Four Days in Impressive Istanbul

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Nestled between Asia and Europe, impressive Istanbul is a sprawling, massive city with unlimited choices in food, tourist, and local experiences!

Logistics:

Because Istanbul is one of the largest cities on earth, there are plenty of options within the city. Here is what we did!

By Plane

Surprisingly, we visited both Istanbul airports in our short time. We flew into Istanbul SAW and then flew out of the new Istanbul (IST) airport. Both airports are located a minimum of 45 minutes away from city center, but beware that is without any traffic and therefore unrealistic! 

If you’re staying on the Asian side, I would aim for Istanbul SAW airport as it is on the Asian side. However, SAW airport hosts all the budget airlines such as Pegasus so you may not have a choice! For most long-haul international flights, IST airport is located on the European side so it will be closer to the main tourist areas such as Sultanahmet.

By Public Transportation

Similar to any big city, Istanbul has a pretty good public transportation. It advertises as the oldest metros in the world - even though I think several cities state this fact! While we only used it a few times, we bought single use tickets for 7TY each. If you’re in Istanbul for 3-5 days and plan on using it a lot, then I would buy the metro card for 5TY and then each ride is only 3.5TY, I believe. Once the tickets are purchased, it is really simple to enter the metro and then continue onwards.

By Private Hire

Thankfully, Istanbul has Uber! From the airport, Uber will cost about €25 one way. Within the city, Uber is really cheap and affordable. Uber utilizes the city’s yellow cabs so the quality will vary, but it is a good way to keep track of your meter and pay with your card.

Lodging

Similar to any large city, there are a million choices here! Ordinarily, we would have stayed in an AirB&B but we booked our hotel on the day that we were due to arrive in Istanbul so we chose the Doubletree by Hilton - Old Town! Because it was a massive hotel, the rooms were decent and comfortable. My only complaint was it advertises near the Old Town sights, yet it was still a 10-20 minute walk. The hotel did offer free breakfast so that was nice but overall, probably would have gotten a better deal via AirB&B. Thankfully, we booked on points and it was all free!

One important consideration is the area where you stay. In hindsight, we are glad we stayed in Sultanahmet because we were within 10 minutes of all the major tourist sites. However, we also would have liked staying in Sirkeci because it would have been nice to be near the great restaurants and still within 15-20 minutes of walking to the tourist sites. On top of that, we could have stayed in the more local areas of Karakoy or Kadikoy. Yes, those are two different areas with VERY similar spellings! Because we did the food walking tour in Kadikoy, we were set to discover more of the great eats there! Next time, we will either stay on the Asian side and use the good metro system to reach the tourist sites.

off to the airport hotelpretty nice despite in the middle of nowhere

Travel Tip: I relied on booking.com because most hotels are listed on this site. Plus, it offers better cancellation and good discounts. We also used hostel world.com for our hostel booking, although you can book directly for cheaper occasionally!

Food & Drinks

Karadeniz Aile Pide Ve Kebap Salonu: Next to the Sultanahmet, this legendary place serves authentic pides (fun shaped pizzas!) and kebaps. Similar to most places in Europe, we were the only customers so we had special attention. Not only did we get free tea, but MF had a special show! For our actual dishes, we ordered one cheese and one minced meat side pide. Because the cheese had a heavy taste similar to blue cheese, my minced meat pide was better. 

Hadmi Restaurant: Perched on the waterfront, Hadmi offers superb views of the river not to mention great food! Although we were still full from our FULL DAY FOOD TOUR, we pushed ahead with a special lunch at Hadmi. Because both of us were still full, MF ordered a simple lentil soup while I had the pistachio kebab. My meat kebab was extremely tender and nice, especially with pistachios! Despite my full stomach, we almost managed to finish it all! 

Kubbe-i Ask: One of many rooftop bars in the area, Kubbe offers unreal views of the main mosques, sunset, and the river. During our second night, I ventured to the top and had a terrible cup of tea (they don't serve alcohol) and enjoyed the supreme views! They did offer food, but I wanted to go downstairs and try...

Barancan Ocakbasi: On the first floor or at least very close to Kubbe-i Ask, Barancan specialises in kebabs (like most of Istanbul!). Once I walked inside the door, I saw rows and rows of fresh lamb, beef, and vegetables! I chose a lamb and veggies, with a little spice! It was a truly a feast for one!

