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Buttress and minaret - Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
From the Bosphorus, Maiden's Tower (left)
Naval Academy
Hi to everyone. I am planning to visit Bulgaria and Istanbul this summer. I know more or less what i want to visit (Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo and Rila in Bulgaria and Istanbul in Turkey). What i am wondering is how many days should i spend in Istanbul. I don't know if stay three days or just two days and spend the rest in Bulgaria. Therefore i'd like you to tell me based on you opinion and experiences if it's worth it to stay 2 or 3 days in Istanbul knowing that i'll do an 8 days trip.
Thanks in advance!!
I really think 2 days is too short. There is sooo much to do there--on our recent trip we had planned to spend a few days in Istanbul and then travel around Turkey. Instead we stayed in Istanbul for almost a week (our whole trip) and were never bored. You need at least 2 days to do all the sites in Sultanahmet alone, and then maybe a day for a Bosphorus cruise and visiting other neighborhoods.
For info on our trip: http://patrinadoestheglobe.blogspot.com/2008/12/istanbul-turkey.html
I agree that 2 days is too little for Istanbul, but then the same is true of Plovdiv and Veliko Tarnovo ;)
Are you not planning also a couple of days in Sofia?
Perhaps in just 8 days, one country is sufficient? You can't really see even all of the city/country in that time, much less 2 or more...
I stayed in Istanbul 3 weeks, and could easily stay even longer.
Thanks to all! Ok so i think that 3 days would be the best even if i must sacrifice some of the bulgarian highlights... anyway i think it'll be worth it... thanks!!
Hi İtalica ı am sure when you come in istanbul yu will want to continue your stay in istanbul thanks to its unbelievable history,view and a lot of things you might love.So from my point of view it is better to stay in istanbul for three days but it is your choice I hope it will be as you want see you
The Bosphorus flows between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, creating a natural north-south divide in Istanbul - European Istanbul comprises the bulk of the city to the west, while Asian Istanbul is to the east. European Istanbul is itself divided by the Golden Horn (Haliç) into the old city to the south, and Beyoglu and other modern districts to the north.
Salep is a delicious and nourishing hot drink, made with milk and salep powder. Salep is made from the powdered root of several species of wild orchid. It is known that it increases resistance against the colds and coughs of winter. It is a traditional drink for turks for many centuries. In some roads in Istanbul some people with local traditional clothes they serve this.
Every year, in Autumn Euroasian Marathon is organized in Istanbul. This is the only marathon in the world that you run from one continent to another in a few hours. There are three different runs of that marathon:
1) The marathon of 42.2 km: It is for professionals and the pri,ce is 30.000 USD for the first comer
2) The marathon of 15 km: The prize is 1500 USD
The total amount of the prizes is 100.000 USD
Besides those two different runs, there is also the Popular Marathon of 8 km. and the prize is a medal and a t-shirt to everybody who finish the marathon. And every year about 100.000 people attends to that marathon as the joy to pass over the bridge which connects the two continents is a wonderful feeling. Just jogging shoes and sports wear.
The Walls of Constantinople are also known as the Theodosian walls or Bizantian walls. You can see the ruins here and there. It is amazing that so much of them had left after all these centuries.
What I find interesting is that the local people do accept them like a natural part of the surrounding area and use them for various purposes like drying their clothes or parking their cars inside of the towers of the walls :)))
Here are some historical facts about the walls:
It was the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II (408-450) who expanded the area of his imperial capital of Constantinople by building these great land walls farther out into the country. When finished, the Theodosian Walls were almost 7 km (over 4 miles) in length. With periodic repairs, they defended the city effectively until the late 19th century.
They were breached only twice: in 1204 by the armies of the Fourth Crusade, and in 1453--a thousand years after they were built!--by the gigantic cannon of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, after which Constantinople became Istanbul.
In 1894 a disastrous earthquake toppled parts of the walls, which had been mostly superceded by modern armaments in any case.
This is the spice market.Outside there are nuts,spices,lokum(Turkish delight),tea,etc
Inside there are jewelary shops,souveniers and food too Definitely you should buy lokum.It is so so delicios.... The kilo of the regular is between 4-6 YTL and these one with nuts is 7-10 YTL per kilo
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