Istanbul for the weekend
Discussion
Over the last 3-4 years, I've travelled to Istanbul for work pretty much every month. I would guess that in that period I've spent 5-6 months per year in Istanbul.
In fact, I'm typing this while sitting in an office overlooking the mouth of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn.
I think it's a great place and a fascinating city: a Western approach to life with an Islamic skyline. There's plenty to see and do, great shopping with some bargains to be had and some excellent restaurants.
The cost question is a difficult one to answer. It's up to you. Hotels range from backpacker flea-pit right up to five-star luxury that would not be out of place anywhere in the world (at a cost, of course). The same goes for restaurants which range from cheap-and-cheerful kebab places right up to top quality gourmet establishments. Most syles of cuisine are available; the only thing I have not yet found is a good Lebanese restaurant. Seafood is particularly good here.
If you would care to give me an idea of your interests / budget, I would be happy to offer a few recommendations for hotels, restaurants, sights to see, things worth buying, etc.
I would recommend staying on the European side of the city, though, as there is far more history and antiquity to be found there (and, in my opinion, a higher concentration of the better hotels & restaurants).
I've never encountered any great problem with safety or personal security - and I do a lot of walking, especially at the weekends. The exception to that was one time nearly two years ago when I was four streets away from the British Consulate when it was bombed - but that can happen anywhere these days, including London.
Taxis are readiy available and fairly cheap - although the ride can, on occasion, be "interesting". Having said that, driving is generally fairly civilised - at least in comparison to most parts of the Middle East.
In terms of sight-seeing, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar are all worth a look - and all close together. Dolmabahce Palace is worth a visit and you can get boat trips to the Maiden's Tower, the Princess Islands (which would take most of a day for a round trip) or up and down the Bosphorus.
If you are thinking of doing any shopping in the Grand Bazaar, then I would recommend taking cash. They can handle credit cards but the process is very long winded (about 20-30 minutes). Also, Sterling is not widely recognised so it's better to have Euros or US Dollars.
Fell free to ask any questions. I'll do what I can to provide answers.
Dan
In fact, I'm typing this while sitting in an office overlooking the mouth of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn.
I think it's a great place and a fascinating city: a Western approach to life with an Islamic skyline. There's plenty to see and do, great shopping with some bargains to be had and some excellent restaurants.
The cost question is a difficult one to answer. It's up to you. Hotels range from backpacker flea-pit right up to five-star luxury that would not be out of place anywhere in the world (at a cost, of course). The same goes for restaurants which range from cheap-and-cheerful kebab places right up to top quality gourmet establishments. Most syles of cuisine are available; the only thing I have not yet found is a good Lebanese restaurant. Seafood is particularly good here.
If you would care to give me an idea of your interests / budget, I would be happy to offer a few recommendations for hotels, restaurants, sights to see, things worth buying, etc.
I would recommend staying on the European side of the city, though, as there is far more history and antiquity to be found there (and, in my opinion, a higher concentration of the better hotels & restaurants).
I've never encountered any great problem with safety or personal security - and I do a lot of walking, especially at the weekends. The exception to that was one time nearly two years ago when I was four streets away from the British Consulate when it was bombed - but that can happen anywhere these days, including London.
Taxis are readiy available and fairly cheap - although the ride can, on occasion, be "interesting". Having said that, driving is generally fairly civilised - at least in comparison to most parts of the Middle East.
In terms of sight-seeing, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar are all worth a look - and all close together. Dolmabahce Palace is worth a visit and you can get boat trips to the Maiden's Tower, the Princess Islands (which would take most of a day for a round trip) or up and down the Bosphorus.
If you are thinking of doing any shopping in the Grand Bazaar, then I would recommend taking cash. They can handle credit cards but the process is very long winded (about 20-30 minutes). Also, Sterling is not widely recognised so it's better to have Euros or US Dollars.
Fell free to ask any questions. I'll do what I can to provide answers.
Dan
OK, here goes with some thoughts.
HOTELS
£100/night should get you something pretty good, though you may need to look for some kind of deal or even push a bit on price. Places like the Ciragan Palace and Four Seasons are probably outside that budget. The same might be true of Swissotel Bosphorus (great location and view).
