Istanbul - Turkey
I visited Istanbul on a one day stopover en-route to Kathmandu for my Nepal trip in November 2010. One day doesn’t give you a lot of time to explore, but I found a central hotel (Alzer Hotel), and was able to visit the Blue Mosque, Roman Basilica Cistern, and to potter around the streets taking photographs and geocaching.
Turkish visas are available on immigration - although you have to queue up at the desk beside the immigration officials. A multiple entry tourist visa cost me 15 EUR (cash only) as a British passport holder.
From everything I’ve been told - traffic in Istanbul can be a disaster, but I didn’t have any problems getting from the airport to the hotel in around 25 mins via the coast road via taxi. Official Istanbul taxis are bright yellow and have a Taksi sign on the top. All should have meters - which you should check is running with either “Gunduz” (daytime) or “Gece” (night 12am-6am and 50% more expensive).
After visiting the Basilica, I walked round the corner away from the really busy restaurants looking out onto the square, and found the House of Medusa hidden behind a quiet courtyard (my review) for a great Turkish kebab.
23 Jan 2011
Reader Comments (1)
I stayed in Istanbul for 1 night as a stopover on my way to UK from Antalya in Southern Turkey. Side Holidays The airport I used is the smaller Sabiha Gocken (recently enhanced with the very latest facilities in its new terminal), the transfer by Havas bus to Taksim Sq - the centre of Istanbul takes 1 hour.
As well as visiting the splendid Istikial Caddesi - the excellent shopping street with its many street players, its beautiful ( like Oxford Street (London) at Christmas) lights, its San Francisco like trams, and its amazing ice cream sellers, I was able to wander down to the famous Galata tower. For around 10 lira you can ascend by lift and view the most amazing scenes of the Bosphorous, Ferries, Mosques, Ships, Fountains, a 360 degree view - truly an amazing site. If you are feeling flush with money, you can, for around 80 euros, book a multi-course meal there complete with full Turkish dancing etc.