Istanbul also known as Byzantium and Constantinople is the city with the most population in Turkey. It is located on two continents – Europe and Asia and combines the past and also the future! While you are there you can really see the two sides of the same coin! On one side – The European side there are the main landmarks and only they are located on big squares. All around them is full of small one sided streets , little tea houses, little local shops and really everything you saw on Turkish series. That’s where the traditions live!
On the other side (the Asian side) – is a whole new world! Skyscrapers, modern buildings, big shops – everything that you can’t see in the European side!
The main landmarks of Istanbul are located on the Sultan Ahmed square and for that reason we decided to stay there and not in the new part of the city. It is a good thing that the landmarks are next to each other so you don’t have to travel the whole city!
Lets start!
AyaSofia (Hagia Sofia):
AyaSofia is located on the Sultan Ahmed Square. At first it was a Christian cathedral, later mosque and today it is a museum. The Muslim changes are saved but so are the things from the Christian period! When we visited it, it was under renovation but I am happy that we managed to see it from the inside! It is maybe the only building where you can see Christian and Muslim religion together!
The entry was 100 Turkish Lira (13,30 euro) but there was a big queue. It turned out that there are people who can get you in immediately if you pay them I think around 20 euro and they are not liars! They work with the landmark spots and everything is legal so we took advantage of this opportunity and we got in for like 2 seconds!
ENTRY PRICE: 100 Turkish Lira (13,30 euro)
Topkapi Sarayi:
The Topkapi Sarayi is an ENORMOUS place! It is the main castle of the Sultan and the seat of administration in the period 1465-1853. It has every detail and every item from the Ottoman history inside! There are separate halls:
– The Porcelain Hall – there you can see big collection of porcelain.
-The Armour Hall
-The Weapon Hall
and many many others.
You can pay to see only the 2 yards or the 2 yards + the harem. I suggest when you are there to see everything that you can!
There you can also find a restaurant on the coast where you can rest a little and eat or drink something! The place has outdoor and indoor part so even if the weather is bad you can still enjoy the breathtaking view!
TICKET PRICE: 95 Turkish Lira (12,60 euro)
The Carpet Museum:
We accidentally came across to the Carpet Museum which was on the opposite side of the Topkapi Sarayi. If you are interested in those kind of things maybe it will be a very pleasant visit for you! The entrance was marvelous!
The Bosphorus Cruise Tour:
The Bosphorus Cruise Tour was one of the things that I liked the most! If you have the weather on your side also – you can have even better time! The weather was not with us that day! It was windy and a little cold however the tour was really worth it! You can literally see both sides of the city and you can visibly see the difference and for 2-3 hours experience on a boat you can be on two continents ! You can see the Dolmabahce Castle that was very beautiful unfortunately we didn’t have the time to go there but when I saw it from the boat it was really impressive! Along the Bosphorus are located many houses which are part from many TV series! We got the chance to see the house from the TV Series “Your – My Life” or “Paramparça”. We moved very close so we can see the house well and for me was really interesting to see the film set from TV series I used to watch on the TV!
The Blue Mosque
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is on the opposite side of AyaSofia! And it is also located on the Sultan Ahmed Square! It is called The Blue Mosque because of its colors – blue, green and white! The entry is FREE but if you are a woman you must put a scarf on your hair! You can get the scarf free from a special place and when you get out you return it! Whether you are a woman or a man you must take off your shoes if you want to get inside!
ENTRY PRICE: FREE
The Tulip Parks:
It was the Festival of the Tulip when we visited Istanbul! And there are many parks with tulips all across Istanbul during this period so we stopped by one park and it was really colorful and beautiful!
Yerebatan Sarnıcı:
The Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı) is the biggest cistern of Istanbul! In the past it was used as a reserve in case there is a very dry period! The Basilica Cistern is located next to AyaSofia on the other side of the street! The place itself is very interesting and it reminded me of the cistern from the Dan Brown movie – Inferno!