The Hilton, with Bosphorus view, is very nice and I got $175/night in July when my family came out – very luxurious, good food and a nice swimming pool. Other 5-star ones where you might make your budget are the Ceylan Intercontinental (Taksim Square) and the Hyatt Regency (central location).
Stepping down to 4-stars, there’s the Hilton ParkSA (good + great views, but no swimming pool – and usually my home from home) and the Plaza Hotel on Barbaros Boulevard (a little farther out and not a great location – but the hotel is fine).
An alternative is the Mega Residence Hotel: small & nicely done but tends to be a bit dark – very handy for some good restaurants. If you go there, avoid their restaurant – seriously mediocre.
If you find yourself struggling on price, drop me a line. My client’s P.A. (also blonde!) has a talent for getting the best price. You can reach me on offtopic@danmaur.com.
RESTAURANTS
Spoiled for choice, frankly – and £100 for two will take you a long way.
360 Istanbul (Istiklal Caddesi, Beyoglu – Tel: 251 1042) is excellent but might run a little more than the budget. The potato-wrapped sea bass is worth it, however.
Vogue (close to Hilton ParkSA – 227 4404) is very trendy and ‘chic’, but the food is good (prawns in red chilli is highly recommended) and the view from 20+ floors up is stunning.
Banyan (Nisantasi … pronounced “knee – shan – ta – shay, Tel: 219 6011) does very interesting Asian Fusion food – it’s a personal favourite: the green curry, salmon + wasabe potato and sake-marinated beef are all excellent.
In fact, Nisantasi is a good area for food. In the space of 5-600 yards you will find Leea (Tel. 234 7979), Mezzaluna (just drop in – good, reasonably priced Italian food), Belgo, Café Armani and 2 or 3 others whose names I can’t recall. You will also find the North Shield (pseudo-English pub + sports bar) and Taps (food not great but it is a micro-brewery with some interesting beers).
Mia Mensa is a decent Italian place with outdoor seating right by the side of the Bosphorus. Close by is Mavi Yesil / Mavi Balik which is a great seafood restaurant (‘balik’ is Turkish for fish – so try not to be surprised when the waiter asks “how do you want your baliks cooked?”).
Tike (Levent 1, Tel: 281 8871) is a good and fairly inexpensive local restaurant; an amazing selection of kebab-based dishes and an excellent mezze.
Borsa is a more upmarket local restaurant (Tel: 232 4201) and very good; the lamb shank is particularly memorable.
And there’s more: The Veranda, The Loft, The Roof (seriously), Le Pecheur, Safran, Paper Moon, Ocakbasi – all good.
If you get bored with that, you can always get a good (and massive) fry-up at the James Joyce – Istanbul’s Irish Pub on Istiklal Caddesi, Beyoglu (near Taksim Square) – and they have live music every weekend (+ Sky Sport!). Oh, and the fry will cost you about £6 per head.
At weekends, most of the waterside cafes in Bebek and Yenikoy do a buffet breakfast/brunch – can be fun to do that around 11.00am if you want a slow start.
WANDERING AROUND
You should definitely do the Golden Horn / Sultanahmet (Grand Bazaar, Blue Mosque, Topkapi & Hagia Sophia) region; lots to see and plenty of little streets with cafes and interesting shops. There are some interesting antique and book shops just outside the Grand Bazaar – and the inside is both interesting and entertaining.
After that, a favourite pastime of mine is to call into the Four Seasons for a late afternoon ‘livener’. It used to be a political prison and is an interesting building in its own right.
Taksim / Istiklal Caddesi can be fun, but it’s more for shopping than just mooching about. Same goes for Nisantasi which is where the posh shops are found (Gucci, Armani, Boss, etc.).
SHOPPING
The best bargains are such things as carpets, leather jackets, etc., mother-of-pearl inlaid boxes, backgammon sets, chess boards, etc. A few places in the Grand Bazaar do excellent [cough] facsimiles of designer handbags. They claim to get the leather, thread and bits & bobs from the same suppliers – and then knock them out at about 15-20% of the high street price. My wife says you can’t tell the difference. The antique shops are a good source of old maps and prints – but not particularly cheap anymore.
