editor Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 I'm going to go to Istanbul next week and I'm looking for thoughts from anyone who's actually been there. With so many world travelers on HAIF someone's bound to have been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I've never been, but if you go, bring a copy of Tom Waits' "Telephone Call From Istanbul" on your mp3 player. (It's on the "Frank's Wild Years" album.)"Never trust a man in a blue trench coat. Never drive a car when you're dead." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Haven't been there myself, but a couple of friends have and both said it was the most underrated city they had ever been to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativehou Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 My husband has been there on many, many business trips and says its his favorite city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark F. Barnes Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Been there Wayne, very very nice, food is great just about anywhere, pasta pasta pasta. One of the better stops in all of Turkey. Humidity comparable to Galveston, pretty chilly over there, but not too bad, definitely not Chicago like. Mild winters compared to Chi-town. Like I said It's compare it to Galveston weather this time of year. Only thing that bugged me was the stale smell of cigarettes in a lot of the places of business, lots of smokers over there. Heavily Muslim, but some really great old buildings. All of the stuff up on the hills is great. Take a camera for sure. Some beautiful women by far, my wife has relatives there. There is a fairly large Lebanese population in the eastern section. Definitely definitely hit the bakeries, OMFG, and the goats milk cheese and butter, to die for. Love the White Cheese or Mihalic (Mee-Ha-lick), that's great for breakfast. If you go to the open markets, Barter, I mean Barter like you never have before, the Turks love to Barter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark F. Barnes Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Oh yeah believe it or not there is a Mexican Resturant called "Ranchero" that rivals anything I have eaten in the states, might check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Never been, but envious!I would check out the Misir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Closest I've been is the Istanbul Restaurant in Rice Village.That being said, my wife has a number of Turkish friends, and they're the nicest people I've ever met. One of my wife's cousins also lives in Istanbul (with her Turkish husband), and raves about it. I think we'll be visiting in the next year or two.The two things I look forward to: FOOD and MOSQUES. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrickStamp Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Never been, but envious!I would check out the Misir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted March 2, 2008 Author Share Posted March 2, 2008 My observations so far: Although everyone will tell you to just get a visa on arrival at the airport, we did it in advance. HIGHLY recommended. You will save yourself untold pain and misery with this simple bit of planning ahead. In fact, American Airlines wouldn't let us check in for our flight to London without having the Turkish visa. Pricing on the visa is fluid. I've seen numbers in books and on the internet ranging from $20 to $80 for Americans. We paid $73 ($36ish each) for two people at the Turkish consulate. This was the single best investment of the trip. The single worst investment would have been to upgrade to business class for $500 AA offered me at the airport. The flight was full of drunken British 20-somethings. We were better off safe at the back of the plane. Public transportation is clean, efficient, fast, frequent, and completely overwhelmed. Going short distances is easy, but interesting trips can be difficult because the various methods of transport are not yet unified. Last night we went someplace that required us to take a tram (nearly identical to Houston's light rail), then an underground funicular railway, then a streetcar, then a subway. We just took a taxi back, in spite of the horror stories I've heard about people being ripped off (especially at night) by Turkish cab drivers. The food is great. I'm able to experiment, while at the same time feeding my wife. She's a "fussy eater" but we haven't had any trouble finding food in Istanbul, unlike in some other cities (I'm looking at you, Tokyo!) The women here are much better looking than I'd expected. And what's great about them is that they're real women, not the waif children that pass for women back in the 'States. The pollution isn't too bad. It's foggy in the mornings, and there's a slight haze in the afternoon that goes away pretty quickly. The city is clean, in spite of itself. Stores throw their garbage on the street in the evening and men jump up and down on it to make it flat. By 11pm the place is a disaster. But by 5am the street cleaning crews have been through, sweeping up the pavement, washing it down, and making everything very clean again. There seems to be a lot of public services in this town. I haven't seen one beggar. Not one. I have about a dozen in my neighborhood at home. None here, though. The "tout annoyance level" is medium-low. In the bazaars, you expect it. On the regular streets I've only had two people try to sell me stuff. Only slightly more than at home. You can't drink the water, but the internet is everywhere. Typical of the third-world countries I've been to these days. At least in this city they let you know in advance not to drink the water, unlike some other places I've been lately. Wired, not wireless, is the flavor of choice here. High-speed isn't that high, but it gets the job done (about 1 megabit seems normal so far in the places I've tried like my hotel and a coffeehouse). I'm also learning that a lot of my favorite web sites block connections from Turkey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssullivan Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 Never have been to Istanbul, but it's on my list of places I hope to see in the next 10 years.[*]The single worst investment would have been to upgrade to business class for $500 AA offered me at the airport. The flight was full of drunken British 20-somethings. We were better off safe at the back of the plane.Ha. Usually it's quite the opposite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 Update on the internet issue: It turns out it's not my favorite web sites blocking Turkey, it's Turkey blocking my favorite web sites. If I go to some of them, I get intercepted by a page displaying a message from the government stating that the page is blocked due to court order. Further Googling on the issue shows that if you insult the right people on your web site you can get it blocked. Interesting. If the E.U. ever gets its constitutional act together it will be interesting to see how this little free speech battle will play out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssullivan Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 At least they haven't blocked HAIF yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 I'm going after Christmas! I can't wait! Thanks for the tip about getting a visa - I didn't even think of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted December 6, 2008 Author Share Posted December 6, 2008 I'm going after Christmas! I can't wait! Thanks for the tip about getting a visa - I didn't even think of it. Good for you. I think you'll like it. Lots of historic architecture. Very relaxed vibe. First thing you should do is get an Akbil. Do you know where you're staying yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Good for you. I think you'll like it. Lots of historic architecture. Very relaxed vibe. First thing you should do is get an Akbil. Do you know where you're staying yet?No hotel yet. Any recommendations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted December 7, 2008 Author Share Posted December 7, 2008 It mostly depends on why you're going. If you're going to see all the touristy things, then stay in Sultanahmet along a tram line. There are dozens and dozens of small hotels that are all fine. They're all pretty cookie-cutter in that area -- six or seven story buildings with the roof converted into a restaurant so you have views of the minarets. I stayed at the Best Western Empire Palace, mostly because it was cheap. But it was very clean and the people very nice. I think we paid something like $75/night.If you're going for business or nightlife, then get something in Beyoglu or around Taksim Square. There are a number of larger chain hotels (InterContinental, Four Seasons, etc...) in that area, but you'll have to take a trolley to a funicular to a tram to get to the tourist attractions.DON'T stay in Asia. It will just make life hard.DO take the subway out to 4.Levent and visit Kanyon and MetroCity malls. Have dinner. Sit in Starbucks. Just watch the world around you and realize that people in the Middle East are just like people in Houston.DO go to a hamam. Even the smaller hotels like mine will have one in the basement. It's probably easiest to do your first one there instead of risking embarrassment when you're surrounded by a hundred naked Turks. When I went it was €50, payable in cash directly to the guy from Kyrgyzstan who wrapped my junk in a cloth like a present with a little bow on the bottom. It takes about 20 minutes to lose your American inhibitions, but once you do it's a fascinating ritual and well worth it. Remember Rule #1 in Istanbul: Don't drink the water. Don't even brush with it. Try not to get it in your mouth when you shower. It's not safe, and there are signs posted in the hotels stating so. Fortunately, most will supply you with a one complementary bottle of water each day. It's not enough, though. My hotel was across the street from a convenience store, and bottled water is something like 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Thanks for the tips Ed.! I just booked a cheap & cheerful hotel in Sultanhamet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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