Interesting thing about Basilica Cistern is that there is the only saved original of the Medusa Column Bases! Tradition has it that if you look Medusa in the eyes you become a rock so that’s why the two parts of the head are oriented sideways!
ENTRY PRICE: 20 Turkish Lira (2,70 euro)
Grand Bazaar, Istanbul ( KapaliCarsi ) :
KapaliCarsi or the Grand Bazaar is one of the oldest and the biggest covered bazaars in the world! It is located in the central region – Fatih with 61 covered streets and over 4 000 shops! Maybe each one of you have heard that you should make a deal for the price with the seller and not buy it right away and that is absolutely true because whether it is strange for us or not this is a way to show respect for the seller!
You can find absolutely everything there! You can buy shoes, bags, clothes, beautiful home stuff and of course Turkish delight and tea! I recommend just to be careful while you are shopping because the rumor that you can get easily tricked or lied there is true! For example we bought a beautiful set of 5 Turkish delights and they were supposed to be different in each box – with different flavors, some of them with nuts. They were packed really beautiful and were all in different boxes! When we got home all of them were the same with the same plain flavor, no nuts or anything! That’s not a really big deal of course but keep it in mind and maybe just don’t buy packed Turkish delights, but that kind that you can see being measured and cut off in front of you! We also got scammed about the hotel! It was nothing like the pictures! But when I say nothing it was really NOTHING like the pictures! It was completely different hotel and building in general in the advertisement! So if you plan to go there or anywhere else without travel agency but by yourself just ask someone that has already been there and can recommend a place to stay! And this way you will know for sure where you are going and you will not be as surprised as we were when we arrived and saw that everything was just a lie!
The things that I suggest buying while you are in Istanbul are:
– Turkish Delight, which of course you should see first. There are Turkish delights shops where you can see and choose from and they are measured and cut in front of you! This is the best option!
– Turkish Tea. The Turkish Tea is very popular all around the world and there you really have many many options to choose from!
-My favorite thing that I really love is one Turkish Cotton Dessert which is called PISMANYIE! It is a cotton dessert with different flavors – original, chocolate, vanilla and many others! It has a unique taste in my opinion and I strongly recommend! Just try it! You won`t regret it!
Nusr-Et Restaurant
During our stay in Istanbul we had the chance to visit the restaurant of the legendary Nusr Et! We went to the one that was close to us in the region Fatih!
Everything that you see on the internet, all those Facebook and Instagram videos, the delicious food and the amazing and fun, different service is a FACT! Everything is very tasty and it is served in a very attractive way!
We were so amazed that we went to have dinner for the second time the next night!
I can recommend this restaurant not a 100 but a 1000 percent to you and I am sure that every each one of you will be extremely pleased going there and will want to go back for sure! Of course first make your reservation because the people that want to eat there are a lot! We had a reservation and besides that we waited a little but there is a gift shop that you can see while you are waiting! It has many different things with the face of the legendary #saltbae !
This is not the only Nusr Et restaurant in Istanbul! I think that they are 5 and whether you are staying in the old or the new city, you can get the chance to visit this awesome place!
Watergarden:
The last day we decided to stop by the new part of the city – the Asian part! We went to a big water park called Watergarden! There you can find many stores and cafes and restaurants! There are a lot of fountains and at night you can enjoy a beautiful light and sound show! We didn’t have that chance however I liked it very much! The feeling is that you are in a completely different country and it is amazing that you are in the same city but just in a different part of it! As much as I write it is always better to see it with your eyes! So if you are planning a trip to Istanbul just stop by the other part of the city as well!
In general Istanbul was a very different and interesting adventure! You feel another culture, you see many new things and in my opinion wherever you go in the whole world it is worth it because you enrich yourself spiritually! The obstacles and the little problems we went through, made the trip even more memorable because if everything was going always as we planned then it will never be remembered so well!
Tips and Trips by Dessy 
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