I certainly wouldn't do it after dark.

Once we got to Kumkapi itself we found a vast sea (ha, ha) of seafood restaurants all offereing almost exactly the same menu, with almost no uniqueness. None of the food looked particularly appetizing anywhere we looked, and it was all very overpriced. We didn't receive very good service and we found poeple to be less friendly than in the two restaurants I mentioned in my restaurant section. To top things off, when we took a cab ride back to our hotel our driver took us to the wrong part of town completely, despite the fact that I showed him the address of our hotel and the precise location on a map. He then acted annoyed when we informe him that he took us to the wrong place.

Our trip to Kumkapi was our first meal in Istanbul, and one of our first experiences in the city. Needless to say, it was not the right way to kick off our trip, and it was during this experience that my wife and I began to seriously second-guess our decision to visit Istanbul. Fortunately things did get better as our trip progressed, but Kumkapi certainly didn't endear us to the city.

Unique Suggestions: Just don't go. Period.

Fun Alternatives: There are lots of great places to eat, two of which I cited in my restaurant recommendations. When in doubt, ask someone at your hotel. Hopefully they're as helpful as Mustafa at our hotel.