Golden Horn, Istanbul

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.

...the Hippodrome. Stroll around small old streets and markets, discover the remains of the Forum Romanum around the Constantine Column, or pay a visit to Cagaloglu Hamani, Istanbul's oldest Turkish Bath. And the Great Bazar is just a few steps away. #25; Advice: Throughout your excursion in Sultanahmet district, you may feel harassed by carpet dealers all over the place. Kindly ignore the ones on the street, but feel free to enter some of the carpet shops. You may have a look at some beautiful textiles over a free cup of tea which is usually offered (rejecting it is regarded an offence) and you don't have to feel obliged to buy anything. Galata and Beyoglu Districts The Golden Horn bay separates Sultanahmet from Istanbul's second historic centre, Galata and Beyoglu districts. Once... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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.

...the Hippodrome. Stroll around small old streets and markets, discover the remains of the Forum Romanum around the Constantine Column, or pay a visit to Cagaloglu Hamani, Istanbul's oldest Turkish Bath. And the Great Bazar is just a few steps away. #25; Advice: Throughout your excursion in Sultanahmet district, you may feel harassed by carpet dealers all over the place. Kindly ignore the ones on the street, but feel free to enter some of the carpet shops. You may have a look at some beautiful textiles over a free cup of tea which is usually offered (rejecting it is regarded an offence) and you don't have to feel obliged to buy anything. Galata and Beyoglu Districts The Golden Horn bay separates Sultanahmet from Istanbul's second historic centre, Galata and Beyoglu districts. Once... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

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

...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 structure... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

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

.... Each station is located usually in the middle of the road surrounded by a security rail. You pay YTL1.30 ( about 55p) at an adjoining kiosk for a "jeton" The jeton will get you through the turnstile and once inside you can tram around all day until you take another turnstile to get out. The journey down to the water's edge and the Galata Bridge is very scenic and passes the outer stone walls of the huge Topkapi museum . The Galata Bridge effectively divides what is called the Golden Horn from the Bosphorous and is the arrival and departure point for most of the ferries and tourist boat trips. Taking the tram the other way brings you within a short walking distance of the Kapilicarsi or Grand Bazaar. which I didn't have time to see but had some good write ups. To me, Istanbul is a place that would keep me interested for 5 days, no more... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful