What to do in Istanbul

Blue Mosque

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is Istanbul’s most famous site and is the top thing to do in Istanbul. A visit to the city would not be complete without laying eyes on its beauty. It’s known by it’s more common name, The Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles surrounding the walls of its interior.

It is still a functioning mosque but visitors can enter if they follow the rules. Long pants should be worn and women must have their shoulders and heads covered.

Located in the old city, it’s the perfect way to start your day before moving on to the other sights nearby.

Across the Galata Bridge crossing the mouth of The Bay of Istanbul you’ll find the Galata Tower on the North Bank of the Golden Horn. It offers the best panoramic views of the city and an excellent vantage point to gaze upon Old Istanbul.

Until the 1960’s it was watch tower for city fires, but today it is open to tourists to walk around its balcony near the top of the 67 meter (220 feet) high tower.

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. It was once a church and a mosque but is now one of the most visited museums in the world.

For 916 years it was a church and then following the conquest of the Sultan Mehmed, it was converted into a mosque and remained so for 482 years. In 1935 it was converted into a museum and visitors can enter daily to see the mosaics, calligraphy, tiles and Sultan’s lodge.

Grand Bazaar

A short walk down the street takes you to the Grand Bazaar for the most exciting shopping experience you’ll ever have. There are more than 5,000 shops in the Grand Bazaar covering 60 streets. It was an important trading center dating back to the 15th century.

I can only imagine how it once was with traders coming in from Asia and Africa bringing their exotic items for merchants to peruse from Europe. Spend a day losing yourself in the giant labyrinth that houses Mosques, hamams, cafes, and jewelry stalls.

Galata Tower

The Galata Tower offers beautiful views of the city. It is located just north of the Golden Horn in the Galata Quarter. We stayed in an apartment looking right up at this tower and it was breathtaking.

It is 9 stories high with a restaurant café and nightclub. You can take tours up to view the city.

There’s a great square at the base of the Galata Tower where you can enjoy some Turkish Coffee and Turkish Delight while people watching on the terrace.

Istiklal Avenue

Visited by nearly 3 million people daily, Istiklal Avenue is the beating heart of the city of Istanbul.

This 1.4 km long pedestrian walkway houses everything from cinemas to nightclubs and boutiques to cafés. It’s also here that we tried our first Turkish Delight treats and bought some much-needed medication from the pharmacies.

If you don’t feel like walking, you can take the historic tram all the way to Taskim Square to view the monument of the republic.

Eat with the Locals

You can book many dining experiences in Istanbul and the best way is to spend time with a local family.

Often you will meet friendly people that invite you for dinner and become fast friends, but you can also book dining experiences where you go to a home and eat traditional food, learn about the local’s way of life and have lively conversations.

Sip Turkish Coffee

If there is one thing that we wanted to try in Turkey was Turkish Coffee.

We’d had it all over the world, but to have it in its country of origin was beyond heavenly.  It takes great preparation to make this tiny little cup of caffeine, but the effort is worth it as it’s one of the most delicious and rich blends of coffee you will ever have.

Don’t drink it to the last drop though, the bottom of the cup is filled with coffee grinds. (The secret ingredient perhaps?)

Cruise the Bosphorus

You must visit the Asian side of the city when visiting Istanbul. How often can you visit two continents in a matter of minutes and not even have to go through customs!

We popped over to Asian Istanbul after a scenic cruise checking out the shores of both North and South. A good stop is Kanlica, famous for its thick yogurt.

Play Backgammon

When strolling through the city, you’ll see many older gentlemen playing games. The game of choice is Backgammon and you must give it a try.

Look for a local café offering boards to use, sit down and order a coffee or tea and play until your heart’s content. This popular game dates back 5,000 years in the Persian Empire and is going strong today in the city of Istanbul.

Take Turkish bath

You cannot visit Istanbul without experiencing the weird and wackiness of a Turkish bath, also known as a traditional hamam. Be prepared to strip down to your birthday suit and have strangers vigorously bath and massage your entire body after a hot steam bath.

It can be painful, strange, and heavenly all at once. You may or may not like it, but I can tell you one thing for sure, you will never forget it.

