Practical Guide to Istanbul

#1. Carry a map
Use a map, iPad, iPhone, or paper map to orient yourself. Istanbul has many curved and narrow streets. The streets may bend to the right or slope to the left. The city is not built on a grid like Chicago or New York where you can just give straightforward directions such as "Walk two blocks and the restaurant is there".

#2. Explore the side streets
Once you have familiarized yourself with the area, it's time to put away the map. Explore. Wander around. The side streets of Istanbul are very worth exploring. You will experience the everyday walks of local life along the steep and cobblestone streets. Veer off to a side street that you did not walk on the day before and you will find that it eventually leads you to a familiar landmark.

#3. Where to stay
The most frequently asked question is "Should I stay in Sultanahmet or Taksim Square"? Stay in between. Sultanahmet is where the historical attractions are. You will be visiting the attractions during the day but do you really need to stay right by the Hagia Sophia or Blue Mosque? Sultanahmet puts you closer to the historical attractions and that also means the area is extremely touristy; many restaurants there cater to tourists. Taksim Square is in the Beyoğlu district where the main dining and nightlife area at. Beyoğlu is where the Istanbullus go play and dine. Taksim Square, however, is at the northern end of the Beyoğlu district. Staying closer to the southern end of Beyoğlu (near the Tunel station or the Galata Tower) puts you right in between and gives you the best of worlds. In the evening, relax and dine among the locals in Beyoğlu.

#4.  Plan to carry enough cash
We usually use our credit cards when traveling, but in Istanbul, don't be overly conservative when planning on how much cash to bring with you. Though many restaurants accept credit cards, tipping is done with cash only. You can't add the tip onto the amount of your meal to be charged to the credit card.  You don't need to tip as much as you would in the U.S., but it will surely add up especially when eating out at every meal.

#5. WC
You will rarely need to hold your bladder in Istanbul. Every mosque has women and men toilets. Since there is a mosque almost everywhere you go, public restrooms are easily available. Keep a small stash of coins with you for entry into the toilets.





#6. Istanbulkart
The transit card can be used on trams, buses, and ferries. Istanbulkarts can be purchased from stations and also newspaper vendors. A deposit of 10TL is required for each Istanbulkart. You choose how much credit you would like to load onto your card. Keep the receipt from your Istanbulkart purchase. At the end of your trip, return the Istanbulkart together with the receipt to get back the deposit. One Istanbulkart can be used for multiple persons.

#7. Turkish words
While many Turkish people can speak English, a good lot of them also do not. Learning some useful Turkish words or phrases will help you go a long way. Knowing how to say some of the food items in their Turkish names will come in handy. Sure, you can gesture how many of this and that you'd like to have but there's only so much you can gesture. Knowing how to order Turkish coffee the way you like it with the right Turkish words will also prove very useful. In Turkey, you order the Turkish coffee according to the level of sweetness i.e. sade [sah-dey] for plain, az şekerli [ahz sheh-kehr-lee] for little sugar, orta şekerli [or-tah sheh-kehr-lee] for medium sugar, çok şekerli [chok sheh-kehr-lee] for a lot of sugar. The Turkish people are incredibly friendly and will try their best to understand you even if they don't speak good English. After all, it's all about learning from each other.

#8. Street food
You can find many of the street foods sold along Istiklal Caddesi, the main avenue in Beyoğlu. This is by no means an exhaustive list--
Simit: ring-shaped roll with sesame seeds. Think of it as a Turkish bagel.
Börek: flaky pastry with several types of filling e.g. meat.
Döner kebap: meat cooked on a rotating spit.
Stuffed mussels: a popular winter favorite, mussels stuffed with flavored rice, nuts, currants, nuts.
Roasted chestnuts: another popular winter favorite.
Kokoreç: grilled lamb intestines
Fruit juice: fresh fruit juice stands are everywhere in Istanbul. Stay away from the overpriced vendors in Sultanahmet. Fruit juice stands are at every corner in Beyoğlu and other areas for half the price.

Istanbul's Old City Pt III: Yerebatan Cistern and Divan Yolu

We descended below ground into the Yerebatan Cistern, or otherwise known as the Basilica Cistern, and was greeted by a space devoid of sunlight except for the dim lights shining upon the marble pillars. Built during the Byzantine Empire, the cistern functioned as a water storage and supply to the palace and nearby government buildings. Today the structure of the cistern remains as it is, though its function now is merely to provide us with a glimpse of the water system in the distant past. The 300+ marble pillars with dim lights shining on them from below complement the stillness of the place.

In Istanbul, one can literally walk on history. That is when you walk on Divan Yolu Caddesi, once an imperial road from Constantinople to Rome. Restaurants and cafes are plenty here so that makes great eye candy but this street is also where you will find smaller mosques and tombs of Sultans from the Ottoman Empire including Sultan Mahmud II. It was prayer time during our stroll along Divan Yolu Caddesi and the ezan blared from nearby mosques. Male worshippers who did not make it inside the mosque laid their prayer rugs right outside the mosque, knelt, and bowed their heads in prayer. Welcome to beautiful Istanbul.

Every first timer in Istanbul visits the Sultanahmet area and the Grand Bazaar and there you go, convenience is laid out perfectly here: Divan Yolu Caddesi begins from the Sultanahmet area and leading to the Grand Bazaar. A pleasant 10-15 minutes walk along Divan Yolu Caddesi gets you to the bazaar. Otherwise, catch the tram from the Sultanahmet station and get off at the next stop, Beyazit to get to the bazaar. The tram travels on Divan Yolu Caddesi as well.

