Istanbul Trails ~ Your Istanbul Tourist & Expat Travel Guide
Your personal Istanbul city trip & expat guide
From the category archives:
If your city trip to Istanbul is spread out over four or more days, you may feel the need to escape the noisy city at a certain point. The Princes’ Islands are of course the obvious choice. But there are also other options for day and overnight excursions. If you want to be surrounded by […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
In the past, the island was called Prinkipo after the Greek word for prince, but these days it’s called Büyükada. Logical, because with an area of 5,36 km² it is the biggest (büyük) island (ada) of the nine Princes’ Islands. Life on the island is very laid-back. The elegant, wooden mansions together with the typical […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The pine-forested and car-free Princes’ Islands (Kızıl Adalar or just Adalar) provide an oasis of peace and quite, making them an excellent destination to escape the hectic city life for a day. Out of the nine islands that lie in front of Istanbul’s coast, only four can be visited: Kınalıada, Burgazada, Heybeliada and Büyükada, the […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
In order to visit the Dolmabahçe Palace (Dolmabahçe Sarayı) you must take one or both of the guided tours. The Selamlık tour takes you through the quarters reserved for men, while the Harem tour shows you the apartments of the sultan’s family. Only a limited amount of people are allowed into each section per day, […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
Dolmabahçe Palace (Dolmabahçe Sarayı), Turkey’s largest mono-block palace, was commissioned by Sultan Abdül Mecit in 1843. Built to belie the military and financial decline of the Ottoman Empire, Istanbul’s first European-style palace was an opulent one, excessive in size and filled with gold and crystal. Dolmabahçe Palace (Dolmabahçe Sarayı) Location Dolmabahçe Caddesi, Beşiktaş (opposite the […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
There are hundreds of ancient cisterns hidden underneath the streets and houses of Istanbul. Of the two that are open to the public, the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatan Sarnıcı) is the largest and Istanbul’s most unusual tourist attraction. Contrary to James Bond, who had to row his way through Istanbul underground cistern in From Russia with […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The Egyptian Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı), otherwise known as the Spice Bazaar, is the place to be to lay in a fresh supply of spices, nuts, honeycomb, Turkish delight, dried figs, caviar and mature hard Turkish cheese. You can even find natural Turkish Viagra or herbal love potions on sale, although I wouldn’t expect miracles from […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The Süleymaniye Mosque (Süleymaniye Camii) is not only stunning; in my opinion it is also the masterpiece of the famous architect Sinan (Mimar Sinan). Sure, the Blue Mosque is the most famous one and therefore better known among the tourists, which is also its drawback. The Süleymaniye Mosque, crowning Istanbul’s highest hill, doesn’t suffer from […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The Hippodrome (At Meydanı) was a of course a horse-racing track, what’s in the name. But during the Byzantine Empire, the hippodrome was not only used for chariot races. Court ceremonies, coronations and parades also took place at the hippodrome, making it the sporting and social center of Byzantine life for over 1000 years. The […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }
The Sultanahmet Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii) was built between 1609 and 1617 and is also known as the Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles used to decorate the walls of its interior. The construction was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet I. The idea was to build a monument that would not only rival with the magnificent […]
{ Comments on this entry are closed }