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Plan at least 3 days in Istanbul — so much to see & do (even with kids), lots of good hotels, hostels, apartments/flats, restaurants, bazaars & shops, even beaches. Here are the best tours & itineraries…

Istanbul verifiable otherwise called Constantinople and Byzantium, is the most crowded city in Turkey and the nation’s financial, social, and noteworthy focus. Istanbul is a cross-country city in Eurasia, straddling the Bosphorus strait between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its business and authentic focus lies on the European side and around 33% of its populace lives on the Asian side. The city is the managerial focal point of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality both facilitating a populace of around 14 million residents Istanbul is one of the world’s most crowded urban areas and positions as the world’s seventh biggest city appropriate and the biggest European city.

Established under the name of Byzantium on the Sarayburnu projection around 660 BCE, the city created to wind up a standout amongst the most huge ever. After its restoration as Constantinople in 330 CE, it served as a majestic capital for very nearly 16 centuries, amid the Roman and Byzantine (330–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin (1204–1261), and the Ottoman (1453–1922) empires. It was instrumental in the progression of Christianity amid Roman and Byzantine times, before the Ottomans vanquished the city in 1453 and changed it into an Islamic fortification and the seat of the Ottoman Caliphate.

Istanbul’s key position on the notable Silk Road, rail systems to Europe and the Middle East, and the main ocean course between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean have created a cosmopolitan masses, albeit less so since the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923. Ignored for the new capital Ankara amid the interwar period, the city has subsequent to recovered quite a bit of its unmistakable quality. The number of inhabitants in the city has expanded tenfold since the 1950s, as transients from crosswise over Anatolia have moved in and city limits have extended to oblige them. Arts, music, film, and social celebrations were set up toward the end of the twentieth century and keep on being facilitated by the city today. Base upgrades have delivered an unpredictable transportation system.

Around 12.56 million remote guests touched base in Istanbul in 2015, five years after it was named an European Capital of Culture, making the city the world’s fifth most mainstream vacationer destination. The city’s greatest fascination is its memorable focus, in part recorded as an UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its social and diversion center can be found over the city’s characteristic harbor, the Golden Horn, in the Beyoğlu region. Considered a worldwide city, Istanbul has one of the quickest developing metropolitan economies in the world. It has the base camp of numerous Turkish organizations and media outlets and records for more than a fourth of the nation’s gross residential product. Hoping to benefit from its renewal and fast extension, Istanbul offer for the Summer Olympics five times in twenty years.

You can see Istanbul’s top sights in a rush on an overnight stay, but you’ll need at least 2 days to do them justice, and 3 or 4 days to really get a sense of the city. In a week, you can get a good look at most of what Istanbul has to offer, do some shopping and enjoy an excursion as well.

Many of Istanbul’s top sights such as Topkapı Palace, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome, are in or near Sultanahmet, as are many good hotels, including charming Ottoman inns.

Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar is just a 12- to 15-minute walk or short tram ride west of Sultanahmet along the old Roman road called Divan Yolu.

Once you’ve settled into your Istanbul hotel, you might want to take a city tour for orientation, and later a Bosphorus cruise or an excursion to the Princes’ Islands, to the nearby cities of Edirne, İznik (Nicaea) or Bursa, Gallipoli and Troy, or even Ephesus or Cappadocia.

Be sure to take some time to just sit at a sidewalk café and sip Turkish tea or coffee, or go native and smoke a nargile (water pipe). Dine on savory Turkish cuisine in an excellent Istanbul restaurant, consume a traditional fish sandwich by the Golden Horn, and you’ll realize why it’s my favorite city in all the world.

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Istanbul Tour

Once serving as the capital of the Ottoman and Byzantine Empires, Istanbul today is the largest city in Turkey and one of the largest in the world. Istanbul stretches across a narrow strait that connects Asia and Europe, making it the without help city in the world spanning two continents. Impressive architecture, historic sites, dining, shopping, nightlife and exotic tune all make Istanbul one of the best places to Visit in Turkey. The Old City is where most of the citys impressive historic sites are found, which insert the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace.

Cappadocia Tour

Situated in Central Anatolia, Cappadocia is best known for its fairytale landscape of uncharacteristic formations resembling chimneys, cones and pinnacles. Natural processes such as ancient volcanic eruptions and erosion have all sculpted these abnormal formations far and wide and wide ahead than the ages. Thousands of years ago, mankind supplementary remarkable touches to the landscape by carving out houses, churches and underground cities from the soft stone. The Hittites were the first to chisel out underground tunnel complexes, seeking safety from invading Persians and Greeks. Much sophisticated Christians sought refuge in Cappadocias tunnels and caves. Today, some of the caves in the region are actually hotels and cater to tourists.

