Istanbul - advice wanted

I used Lonely Planet to visit Istanbul in 2002 and it was quite good.
The author has a website:

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/" target="_blank">http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/</a>

The Time Out guide for Istanbul is good too.

Mason A. Clark wrote:

 > Any advice or links to advice regarding
 > a visit to Istanbul will be appreciated.
 >
 > Starting point California. Visit 3 days?
 >
 > Mason C
 >
 > I apologize for multiple posting -- could
 > determing which group is pertinent.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Istanbul - advice wanted 

add to the the archeological museum.. also in sultanhamet district.
let me add that you do not pay to visit the Blue Mosque and the Suleyman
Mosque

you are allowed to visit both of them when it is not a prayers time ( times
are shown outside )

tourists are kindly required to make an offer

and they will get a receipt for it
Aya sofia is closed on Monday
Topkapi requires one entry ticket and many other extra tickets for the most
important buildings

let me add that there are also the 2 sultan's palaces to visit
and you have to pay for each of them. only guided tours allowed
ha scritto nel messaggio

 > That's a very long flight for just three days. I'd recommend a week if
 > you can. The city is loaded with history, the market districts are
 > very interesting, and non-Muslims are allowed to visit the major
 > mosques in Istanbul (non-Muslims aren't allowed inside mosques in some
 > Muslim countries). There's great food also, and the people are very
 > friendly and welcome visitors. Must-sees are the Blue Mosque, Aya
 > Sofya (a giant church that was turned into a mosque), Topkapi Palace,
 > Sulimaniye Mosque, Egyptian Bazaar (including the colors and scents of
 > the spice market), Kariye Church (one of the oldest standing buildings
 > in the world), and Sunken Palace Cistern. If you can spend more time
 > in Turkey, try to get to Ephesus and Cappadocia also.
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Istanbul - advice wanted 

In article ,
wrote:

 > That's a very long flight for just three days. I'd recommend a week if
 > you can. The city is loaded with history, the market districts are
 > very interesting, and non-Muslims are allowed to visit the major
 > mosques in Istanbul (non-Muslims aren't allowed inside mosques in some
 > Muslim countries). There's great food also, and the people are very
 > friendly and welcome visitors. Must-sees are the Blue Mosque, Aya
 > Sofya (a giant church that was turned into a mosque), Topkapi Palace,
 > Sulimaniye Mosque, Egyptian Bazaar (including the colors and scents of
 > the spice market), Kariye Church (one of the oldest standing buildings
 > in the world), and Sunken Palace Cistern. If you can spend more time
 > in Turkey, try to get to Ephesus and Cappadocia also.

I would agree with all the above. I'd recommend the Hotel Ambassador -
it's where I stayed, and it is nice, close to the sights, and has a
great breakfast on the terrace with great views. They're
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.hotelambassador.com/" target="_blank">http://www.hotelambassador.com/</a>

I also have some Istanbul stuff on my page at

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda/GrandTour2002Turkey/Menu205.html" target="_blank">http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda/GrandTour2002Turkey/Menu205.html</a>

Have a lot of fun

PS - Get ready to be hassled by street vendors and people endlessly
wanting you to look at their carpets for sale... hang in there.

--
Dan Stephenson
Photos and movies from US Parks and all over Europe:
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda" target="_blank">http://homepage.mac.com/stepheda</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Istanbul - advice wanted 

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 19:15:54 GMT, Mason A. Clark
wrote:

 >Any advice or links to advice regarding
 >a visit to Istanbul will be appreciated.
 >
 >Starting point California. Visit 3 days?

Thanks for the responses. I'll post here
after/if I go.

I've read all of Orhan Pamuk's novels and
look forward to his next, with "Istanbul" in
the title -- to be published in June.
Hence my fascination with Turkey.
 >
 > Mason C<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Istanbul - advice wanted 

  >> Any advice or links to advice regarding
  >> a visit to Istanbul will be appreciated.
 > Thanks for the responses. I'll post here after/if I go. I've
 > read all of Orhan Pamuk's novels and look forward to his next,
 > with "Istanbul" in the title -- to be published in June.

I read "The New Life" on a holiday when I did over 1000 miles on
Turkish buses - it's stuffed with tickets as bookmarks... you
have to wonder if Pamuk ever ventures to travel except on foot.

He's some way ahead of me, I haven't read "The Black Book" yet.

============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ==============
Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760
<http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/> for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Istanbul - advice wanted 

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.turkishculture.org/" target="_blank">http://www.turkishculture.org/</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.istanbultravelguide.net/" target="_blank">http://www.istanbultravelguide.net/</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www2.egenet.com.tr/mastersj/" target="_blank">http://www2.egenet.com.tr/mastersj/</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.turizm.net/" target="_blank">http://www.turizm.net/</a>
cheap air from US to Turkey 1 888 516 6306.
your trip photos you can post at
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.cruise-reviews.com/PhotoGallery/addimage.asp" target="_blank">http://www.cruise-reviews.com/PhotoGallery/addimage.asp</a>


Regards,
Admin
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.cruise-reviews.com" target="_blank">www.cruise-reviews.com</a>




"Mason A. Clark" wrote in message

 > Any advice or links to advice regarding
 > a visit to Istanbul will be appreciated.
 >
 > Starting point California. Visit 3 days?
 >
 > Mason C
 >
 > I apologize for multiple posting -- could
 > determing which group is pertinent.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Istanbul - advice wanted 

wrote in message

 > That's a very long flight for just three days. I'd recommend a week if
 > you can. The city is loaded with history, the market districts are
 > very interesting, and non-Muslims are allowed to visit the major
 > mosques in Istanbul (non-Muslims aren't allowed inside mosques in some
 > Muslim countries). There's great food also, and the people are very
 > friendly and welcome visitors. Must-sees are the Blue Mosque, Aya
 > Sofya (a giant church that was turned into a mosque), Topkapi Palace,
 > Sulimaniye Mosque, Egyptian Bazaar (including the colors and scents of
 > the spice market), Kariye Church (one of the oldest standing buildings
 > in the world), and Sunken Palace Cistern. If you can spend more time
 > in Turkey, try to get to Ephesus and Cappadocia also.