--
Istanbul's Old City Pt 1: Hagia Sophia 
Istanbul's Old City Pt II: Sultanahmet Mosque

Istanbul's Old City Pt II: Sultanahmet Mosque

The number of mosques in Istanbul is far too many to count but few of them have as much grandeur as the Sultanahmet Mosque. Built in the early 1600s, the facade appears massive and its 6 minarets gives the mosque its uniquely recognizable structure. If you see a dome cascade with its accompanying 6 minarets from afar, you know you're looking at the Sultanahmet Mosque.

Approach the mosque through the west entrance from the Hippodrome gives you the best view of entering the grand structure, first going up a few steps, through the arch, and then into the forecourt of the Sultanahmet Mosque. There is a side entrance from the north and if you are coming from the Hagia Sophia, you will most probably be coming in from this side where the ablution facilities are before entering the forecourt.

The forecourt leads you to the main door to enter the mosque but this is only for Muslim visitors. Non-Muslims go around the corner and enter through the south door. The Sultanahmet Mosque is a working mosque which means that it is closed to non-worshippers during the prayers sessions five times a day but reopens again after each prayer time is over. We first arrived when they were just about to begin prayer time and were gently informed by an usher to come back in 1.5 hours. Along with the neighboring mosques, the ezan is blared from the minarets and the combined sounds of the call to prayer from all over town is a calming experience not to be missed. If your time of visit happens during prayer time, the good thing is that the historical attractions are within close proximity to each other so you can conveniently return to the mosque a short while later.

The Sultanahmet Mosque draws a large tourist crowd daily and that is probably the very reason this house of worship is extremely tolerant of women entering without a headscarf. Large tourist crowds mean that there will be many people inside the mosque during the visit. If you can tolerate that, the interior of the mosque is something to behold. We later visited the Suleymaniye Mosque, known for being the most striking mosque most in Istanbul, which offered a greater sense of serenity. I suggest visiting both Sultanahmet and Suleymaniye Mosques-- both are beautiful and complement each other in one's experiences in visiting the Islamic house of worship.

The Sultanahmet Mosque is affectionately nicknamed the Blue Mosque for its blue interior ceramic tiles in the dome ceiling. The art of the ceramic tiles is intricate and carefully detailed and defined.

As with all mosques, the central area is for prayers and only for worshippers. Visitors remain outside the central area.

--
Istanbul's Old City Pt 1: Hagia Sophia
Istanbul's Old City Pt III: Yerebatan Cistern, Divan Yolu

Istanbul's Old City Pt 1: Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

 
We just returned from Istanbul where everything we have heard and read about is true: Istanbul is beautiful. After we got done with the "mandatory" tourist attractions in the Old City referred to as the Sultanahmet area, we spent most of our time in the other neighborhoods, especially Beyoğlu (bey-yoh-loo) where we stayed, and discovered more and more about the city until we realized that there is so much deeper one can dig into the many layers of this city. It rained most of the days we were there and though it wasn't pouring rain, it was just one of those wet days where it was irritating enough when walking on the streets that you might want to use an umbrella. The Sultanahmet area is where the historical attractions congregate (Hagia Sophia, Sultanahmet Mosque, Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace, etc) and they are so close in proximity to one another that on a wet day, it was easy to just let ourselves wander into each of them and immerse ourselves in it. Damp weather or not, it did not take the essence of the city away from us. This is the first of the many posts to come and in true spirit of our physical visit, the first few posts will be on these historical attractions followed by our further discovery of the city itself.

The Hagia Sophia (aya-sophia) is really quite a marvel. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was originally built as a church during the Byzantine Empire. The Ottoman Empire who later conquered Turkey converted Hagia Sophia into a mosque. When Turkey officially became a secular country, this structure was then turned into a museum. To date, Hagia Sophia is considered as having one of the greatest Byzantile-style architecture.

12 lambs representing the 12 apostles

One of the elements of Hagia Sophia that I find the most beautiful is the juxtaposition of Christianity and Islam within its great walls. Given its history of having been first a church and then a mosque, artwork bearing Christian images were kept even after the building was converted into an Islamic house of worship. Today we see Christian and Islam elements and motifs existing side-by-side and together they create awe. This isn't something we see often today, if at all.

Artwork depicting Virgin Mary with the child Jesus and a plaque with Arabic words.

To get up to the mezzanine level, walk through the dim passageways that will bring you up after multiple turns. Yes it brings you closer to the ceilings with faded artwork that carry much history but it's also where fine mosaic artwork are on display.

Photography tips: tripods are not allowed into the Hagia Sophia. All visitors must have their bags go through a scan and if they find a tripod in your bag, you will need to check that in and collect it on your way out. Prior to our visit, I've read reviews where some visitors have brought in their gorillapod or monopod without the scanning machine detecting it. We brought our gorillapod along and figured that if we had to check it in, it wasn't a big deal. The scan machines are smarter these days it seems and of course it detected our gorillapod. At the end of our visit, we realized that we could make do without it and still get pretty good shots. There are many columns inside the Hagia Sophia that you can use as a stability support for your arm when you take the pictures. Crank up the ISO as well and you will be more than fine. Go early to avoid the busloads of tourists.



--
Istanbul's Old City Pt II: Sultanahmet Mosque
Istanbul's Old City Pt III: Yerebatan Cistern, Divan Yolu