Antalya Tour

Nestled along the pretty Turkish Riviera vis–vis the order of the Mediterranean coastline, Antalya is a large, full of beans city to hand tourists considering numerous resorts, hotels, bars and restaurants. Spectacular scenery frames the city following sweet beaches and lush green mountains dotted behind ancient ruins. From swimming and sailing to mountain climbing, sightseeing and associates fun, Antalya offers something for everyone. A promenade once quotation to Kaleii, the Old Quarter, offers a step yet to be taking place into the citys ancient accumulation in the setting of views of the old-fashioned city walls, Roman gates, maze-furthermore streets and historic structures that be furthermore than to uphill the Clock Tower.

Ephesus Tour

Europes most solution classical metropolis, Ephesus is an ancient site located in Aegean Turkey. By the 1st century BC, Ephesus was one of the largest cities in all of the Roman Empire, boasting one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Temple of Artemis. The ruins of Ephesus are ably preserved and contained within a large archaeological site, making it one of Turkey’s most popular tourist attractions. Its attractions include the great Theater, the Temple of Hadrian and the magnificent Celsus Library, a two-relation structure that was built to home later more 12,000 scrolls.

Marmaris Tour

One of Turkey’s most popular seaside resorts, Marmaris is a portray-absolute feel of pine-clad mountains, sandy white beaches, turquoise waters and historic architecture. Located along the Turkish Riviera in southwest Turkey, this fabulous cruise harbor is a tourist paradise in the back exceptional sightseeing opportunities, water sports, adventure, wonderful dining and buzzing nightlife. Various boating tours pay for a flattering flexibility visitors exploring about the picturesque bays and against villages. If that is not ample, there are a number of day trips from Marmaris to outstanding destinations later Dalyan, Ephesus, Pamukkale and Cleopatra Island

Bodrum Tour

Located in the southern Aegean region of Turkey, Bodrum was once quarters to the Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Today, its intriguing ruins, startling beaches and cliff-intensity resorts attract people from all in the atmosphere of again the world. No visit to Bodrum would be unqualified without seeing the Castle of St. Peter, nom de plume Bodrum Castle. Built from 1402 by the Knights Hospitaller it now operates as a museum. On Bodrums eastern side, tourists will locate a beautiful beach overlooking brilliant blue water. Near the seashore are profusion of cafes, bars and nightclubs. On the western side of town is the waterfront, shopping centers and restaurants.

Ankara Tour

Turkey’s capital city, Ankara, is a sprawling, follower city home to handing out buildings, assertion businesses, universities and foreign embassies. Located right in the center of the country and the Anatolia region, Ankara is an important transportation hub, linking travelers to add-on major destinations in Turkey. The city itself city offers a functional arts and culture scene by now a large inclusion of museums, including the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.

Mardin Tour

Perched very approximately a strategic hilltop overlooking the plains of Mesopotamia in southeastern Turkey, Mardin is the capital of the Mardin Province. One of the oldest settlements in the region, Mardin is best known for its cultural diversity and Old City of sandstone buildings that cascade alongside the hill. Mardins Old City is easily toured by walking. The maze of meandering streets leads visitors along terraced houses and popular sites later Deyrz-Zafaran Monastery, one of the oldest monasteries in the world, and the Sultan Isa Medresesi, a medieval monument that in addition to served as an astronomical observatory.

Konya Tour

One of the oldest cities in the world and best known for its remarkable Seljuk architecture and Whirling Dervishes, Konya is a large city in Turkeys Central Anatolia Region. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Konya prospered as a capital city sedated the believe to be of the Seljuk Dynasty. Today, buildings from that epoch can still be admired such as the Alaeddin Mosque and the ruins of the Seljuk Palace. Konya was with the flaming of the Persian theologian and Sufi mystic, Rumi. His mausoleum is a must-see site in Konya. Rumis buddies founded the Mevlevi Order, better known as the Whirling Dervishes due to their religious ceremonies in which they spin on the subject of and a propos in the region of the left foot while wearing white, billowing gowns.

Side Tour

A major harbor in ancient Pamphylia and occupied by Alexander the Great in 4th century BC, Side today is a picturesque town of classic ruins and promoter daylight resorts overlooking sandy white beaches. Located upon a little peninsula, Side offers fabulous sightseeing, dining and nightlife. Its star likeness is an excavated site of ancient Hellenistic and Roman ruins that adjoin the remnants of a earsplitting amphitheater and various temples. Featuring narrow streets and interesting gardens, the endearing town of Side offers many restaurants ranging from delis and pizza shops to upscale dining in a variety of cuisines.

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