Istanbul Food Tour: As I highlighted on our Istanbul Food Tour, this experience truly opened our eyes to amazing Turkish and Ottoman cuisine.

Baklava: Either this place in Spice Market or Mado near our hotel, I loved getting fresh baklava!

Click here for our Istanbul Google map pins for all of our hard research of the top food and drink spots!

Activities

Fixed Costs:

  • Doubletree by Hilton Old Town: FREE or 80,000 Hilton Honors points
  • Istanbul Food Tour: $100 per person
  • Bosphorus River Cruise: 25TY per person
  • Istanbul Old Town Walking Tour: FREE (We left a 20GBP tip)
  • Turkish Bath for 2: 340TY per person

Onto Istanbul

After a last minute flight here, we were finally on the way to our new destination. For Turkey, Americans require a visa that can either be purchased online or upon arrival. Our check-in agent was worried that we wouldn’t be allowed into the country. After a boring flight, we finally landed and breezed to customs. We easily found the visa on arrival office and bought our visa in cash. This is critical as we did not have cash!

Travel Tip: At the time of writing, the US visa was $25 per person IN CASH if purchased on arrival. 

Once we collected our bags, we walked to the departures area where we found our Welcome Pickups. Because I knew we wouldn’t have service plus new foreign language, I pre-booked our transfer to our hotel. Rather than a taxi, we had a mini-bus! We were so thankful for this service because it was pouring rain.

Travel Tip:  Because Turkey lies outside most cell phone provider’s plans, I highly recommend getting a plan once you arrive at the airport. We said we would do it eventually, until we never did and we wished that we had cell phone service! 

Morning Stroll Through Sultanmet

One of the highlights by staying in the Sultanmet area is waking up before the big crowds and seeing the famous sights! Although we had a walking tour, we wanted to go inside these magnificent buildings.

Blue Mosque

For our first stop, we visited the iconic blue mosque. Built shortly after the Hagia Sophia, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (aka the Blue Mosque) is a beautiful piece of Islamic architecture. However, inside the building, the mosque is sadly under reconstruction so we weren’t able to see the blue tiles and mosaics that gave the name. Our visit was very much Instagram versus reality!

Hagia Sophia

One of the finest buildings in all of Europe / Asia is the Hagia Sophia! Built in the 500s, the grand ol’ building has seen many, many owners, conquerors, and patrons. While the Hagia Sophia use to be the biggest Orthodox church in the world, it is now one of the largest mosques in the world after a long stint as a museum. Because it was recently turned into a mosque in July 2020, we are some of the first people to see it in its new form!

As we walked into the building, we were greeted with a Virgin Mary fresco dating to the 10th century. Just wow! When we walked further into the building, the interior is outstanding. The architecture is an unique blend of Islam and Christianity which is a rarity. Thankfully, the Ottoman Empire did not remove any of these amazing frescoes.

Istanbul Walking Tour

Beginning at 1:30pm, we met our wonderful guide at the German Fountain in the middle of the main tourist district, Sultanahmet Square. He began with a long lecture on Turkey and Istanbul's illustrious and turbulent history beginning with the Roman Empire and ending in the modern times. No matter what I write, it will not capture the glorious history so I highly encourage to read about it from other sources!

German Fountain 

On this strip of land, there are remarkable historic landmarks. Starting with the German fountain, this fountain was a gift from the Kaiser (the German Emperor) ahead of his visit in the 1898. The gift marked their friendship - ultimately leading to their alliance in WW1. 

Roman Ruins

Further in the square, there is a giant obleisk of the hippodrome. Dating back to the Roman times, people believe the oblesik is actually from Egypt and brought here to Istanbul from the Romans. Underneath the oblesik are awesome sculptures depicting chariot or gladiator scenes. Yet another reminder about how old this city truly is!

Nuruosmaniye Mosque

Rather than visit the more popular and crowded Blue Mosque or Hagia Sophia, our guide took us to the Nuruosmaniye Mosque, which is close to the Grand Bazaar. Combined with a quick Islam lesson outside the Blue Mosque, our guide then explain the religion. It was really fascinating to hear a first hand account and how it impacts their lives. Plus, I got MF to wear a headscarf!

