So - yes - not Pakistani tourism - but Turkish - just need a few friendly pointers.
I am going to Istanbul - Turkey for a week in May 2022 with family. Anyone local there, on this site?
Any recommendations on do' and do not's in Istanbul ?
Travelling around Istanbul - any recommendations ? Is Uber (or equivalent - any good ? ) - Will the subway get you to most places?
Hotels - something very clean / safe / accessible / not a rip off and also not a Rat trap - but also not five star ? Any recommendations. We will be just sleeping there -
Parents want to go through the Islamic history of Istanbul etc ...
Last year in august I was in Turkey for 16 days out of which 5 were spent in Istanbul. So if you are not willing to travel outside Istanbul then the following is what i recommend or something you should know
1-
Istanbul is not a city like lahore or karachi.. its quite hilly place like Islamabad but way worse in terms of slopes and steepness. 100 meters on the map will be a pain, if not torture because it will be at 15 to 25 % inclination. Kalaija bahir aa jata hai bhai. Take joggers and comfortable shoes. If you are traveling with family who are at extremes of age then make sure you plan accordingly. If you have been to Murree then some places are like the steep roads of Nathia Gali (above the main Bazar) or the side roads of pindi/kashmir point.
2-
Traveling inside istanbul:
I booked myself a crossover via Alamo. In case you do the same, please note that DO NOT book car insurance online. The car companies collaborate with each other and in my case the car CHR was owned by Orbitz and they refused to accept car insurance by alamo meaning if god forbid I ended up in an accident I had to pay before leaving and then would be reimbursed, which never happens. I ended up buying second insurance. Having said that driving in Istanbul, especially around tourist attraction places or places of interest is like driving in Mozang, ichra for Lahore or Lalu khait for Karachi. I am not exaggerating here. Even if you manage to drive slowly, even then parking is a hassle, the narrow streets are like a maze, and getting back to your car is a nightmare as one street will always be steep. I had to return my car on the 3rd day in Istanbul while it was booked for further 3 more days. I didn't use the local transport, too congested and you have to walk a bit which was not due to the inclined streets and due to kids.
3-
Stay: The majority of people stay around Taksim square or near Sultan Ahmed. Sultan Ahmed is the area near the blue mosque. I stayed at Sultan Ahmed but traveled a lot and I would never recommend staying near Taksim square for many reasons including ease of access, availability of taxis, dozens and dozens of drunk people at Taksim square makes it a bit uncomfortable. Problem is that staying near sultan Ahmed also has its ups and downs as just like Taksim square, Taxis are reluctant to go there as well but you have the 2 mosques, topkapi palace, eminonu, grand bazar, pier nearby. In Istanbul, the taxis will not charge you by meter and you will need to bargain. e.g. I went to Taksim from near Blue mosque for 30 Lira and came back for 65 or 70. Uber is useless there, doesn't work and their local app B-taksi is worthless too. So its either taxi via the hotel or the old school wave and stop style.
4-
Hotel booking: If you want to book online, then book from outside Turkey or otherwise use VPN while inside Turkey. During my stay I found Park Dedamon to be a good chain. Overall any hotel on hotel.com is good enough provided its rating is above 7.7/7.8. Do check the number of reviews as they should be a few hundred at the least.
5-
Istanbul.
a- Start the journey by blue mosque (unfortunately you can't see the roof, so just see exterior and tick the box), Haga Sophia, Topkapi Palace. Go by the same order. they are within 1 km area and on relatively flat ground. After Haga sophia, walk back to the courtyard, fountains in front of the entrance for haga sophia, while facing the Haga Sophia with your back towards Blue mosque, walk on your right side. At the end, there is a small booth for tickets. Do not stand there. That's a ticket booth for many places/museums including Topkapi palace. Many people waste half an hr in the queue there (including yours truly). Topkapi palace is on the left of that ticket office. so in short, while facing haga Sophia entrance, go right and then turn left at the end. Topkapi palace has tickets based upon 3areas of interest. Irani hamam is a wastage of time and money as the main thing (relics of prophets and sahaba) is the main attraction.
b- Other than that if you are going with kids then go to isfanbul, a theme park. Do try the dolphen ride for kids. Its a bit expensive but worth the money.
c- Grand bazar is another tick box, overly priced and too congested a place.
d- Shopping can be done at Eminonu bazar/market or from cevahir mall (pronounced as jawahir mall).
d- Taksim square is another tick box and from there walk on a street (1km) and it will take you to galata tower. If you want you can go to the top of the tower as well.
e- Hazart Abu Ayub Ansari mouselum is another place you should visit and is not merely a tick box.
f- Bosphorous cruise and princes island cruise leave from eminonu peir. If you want you can book via an agent from your hotel or simply walk there and book a ticket on the ship. Evening Bosphorous cruise has dinner served with belly dance so you might be in for a shock if you are travelling with kids or parents. At princes island, there is no need to go to all islands as the main and the biggest island is enough. Rest are all same. If you want you can hire a cycle there which can be ridden but mind you at places the inclination is 25 degrees. You must try the ice cream from the island. Everyone will direct you towards the multi-scoops (giant) cones but I think you should try younus ice cream stand (rehri) next to the Anadolu club. Home-made, fresh ice cream from seasonal fruits. It is nothing that I have ever tried anywhere. To this day, my family just relishes the experience. If I ever go to princes island again then this ice cream will definitely be one of the reasons.
g- Faruk Yelcin Zoo. Its far away from the city and will cost you a bit to go, but it was an amazing experience for my kids. I recommend you visit that place.
6-
Travel back- Leave hotel 4.5 to 5 hrs before your flight. From my hotel near sultan ahmed it took me almost 3 hrs to reach the new airport. Told you Lalu khait/sanda traffic.
7-
If you can, take a flight to Antalya. Take one of the budget airlines (Anadolu or pegassus). 1 hr flight and Antalya is the place you should go. There, if nothing else then, Land of the legends or the old city is worth the trip. other attractions include the aksu dolphinarium and the aquarium, the waterfalls etc
8-
If not Antalya then take a trip to Bursa. it's not far from Istanbul and you can go by car, bus, taxi, ship. There you can go to Koza than (old bazar), if you into Urtu gul ghazi drama then soghut is 1.5 to 2 hrs drive away from there, you can also go to the mountains via chair lift where tons of snow wud be at this time of the year or you can go to ulubat lake. I didn't try the iznak lake which was also nearby.
9-
General tips:
Food and drink: carry water with you at all times. buy groceries or snacks from BIM, Migros or SOK, they are like 711, everywhere. I personally loved the karadeniz doner, tarihi kurkcu han (in eminonu), the baked potatoes filled snack (forgot the name), and turkish kebabs. and yes, how can I forget, yunus ice cream at princess island, a must have.
Wear sneakers (Joggers) or comfortable shoes. take warm clothes, it will be cold. Very few people speak English. Download Google translate and Turkish and English/urdu translation package. Taxi drivers and shopkeepers will loot you (i say 6/7 out of 10) unless you know where you are going, so always start google maps when you go somewhere or use them. Shopping is better from cevahir mall unless offcourse u need traditional abays and scarfs. do not buy a sim from the airport. Near your hotel (whichever you choose) take the Turkcell sim for foreigners. Gives you like 6 or 8 gb data with a good no of minutes and excellent coverage. if you plan to shop then go light, trust me i can not emphasize it more.
Have a nice trip. feel free to revert with any queries.
Although he is currently on the run... Some clubs, frankly low-profile nightclubs with a squalid atmosphere, exist with the sole purpose of ripping off these type tourists.