STREET URCHINS
I think you’ll be surprised at how little bother you encounter. Pick-pockets and the like are pretty rare and while there is some street begging it is negligible compared with somewhere like Cairo. The ‘hulking ugly’ bit helps – I’m much the same: 6’ 4” and used to play second row forward.
You’ll get some pushy sales pitches in and around the Grand Bazaar, but most of that is light-hearted and some of it is even funny; more banter than intimidation. When I tried to brush off one guy by saying I’d come back later, he said “in another life maybe?” and left it at that.
EXHIBITIONS / CONCERTS
There’s usually quite a lot going one – but I think I’ve gone on too long.
I’ll try, tomorrow, to get hold of the latest English language “what’s on” publications for October; believe it or not, there’s a “Time Out Istanbul”. If I can do that, then maybe I can post them to you in advance – I’m hoping to get home (Ireland) next week.
Apologies for length,
Dan
HOTELS
£100/night should get you something pretty good, though you may need to look for some kind of deal or even push a bit on price. Places like the Ciragan Palace and Four Seasons are probably outside that budget. The same might be true of Swissotel Bosphorus (great location and view).
The Hilton, with Bosphorus view, is very nice and I got $175/night in July when my family came out – very luxurious, good food and a nice swimming pool. Other 5-star ones where you might make your budget are the Ceylan Intercontinental (Taksim Square) and the Hyatt Regency (central location).
Stepping down to 4-stars, there’s the Hilton ParkSA (good + great views, but no swimming pool – and usually my home from home) and the Plaza Hotel on Barbaros Boulevard (a little farther out and not a great location – but the hotel is fine).
An alternative is the Mega Residence Hotel: small & nicely done but tends to be a bit dark – very handy for some good restaurants. If you go there, avoid their restaurant – seriously mediocre.
If you find yourself struggling on price, drop me a line. My client’s P.A. (also blonde!) has a talent for getting the best price. You can reach me on offtopic@danmaur.com.
RESTAURANTS
Spoiled for choice, frankly – and £100 for two will take you a long way.
360 Istanbul (Istiklal Caddesi, Beyoglu – Tel: 251 1042) is excellent but might run a little more than the budget. The potato-wrapped sea bass is worth it, however.
Vogue (close to Hilton ParkSA – 227 4404) is very trendy and ‘chic’, but the food is good (prawns in red chilli is highly recommended) and the view from 20+ floors up is stunning.
Banyan (Nisantasi … pronounced “knee – shan – ta – shay, Tel: 219 6011) does very interesting Asian Fusion food – it’s a personal favourite: the green curry, salmon + wasabe potato and sake-marinated beef are all excellent.
In fact, Nisantasi is a good area for food. In the space of 5-600 yards you will find Leea (Tel. 234 7979), Mezzaluna (just drop in – good, reasonably priced Italian food), Belgo, Café Armani and 2 or 3 others whose names I can’t recall. You will also find the North Shield (pseudo-English pub + sports bar) and Taps (food not great but it is a micro-brewery with some interesting beers).
Mia Mensa is a decent Italian place with outdoor seating right by the side of the Bosphorus. Close by is Mavi Yesil / Mavi Balik which is a great seafood restaurant (‘balik’ is Turkish for fish – so try not to be surprised when the waiter asks “how do you want your baliks cooked?”).
Tike (Levent 1, Tel: 281 8871) is a good and fairly inexpensive local restaurant; an amazing selection of kebab-based dishes and an excellent mezze.
Borsa is a more upmarket local restaurant (Tel: 232 4201) and very good; the lamb shank is particularly memorable.
And there’s more: The Veranda, The Loft, The Roof (seriously), Le Pecheur, Safran, Paper Moon, Ocakbasi – all good.
If you get bored with that, you can always get a good (and massive) fry-up at the James Joyce – Istanbul’s Irish Pub on Istiklal Caddesi, Beyoglu (near Taksim Square) – and they have live music every weekend (+ Sky Sport!). Oh, and the fry will cost you about £6 per head.
At weekends, most of the waterside cafes in Bebek and Yenikoy do a buffet breakfast/brunch – can be fun to do that around 11.00am if you want a slow start.
WANDERING AROUND
You should definitely do the Golden Horn / Sultanahmet (Grand Bazaar, Blue Mosque, Topkapi & Hagia Sophia) region; lots to see and plenty of little streets with cafes and interesting shops. There are some interesting antique and book shops just outside the Grand Bazaar – and the inside is both interesting and entertaining.
After that, a favourite pastime of mine is to call into the Four Seasons for a late afternoon ‘livener’. It used to be a political prison and is an interesting building in its own right.
Taksim / Istiklal Caddesi can be fun, but it’s more for shopping than just mooching about. Same goes for Nisantasi which is where the posh shops are found (Gucci, Armani, Boss, etc.).
SHOPPING
The best bargains are such things as carpets, leather jackets, etc., mother-of-pearl inlaid boxes, backgammon sets, chess boards, etc. A few places in the Grand Bazaar do excellent [cough] facsimiles of designer handbags. They claim to get the leather, thread and bits & bobs from the same suppliers – and then knock them out at about 15-20% of the high street price. My wife says you can’t tell the difference. The antique shops are a good source of old maps and prints – but not particularly cheap anymore.
STREET URCHINS
I think you’ll be surprised at how little bother you encounter. Pick-pockets and the like are pretty rare and while there is some street begging it is negligible compared with somewhere like Cairo. The ‘hulking ugly’ bit helps – I’m much the same: 6’ 4” and used to play second row forward.
You’ll get some pushy sales pitches in and around the Grand Bazaar, but most of that is light-hearted and some of it is even funny; more banter than intimidation. When I tried to brush off one guy by saying I’d come back later, he said “in another life maybe?” and left it at that.
EXHIBITIONS / CONCERTS
There’s usually quite a lot going one – but I think I’ve gone on too long.
I’ll try, tomorrow, to get hold of the latest English language “what’s on” publications for October; believe it or not, there’s a “Time Out Istanbul”. If I can do that, then maybe I can post them to you in advance – I’m hoping to get home (Ireland) next week.
Apologies for length,
Dan
I've got hold of a copy of "The Guide" (in English) for Sept/Oct '05. It lists a wide range of things including exhibitions, museums and the like - but not concerts, for some reason.
October edition of "Time Out Istanbul" is not out yet. I'll try again on Friday.
Happy to post it to you when I get back next week. Drop me a mail with an address if you want it/them.
Dan
October edition of "Time Out Istanbul" is not out yet. I'll try again on Friday.
Happy to post it to you when I get back next week. Drop me a mail with an address if you want it/them.
Dan
Flash hotels - Four Seasons or the Kempinski (Ciragan Palace). Even if you don't stay at the Ciragan, go there for dinner and get an outside table.
Very nice and reasonably priced hotel in old town - the Blue House Hotel (Mavi Ev) - google it, or if you really want I could dig up the URL, PM me
Restaurants - Ciragan Palace, and Vogue are very good. For lunch there's a brilliant place called Mozaik in the old town
Very nice and reasonably priced hotel in old town - the Blue House Hotel (Mavi Ev) - google it, or if you really want I could dig up the URL, PM me
Restaurants - Ciragan Palace, and Vogue are very good. For lunch there's a brilliant place called Mozaik in the old town
The centre and the obvious religious buildings, sultan's palace and all are all worth while but what I found most interresting was the off centre strolling . . . I visited a 'church' where a boy just got some ritual and an all turkish teahouse. It may seem scary but just do it. You'll get to see some real stuff. Avoid looking like a tourist btw. Boys will spit on your shoes just to polish . . . slap!
Russians are all a bit weird there / best to avoid. I had one of the best nights ever in an all turk bar: pay one price and get all the food, drink and dancing you'll ever need. Dark alleys, must not be afraid but just go. Drink water iso beers . . . those mfs steal ya without noticeing.
Food is all fried stuff, upsets me stomach . . .
Anyways, Galatasaray stadium is a gas.
Russians are all a bit weird there / best to avoid. I had one of the best nights ever in an all turk bar: pay one price and get all the food, drink and dancing you'll ever need. Dark alleys, must not be afraid but just go. Drink water iso beers . . . those mfs steal ya without noticeing.
Food is all fried stuff, upsets me stomach . . .
Anyways, Galatasaray stadium is a gas.
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