Istanbul Recs 2015
Eat at tarihi sultanahmet koftecisi if you get the chance ( http://www.sultanahmetkoftesi.com/), classic meatballs
Cemberlitas turkish bath - i havent done this but it is apparently amazing.
Basilica Cistern is a very interesting underground cistern but not critical to a visit.
Grand Bazaar is fun and definitely worth checking out, but if you dont want to shop you could get in and out without too much difficulty.
Galata tower is a cool view. It is a good place to start or end your walk down istiklal street. to get up to the tower from the ortakoy pier (by the galata bridge) you can either walk up the steep hill or take one of the oldest undergrounds in europe for some silly price (it’s a short ride only for the purpose of avoiding the hill)
Istiklal street - definitely should see this, pretty cool during the day and pretty poppin at night, lots of shopping and eateries, there are places to drink and hookah and bars there as well. the street ends in taksim square, which is a pretty central location for the european side, and from there you can find a dolmus (vocab) or that goes all over (including over the bridge to the asian side)
Asmali Mescit - this is a street that hits istiklal street on the south side (closer to the galata tower, farther from taksim square), and apparently this is where all the youth go out at night. lots of bars and clubs i think, and i’m sure plenty of places to chill and just drink or hookah at night. Cafe Pi (bar) and Vida Pera (more dancing) are both supposed to be pretty cool (I haven’t been myself).
Ortakoy - worth a visit, but somewhat out of the way so if you have the time. This is an area sort of under the bridge, where there’s a mosque right on the water. Its a great little area near the water, lots of cafes and theres a row of little waffle places i think, or some sort of dessert type thing. Rest Cafe there is apparently pretty good, it does good turkish breakfast and also is much cheaper than the more popular ones right along the water though. may be hard to find but keep it in mind if you go to this area. its especially nice at night when the bridge is lit up, but also great during the day of course.
The asian side has its own interesting things, and is probably worth checking out once over four days. Kadikoy is interesting and it’s worth taking a ferry over just for the amazing views and the great ride for so cheap. When you get to the asian side you can just have a balik ekmek or some midye dolmas (see food) and then hop on a ferry back to eminonu or karakoy. its a cheap ride, a great view, and pretty relaxing if the weather is nice and you sit outside. You can stay in kadikoy longer if you have time, it’s a pretty cool area itself.
My opinion on the boat tours of the bosphorus is that its probably not worth the time and money, because you get to see the best already by just riding the ferry across the bosphorus, but i did go on one and its pretty cool to get to see the shore all the way up to the second bridge up close (mine didnt have a tour guide explaining, which would have been nice)
dolmus - yellow vans that look like big taxis, but they only each run a certain route between two locations (listed on the front of the van), they have to be waved down (or sometimes they slow down and honk at you to see if you want a ride) and when you get on you say the location you want to get off and he tells you the price (it varies according to where you got on and how far you want to ride it, almost always under 5 lira (unless you are crossing the bridge)). these are somewhat difficult to deal with if you dont have a turkish speaking person with you, but it is an option.
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Should also mention Bebek. I don’t know it very well but I’ve heard good things and it’s on this (crazy) list of 50 coolest neighborhoods in the world.