We also recommend the visit to the Dolmabahce Palace - sitting in the garden
sipping elma (apple tea) and watching the view has been a nice break after
sightseeing.
There are also a lot of interesting things in the district across the Galata
Bridge - there's a very long street leading to the Maxim Square (I forgot
the name?), and somewhere there we found this lovely coffee house in an old
Bizantine house - the inside of the house was very old-world, and we sat
upstairs watching the crowd downstairs...
One of the most fascinating things was walking through the Sultanahmet area
at 6 am - no crowds, it was already day, and the only people who were
passing by were the burek (cheese or meet pastry, delicious!) street
vendors. We also wandered around the Blue Mosque courtyard and gardens very
early in the morning.
Istanbul University (close to the Kapali Carsii - the Grand Bazaar) is also
very interesting. Nearby is a nice garden cafe visited by students and
teachers and not many tourists (very nice to relax after a bit of the
shopping on the bazaar, to drink tea and smoke the water pipe..)

Dan wrote:
 >PS - Get ready to be hassled by street vendors and people endlessly
 >wanting you to look at their carpets for sale... hang in there.

Yes! If you don't want to buy their stuff, don't look at it - if they
notice you're looking, they're willing to follow you for blocks in order to
convince you to buy! But I loved the sight of the street vendors who offer
fruit and veggies, pushing the carts with watermelons and cucumbers... so
picturescue.


I'd say 5 to 7 days is a minimum for Istanbul. If you can, go to Cappadocia,
too (minimum 3 days tour) - there are plently of small tourist agencies in
the Sultanahmet area, particularly the streets with hostels; they offer
reasonable price acommodations and bus tickets/tours to Cappadocia. We paid
about 15 US$ for the bus ticket to Urgup and 30 US$ for a 3 day tour of
Cappadocia, including the accomodation.

Elly<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Istanbul - advice wanted 

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 23:53:56 +0000, Jack Campin - bogus address
wrote:

   >>> Any advice or links to advice regarding
   >>> a visit to Istanbul will be appreciated.
  >> Thanks for the responses. I'll post here after/if I go. I've
  >> read all of Orhan Pamuk's novels and look forward to his next,
  >> with "Istanbul" in the title -- to be published in June.
 >
 >I read "The New Life" on a holiday when I did over 1000 miles on
 >Turkish buses - it's stuffed with tickets as bookmarks... you
 >have to wonder if Pamuk ever ventures to travel except on foot.
 >
 >He's some way ahead of me, I haven't read "The Black Book" yet.

I'm slow but... The Black Book is what has most
inspired me to visit Istanbul. The hero takes some
interesting walks. I'd like to follow the routes.

By the way, the book was a bit slow for me but the
alternate-chapter newspaper columns - essays - are
fascinating.

I recommend *Snow* to my friends as the easiest
introduction to Pamuk.

Mason C<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Istanbul - advice wanted 

Hello Mason,
what is your interest and what would you like to learn...For information,
call 1-877-FOR-TURKEY or contact the Turkish Tourism Offices in Washington,
D.C. at 202-612-6800 or in New York at 212-687-2194, and visit
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.tourismturkey.org" target="_blank">www.tourismturkey.org</a> or <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.turizm.gov.tr." target="_blank">www.turizm.gov.tr.</a>

If you need assistance for discounted air tickets and guide call 1 888 516
6306.


E.I.
Anchors Away Cruise Center
Rocklin, CA
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.mustcruise.com" target="_blank">http://www.mustcruise.com</a>
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.cruise-reviews.com" target="_blank">http://www.cruise-reviews.com</a>



"Mason A. Clark" wrote in message

 > Any advice or links to advice regarding
 > a visit to Istanbul will be appreciated.
 >
 > Starting point California. Visit 3 days?
 >
 > Mason C
 >
 > I apologize for multiple posting -- could
 > determing which group is pertinent.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Istanbul - advice wanted 

The flight from LAX commonly goes through Heathrow. From Heathrow to
Istanbul on Turkish Air can be noisy with lots of families and kids.
Istanbul is a great city. Stay in the Sultanahmet area. You will be
close to the more interresting sights. There are numerous hotels. A
web search will find a long list of hotels. We found people generally
helpful and honest although one person had their pocked picked. Any
guidebook will tell you about the interesting sights. Most people want
the see the Haghia Sophia (very old and impressive), the Blue Mosque (a
little oversold), the Topkakpi Palace (a great museum), and the Grand
Bazzar. The food is typically good. Your American Visa or Mastercharge
works well.

I'm ready to go back. We spent a week in Istanbul and ten days touring
the rest of the country..

Dick


  > > Any advice or links to advice regarding
  > > a visit to Istanbul will be appreciated.
  > >
  > > Starting point California. Visit 3 days?
  > >
  > > Mason C
  > >
  > > I apologize for multiple posting -- could
  > > determing which group is pertinent.
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Istanbul - advice wanted