I am going to be there for 3-4 days in a few weeks and would love to hear your stories and advice.

In before 36_Gauge

Well, you see, it's Istanbul, not Constantinople.  So if you've a date in Constantinople, she'll be waiting in Istanbul.

Watch "Midnight Express" before you go.

and bring some weed and bibles to hand out

Killjoy


 

Why'd they change it?



 

There's a lot of things to do. We have museums, we have historic buildings and places, we have natural beauty, we have places to get drunk, we have places to eat good food, we apparently have artsy farts shit too but I'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy so I can't help with that.

Ask away, email me, IM me. I'll definitely buy you a beer.

I can't say - people just liked it better that way.

politics

Why did Constantinople get the works?

That's nobody's business but the Turks!

lol apparently I failed to recognize the lyrics

Great place. I spent 8 days there and didn't even come close to seeing everything. It's amazing to see the culture of the city, parts are old world, other parts are completely westernized.

Make sure you take a boat trip across the Bosphorus at night, the ferry was only about 5 lira back in 2006, I just rode it across then back.

Neat Places:
The Hagia Sophia
Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque)
The Basilica Cistern (Across the street from the Hagia Sophia.)

There are a lot of great places to eat. The Mesale Cafe & Restaurant, just off Torun Sk in the South East shadow of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, has very good tea and hookah, they also have Whirling Dervishes a few nights of the week.

Bring a camera.  Watch your pocket.  The mosque has a dress code.

Neat city, I was only able to spend about 12 hours there, but it was fun to just roam around and check things out.

I still have a bunch of Turkish Lira at home.  It was funny getting a 10,000,000 Lira bill out of the ATM machine....was either 10 million or 1 million, forgot which.

10 million probably. we got rid of the zeros a few years back.

you should get rid of your zero too guys

I have been humming that song for 3 days now. Irony or coincidence?


ByteTheBullet  (-:

I am looking for things to do with a wife and kids in tow. Good places to eat and historically significant places to visit are on the top of my list. Naturally - Istanbul itself being a rather historically significant place in itself...

 

Well off the top of my head you should see


Hagia Sophia
The Blue Mosque (We call it Sultan Ahmet Mosque)
The Basilica Cistern
Süleymaniye Mosque
Topkapi Palace
Dolmabahce Palace
The Bosphorus - Just take a boat ride from Eminonu or Kadikoy
Miniaturk
Kariye Muzesi
Istanbul Archeological Museum
Rahmi Koc Museum
Little Hagia Sophia
Istiklal Caddesi A walk down this avenue will be pretty descriptive in actually how multicultural Turkey used to be
Galata Kulesi
Misir Carsisi This is a must see
Kapali Carsi This is also a must see

These are some of the best eateries in town:
Most any place in Istanbul is child friendly since we like our screaming offspring in tow behind us.

Ciya Kebap
Van Kahvalti Sofrasi - just search for it online and see if you like it
Yanyali Fehmi Lokantasi The English site is a bit bare but a lot of info can be found on them online
Develi Kebap This is sort of fancy but some of the best kebabs in the whole world can be had here, if you feel like drinking a glass of raki or wine with your kebab, this is the place
Beyti Et Lokantasi This is also pretty fancy but it's one of the best restaurants in Turkey if not the best.
Karakoy Gulluoglu This is the best baklava in the world
Haci Bekir This is the place to go for Turkish delights
Short list of kebab places This is a pretty good list, I've eaten in almost all of them, they're really good.

There are two really big malls on the European side of town
Cevahir
Istinye Park
anything can be found in either of these.

If you take a cab from the airport, tell him sternly that you've been to Istanbul before so you don't want the scenic way this time.

I guess this is enough for a couple of days.

There's a dress code for mosques, no shorts and tank tops, just throw a shawl over your head -if you're female-. If you're male and have a big hat on your head, you may want to take it off but it's a ballcap or something inconspicious, don't bother. Don't walk in front of people praying and try not to take pictures of people praying but it's more of a courtesy than a rule. Not making a lot of noise is also customary but no one will say anything if a little child is crying, we're pretty tolerant of children as I said before.

If you come during Ramadan which is in a few weeks, just use your common sense, walking down a busy street outside the touristy areas with a bottle of beer in your hand is bad manners, if you're in the touristy areas, just do what every other tourist is doing, they'll still be eating and drinking. Many muslims also don't fast so don't worry, almost everywhere will still be open.

It can get pretty hot here, especially during noon hours.

Don't forget raingear, it can and does rain with short notice.

If you can spend a bit of money for your comfort, spend it on cab fare. Public transportation is as bad as any big city here. There's a municipal train line called "Banliyö Treni" in Istanbul. Do not take it, ever. The other tram lines, subways, ferries etc are good to go.

You can carry a pocket knife. I suggest you do. Pepper spray is also lawful.

I guess this is it.

Dumb question: does this apply to tourists as well? What about blade length restrictions etc? My gf wants to visit her home city in Turkey in the future. I'm sure we'll be fine, but having something to carry would be a plus. I feel the same way in the States.

I'd try to keep it around 3,5 inches. The JBTs cops can get antsy here if you're caught carrying a big knife, even if it isn't expressly illegal.

Thanks. After looking at the food links you posted, I don't want to think about the weight gain that will result from this trip.

If you're going somewhere in the south of the country, you'll just sweat off the weight.