Cruise the Bosphorus
by Paul2001
Cruising the Boshorus is one of the great pleasures that Istanbul has to offer. It is also relatively inexpensive compared to visiting some of the attractions in Istanbul. For just $3.00 you can hop onto a boat and sail up the Bosphorus for about 1hour and 45 minutes, eat lunch and then head back down to Istanbul.
The highlight of the trip is seeing the beautiful 19th century mansions that line the banks of the Bosphorus. The wooden homes have been painted bright colours and are quite eye catching. Many are now being restored as part of a government promotion.
The one flaw with this excursion is that it is very popular with tourists, hence it is difficult to get a seat on the boat. Also heads keep bobing in and out of your shots.
To catch a boat up the Bosphorus, you go to dock at Eminoni just by the Galata Bridge. Boats depart at 10:35am, noon and 1:35pm. They go all the way up the Bosphorus to Anadolu Kavagi and then turn around. If you do not want to take the boat back, then you can take a local bus. This is recommended if you want to catch some of the interesting sites on the Bosphorus such as the Rumeli Hisan, the European Fortress. If I had to do this journey again, I would have done this as the castle looks quite interesting.
Topkapi Palace
by SirRichard
Reserve a whole morning for this visit. The Palace is the former residence of the Sultan and it houses wonderful jewel exhibitions, as well as the Haren where the many wives of the Sultan lived, a world were no man (except him) could enter. The gardens are nice and the views of the city gorgeous.
There is usually a lot of people to visit the haren, so go there first and take a place in the queue, just in case: I couldn't see it the first time I visited Istanbul.
Call me a cab!
by NiceLife
Alright, you're a cab.
Thousands apon thousands of yellow cabs hustle a living, the fares are dirt cheap, and its a decent thing to take a cab and support the local economy.
However be polite but firm when the driver offers to take you to his uncles shop where there are bargain carpets for you to look at.
And count your change - Turkish cabbie-dom has its share of chancers like anywhere in the world.
Don't wave around a years salary from your wallet, don't accept invitations to meet the driver's sister, and on no account sit in the front seat alongside him. And remember this is a Muslim country -in their traditional view, men and women have different place in the order of things.
And different traditions. I mean, when did you last slaughter a bullock to honour a visiting dignitary?
So Many Options in Turkey
by mrclay2000
Serious people can take an overnight train to Ephesus or Ankara or any number of interesting places. For me, a day trip up the Bosporus on a regular ferry was among the most exciting trips I've ever taken. The ferries leave from their moorings near the Galata Bridge and steam about 90 minutes up the western edge of the Bosporus, crossing to the Asian port of Anadolu Kavagi at the last second. Long before this you'll get your first glimpse of the mouth of the Black Sea.
In the 8th or 9th centuries, huge icebergs floated down from the Black Sea and seriously injured the seawalls at Constantinople. Now the largest things that come down are the supertankers, so large that they have to slow considerably to keep within the pylons and buoys.
Balat
by SirRichard
At the middle of the Golden Horn, in the left shore, you will find Balat, a jewish quarter, where some of the jews expelled from Spain in the XVth century found shelter. It’s not a typical jewish quarter as in New York, Paris… but you can find some synagogues and is a nice walk. To get there, take the ferry towards Golden Horn from Eminonu and stop at Balat, in front of the church of Saint. Stephan.
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Hagia Sophia
Interesting railway bridge
At Meydanı - Jan 2010
Istanbul - Turkey
