We had a great time in Turkey. The highlight was hiking in Cappadocia, but exploring Ephesus, Ankara and the wonderful Grand Bazaar of Istanbul were all amazing too.
Safety in Istanbul
Unfortunately, there are a few safety issues you should be aware of in Istanbul. Taxis are notorious for ripping off tourists picked up in Sultanahmet or Taksim – make sure the ‘day rate’ is set during the day (one light on the meter, not two).…
Continue Reading →Haci Abdullah in Taksim, Istanbul – one of the best restaurants we’ve ever eaten at
We ate two dinners in Sultanhamet, and both were expensive and bland. (in addition, I believe my wife got sick from eating at one of them). The guidebook warned us about restaurants in this area, but they were close to our hotel and we were exhuasted by the end of the day.…
Continue Reading →Moonlight Pension, Istanbul
For the sake of convenience (and not because of price!) we found a hotel in Sultanahmet. Moonlight Pension (517 54 29, 87 Akbiriki Cad) was our guidebook’s recommended hotel – and while it was clean and conveniently located, it wasn’t the nicest place we’ve sta
Continue Reading →Getting there by bus and orientation
Crossing the Bosphorous on the way in to IstanbulWe arrived in Istanbul from Ankara on the bus. The bus first stopped at a port on the Asian side of the Bosphorous, then went on to the main bus station.…
Continue Reading →Istanbul overview
We spent 3 days in Istanbul to finish up a 3 week vacation to Iceland, Greece, and Turkey. It was a great way to finish off our vacation. We were backpacking and not part of a tour group.…
Continue Reading →Hisar Market
Hisar Market
After leaving the museum, we got hopelessly lost trying to find the citadel. We ended up in some areas where no tourists had ever been, trudging around the outside of city walls stepping in between piles of broken glass.…
Continue Reading →Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, AnkaraThis award-winning museum (European Museum of the Year, 1997) features various artifacts that were left behind by the empires that ruled the Anatolian plain from the Paleolithic era until about 700 BC.…
Continue Reading →Kocatepe Mosque – Justifies visiting Ankara, it is the largest mosque in Turkey
Kocatepe MosqueWe visited the Kocatepe Mosque, which is a modern mosque built right above a Western-style shopping mall. It was conveniently located next to our hotel. We visited after evening prayers.…
Continue Reading →Hotel Buyuk Ersan – Don’t stay here
We stayed at Otel Buyuk Ersan. It was fairly conveniently located (about a 15 minute walk from the subway) and easy to find. It’s a huge affair, with 85 non-air-conditioned rooms.…
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