Grand Bazaar

Possibly the world's most famous shopping district, the Grand Bazaar is inspiring and incredibly crowded. While certain areas date back to the 1400s, most of the bazaar seems to have gotten an upgrade. Full of tourist shops selling candy, fake leather, watches, gold, Turkish rugs, and other (probably) useless souvenirs, our guide recommended we bypassed 95% of the shops and stick to gold or foreign exchange ones as they tend to have good prices for tourists and locals. Typically, the Grand Bazaar is extremely busy and full, but there was plenty of room for us!

Exploring at Night

After our walking tour, I explored the city ahead of dusk in order to get the best light. Using the guide's recommendations, I went to the Sirkeci area near the river for the best sunset views. 

At the rooftop bar, while sipping my terrible tea, I enjoyed the surreal sounds of evening prayer while the sun set was projecting orange, pick, and yellow streaks of light across the sky. It was a magical experience!

Photo Mission at Night

After my awesome kebab from Barancan, I went on a mini photo mission while the moon was bright and the city projected lights on the mosques.

Sightseeing through Food

Inside one of the largest cities in the world, we went on a tasty, delicious food tour with Istanbul Food tour. Click here to read about it!

I’m On A Boat - on the Bosphorus!

On our last morning, we went on a boat!! Again using our guide's recommendation for a cheap boat tour, we went for the cheap ride since we weren't that fussed. You get what you pay for...

Sitting on a normal ferry boat, we journeyed along the Bosphorus. While certain sections of our river cruise had an audio guide, most of the time, we had no idea on the sights. Thus, we enjoyed the tour on a hot afternoon. Then again, you get what you pay for so perhaps we should have spent more than 25TY! Regardless, we saw some pretty great sights along the river!

Travel Tip: Make sure to sit on the RIGHT side of the boat once you boarded. It will put you on the right side to capture great pictures!saw all the great sights

Spice Bazaar

Closer to the port in Sirkeci lies the Spice Bazaar. Although we had been a few different times on our walking and food tours, we definitely went back for more exploring as this market feels just a little more authentic than its neighbor the Grand Bazaar. Each alley is full of people, various merchants, and wonderful smells - even if they might even be terrible! While MF and I may have gotten a little claustrophobic due to the crowds, we enjoyed the spice bazaar more than the Grand Bazaar.

Turkish Baths

After much debate, hesitation, and reluctance by myself, MF achieved her dreams of going to a famous Turkish bath at Cukurcuma Hamai. I have to admit - our Turkish bath was an interesting and enjoyable experience. We were told to wear our bathing suits, wear the soft robes, and the funny slippers. Sadly, no photos were allowed although it would have made for a very entertaining blog!

At the first stage, we had to bath ourselves with hot water poured directly out of a marble tap. We were given these bronze bowls and either had to wash ourselves or splash each other. Obviously I splashed MF. 

Next, two large Turkish women entered the room and bathed us. We sat on a marble bench as the women scrubbed us with a special scrubby cloth bag. This magical bag removed so much dead skin! We felt so refreshed! 
For the actual bathing experience, these women made giant soap bubbles and put it all over our bodies. The bubbles felt incredibly refreshing! Then, the women began the washing. Mine was definitely more rough as she washed and "massaged"  (aka slapping me around). 

Afterwards, we were ushered into the relaxing room. I need a relaxing room full of pillows, mattress, and wonderful smells. Unsurprisingly, the relaxing room instantly put us to sleep... I have never seen MF so upset to leave a room or a spa. She was devastated. However, all good things must come to an end.

Sunsets

Similar to our amazing Mediterranean sunsets, the ones in the city were truly amazing. Because our Turkish spa is on the Asian side, it meant our sunset was going to be perfect as the sun would set over the river and mosques. Thus, we found ourselves on the river dock. 

The UnChartered Summary

  • Istanbul Food Tour is a must if you're a foodie - just make sure to leave plenty of room and not eat for a few days!
  • Next time we are here, we will stay in Sirkeci or Karakoi or Karakoy. Despite having most of the tourist attractions, Sultanahmet isn't worth it as we didn't see the real Istanbul.
  • Walking tour was good, but get what you pay for...
  • If you're staying for a few days and will use the metro more than a few times, I recommend buying a metro card and definitely a SIM card.
  • Despite my initial hesitation, our Turkish bath at Cukurcuma Hamami was surprisingly great and well worth the experience!

Next

Activity Review: Istanbul Food Tour