Istanbul Journals

Istanbul - gate to Asia?

A travel journal to Istanbul by walkman

Blue mosque Photo - Aya Sofya/ Church of Holy Wisdom, Istanbul, Turkey

Quote: Istanbul is said to be a gate from Europe to Asia. I say it's not truth. Istanbul is continent by itself. Maybe also pays "once to see the Istanbul and you can die".

6 Photos

Istanbul - gate to Asia?

Overview

Quote:

Sultanahmet, Hagia Sofia, Galata, Golden Horn, Great Bazaar, Harem

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

walking

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Hostel Istanbul

Hotel

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Hostel Istanbul is located in Sultanahmet, where many other hostels and hotels are placed too. It is not too big a building, with two floors and a terrace. Price was 5 USD per night in the dormitory and 1.250.000 TRL (that was about 25 USD in 1998) on the terrace. I recommend sleeping on the roof, or terrace. It is a good, calm place and you can sense the atmosphere of Istanbul in the night. I especially liked to see how seagulls fly around the minarets of Hagia Sofia. You can see them every evening when the weather is good.

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on August 1, 2000

Hostel Istanbul
Sultanahmet
Istanbul, Turkey

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Street Food

Restaurant | "Meals, you can find on streets"

Quote:

Kebab - You can find many kinds of kebabs in Turkey. The best are usually Iskenderun and Adana. On the streets you can find usually Doner, which is made of chicken meat. Search for those made of lamb or goat! They are sold as pieces of meat on a plate, in ekmek (something like a baguette) or in bread (that salty pancake kind). The best doner I ate in Istanbul was in the upper part of the bazaar. Lahmacun - Lahmacun is a salty pancake filled with a mix of meat and vegetables and spices. It is good fast food. The best can be found under the Galata bridge. Melon - You can eat melon on the streets in Istanbul. They sell it cooled directly on the street. It's...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 1, 2000

Street Food
Throughout Istanbul
Istanbul, Turkey

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Aya Sofya/ Church of Holy Wisdom

Attraction | "Blue mosque"

Quote:

Blue mosque, or Sultanahmet if you want, is the most popular mosque in Turkey. However it is not the biggest one. All around the mosque there are many beautiful parks with fountains and nice paths. Today this place starts to get quite overcrowded with local guys selling postcards and guides or anything else, and they are around everywhere. If you want to taste the atmosphere of this place, you'll have quite a hard task. Still it is possible. Especially in the morning at about 6 o'clock. In the evening a light show takes places in the Sultanahmet. You can see colorful lights playing with four high minarets of the Blue mosque and over this scene a voice in some language speaks about hist...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 1, 2000

Aya Sofya/ Church of Holy Wisdom
Sultanhamet
Istanbul, Turkey

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Hagia Sophia

Attraction | "Hagia Sofia"

Quote:

Hagia Sofia is one of most popular buildings (if not the most popular) in Istanbul. It was built as a temple by Byzantines a long time ago. After Constantinople was captured by Turks (or Otomans if you wish) these guys, under the influence of Islam, changed this temple to a mosque. They built four minarets around it and it became one of the biggest mosques of the kingdom.

It seems that the Hagia Sofia was reconstructed a little bit in the last few years. And today it is one of the symbols of Istanbul. For this place, I think 'A picture is worth a thousand words' definitely applies.

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on August 1, 2000

Hagia Sophia
Sultanahmet Square
Istanbul, Turkey
+90 212 528 4500

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Macka Parki

Attraction

Quote:

Macka is the modern quarter of the city situated to the north from Golden Horn on a hill. You can find many embassies and consulates in this part of the city. There is also the very nice Macka Parki, which is a good place to rest when walking around Istanbul. It is also possible to sleep in this park if you are not afraid of dogs and homeless people, or police. I did it twice and it was quite a good experience. Nothing bad happened to me except two policemen who disturbed us and one homeless guy who after a few Slovak bad words went away with a strange look on his face.

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on August 1, 2000

Macka Parki
Macka
Istanbul, Turkey

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Grand Bazaar (Kapali Carsi)

Attraction | "Grand Bazaar"

Quote:

He who did not visit the Great Bazaar in Istanbul, visited nothing there. It is the reason to visit Istanbul. It is quite huge. The Bazaar takes one whole quarter of the city between Galata and Fetihye (to the north-west from Sultanahmet). On the top of the bazaar there lies the Old Bazaar, where you can buy mainly gold and leather goods. There are also antique shops there. But this part of the bazaar is not opened during the weekend. The rest of the bazaar is, for me, quite more interesting. In the nearest streets you can admire old spice markets, or the farther south you go, up the hill to Sultanahmet you can find clothes, tools and other practical goods. And if you visit this place in t...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 1, 2000

Grand Bazaar (Kapali Carsi)
Kalpakcilarbasi Street
Istanbul, Turkey

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Beaches of Kylios

Attraction

Quote:

If you want to spend some time near the sea in Istanbul and want to visit some calm beaches, visit Kylios. It is village on the northern part of the Bosphorus. You can get there by local busses from Galata bus station. It is quite a nice resort and the sea is great there...

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on August 1, 2000

Beaches of Kylios
Kylios village
Istanbul, Turkey

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Galata bridge

Attraction

Quote:

Galata bridge is another good place to take a walk through if you have nothing to do. There are many fishermen on it fishing in the waters of the Golden Horn. There you can eat fresh shellfish with lemon. They are delicious!

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 1, 2000

Galata bridge
Galata
Istanbul, Turkey