Barcelo Eresin Topkapi, Istanbul

Advantages: it´s very different
Disadvantages: it´s very different

...preserved ones in Italian churches. Later we went to the small church-turned-mosque-turned-museum Chora which has the best conserved Byzantine mosaics and frescoes of Istanbul. The impression there is better because the building is very small and intimate and one can have a close look at the works of art, but I wasn´t satisfied, I had expected more. We´ve reached the Ottoman Empire now, at its highpoint the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul was the centre of the world for the people from the Nile to what is Hungary today. Here the Sultan lived with his extended family (harem), servants and the people necessary to conduct the business of ruling the Empire, 5000 altogether. He chose the most exposed point of the city at the tip of the peninsula between the Golden Horn and the Bosphorus. Unlike the European palaces, Topkapi is not a single monumental... Read review

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Advantages: 3* Hotel in a 5* location
Disadvantages: Noisy rooms.

...have ever endured but that is another story) I had to leave by plane. I went in to a local youth hostel which was advertising airport shuttle buses. It cost me roughly £5 for the half-hour ride; the coach turned up at my hotel at the stated time and was very comfortable and reliable. My brief is really to discuss the hotel, not to enter into a description of Istanbul. However the attractions of a hotel are what they offer outside as well as inside, and that is really where this hotel can score good points, along with all the many other hotels in the area . Well the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia museum are two major attractions which are only four minutes walk up the road through a pretty part of town.The Topkapi museum is only a couple of minutes further. The on-line website shows the hotel building almost in isolation... Read review

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Advantages: Istanbul is a very diverse city with endless cultural sights and beautiful landscapes. Food and nightlife are excellent and very different to the rest of Europe.
Disadvantages: Traffic is an absolute mess. It can be hard to find a park or green spot downtown. The souvenir dealers and "guides" in the touristic areas can be very annoying.

...start. Albeit extremely touristic, this district comprises several architectural monuments which are not to be missed. At the centre of Sultanahmet is the historical triangle with the Blue Mosque, Saint Sophy, and the Topkapi Palace. The Hagia Sophia (Saint Sophy) represents the different periods of medieval history in Istanbul like no other place. It was built in 537 as the centre of the Byzantine Church. In 1453 the inhabitants of what was then called Constantinople gathered in the Hagia Sophia, praying to god that their city would be saved from Turkish occupation. After the conquest of Constantinople by Sultan Mehmet, the Hagia Sophia was used as a Mosque for five centuries, until Kemal Atatürk turned it into a museum in 1934. The result is an interesting mixture of styles in the Hagia Sophia: you can still see the wonderful golden... Read review

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