Istanbul - the best of both worlds

Advantages: Fascinating, historic, romantic, magical, nowhere else like it
Disadvantages: Must go at the right time, can be very busy

...Istanbul. Its geographic position explains why Istanbul has always been a cosmopolitan city and why its fortunes are inextricably tied up in commerce. For centuries Istanbul has been a place to buy and sell goods and do business. I can think of no other city so caught up in commerce as Istanbul. Of course, while some visitors enjoy the haggling and the satisfaction of getting a bargain, just as many loathe the attentions of the touts who are determined to make a sale. Many people mistakenly think that Istanbul is the capital of Turkey but that distinction was taken away from the city in 1923 when Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, decided to move the capital to Ankara because he wanted to throw off the associations with the Ottoman regime. When the Ottomans established rule in what we now call Turkey, they also tried to remove...

fizzytom 05.04.2009 · Read review
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Review of Istanbul (Turkey)

Istanbul one city in two continents

Advantages: So many wonderful sights, clean and easy to get around, reasonable prices
Disadvantages: Smoking in some places put us off our meals

...made in Turkey ever since. I?m not sure how true this is but it is a nice story. In the evening we went to see the Sufi concert and Whirling dervishes at the Sirkeci train station (i wrote a separate review about this experience) THE BLUE MOSQUE OR SULTANMET CAMII: The Blue Mosque gets its name from the decorative tiles inside the mosque, prior to my visit I thought that it was from the grey blue stone from which it is built. This mosque was built between 1610 and 1617 and is the only mosque in Istanbul with six minarets. It can be seen rising up on the hill as you enter Istanbul from the Bosporus and is one of the many mosques seen on the skyline of the city at dusk. As you enter the mosque, covered as you need to be out of respect and shoe less, you are immediately aware of how much light is coming through the 260 windows...

catsholiday 27.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Istanbul (Turkey)

Istanbul - recommended restaurants

Advantages: Great food, diversified cuisine and an amazing city
Disadvantages: N/A

...Happy New Year to all and I am happy to be back after a long vacation. I wanted to share some knowledge about restaurants in Istanbul and I hope you use it when you go. After all, It is a great city. Check out Reina (www.reina.com.tr) and Sortie (www.sortie.com.tr). Both of these locations are nice locations by the Bosphorous. They both have several restaurants and bars so you can go for drinks in the afternoon, dinner and late night dancing. Both have amazing views. I recommend Dragon (Chinese), Park Samdan (International and Turkish) and Kosebasi (kebab) at Reina and Al Jamaal (arabic food, belly dancing, fun place) and Marca at Sortie. Ulus 29 is one of my favourite restaurants. It has an amazing Bosphoros view and great food. Very classy and romantic place. Booking advised. I definitely recommend it. Turkish...

ayalasaf 05.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Istanbul (Turkey)

One Week In Istanbul

Advantages: it´s very different
Disadvantages: it´s very different

...Merhaba, hi and hello, dear reader, place a glass of Turkish tea beside your computer, two cubes of sugar, no milk, lean back and follow me! I´ve wanted to go to Istanbul for yonks, but somehow never found the time in the ideal period for visiting this city which is from the middle of May until June when it´s not too hot yet and spring in full swing. Last year around Easter the being responsible for the weather in Turkey hadn´t read our guide-book, though, we started from a wonderfully warm spring in Germany and landed in rainy and cold Istanbul (4° !) Divine inspiration had made me pack my warm coat which helped me survive the first two days, the rest of the time it was a bit warmer, but never as warm as in Northern Europe at the same time. Why Istanbul at all? I love Byzantine and Islamic art and the sound of the Turkish...

MALU 10.05.2004 (30.09.2005) · Read review
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Review of Istanbul (Turkey)

  A Foot In Two Worlds

Advantages: Feels very different with only a 3 hour flight
Disadvantages: Not very restful - not a family holiday destination

...'d vaguely remembered something similar 10 years ago, but must have assumed that this nonsense had stopped, what with Turkey wanting to join the EC and all. At least there's no longer a departure airport tax, also needed in sterling. Cellphone users will no doubt be pleased to know that Turkcell reception is good in the Istanbul area and our O2 phone had no trouble latching onto their network. If using the internet (our hotel had free broadband for guests to use), don't forget there are two letters 'I' on a Turkish keyboard - one in the usual 'QWERTYUIOP' row and another 'i' in the row of chiefly Turkish characters. Remember to use the Turkish version when surfing or typing in passwords etc. The QWERTY version isn't recognised. Oh what fun I had trying to get onto CIAO - I wondered why Google was the only thing I could get! Also...

BNibbles 01.04.2005 (14.04.2005) · Read review
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Review of Istanbul (Turkey)

Istanbul the City of Dreams

Advantages: Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Princess Islands
Disadvantages: Constant Haggling

...I reccommend Istanbul as a must for any traveller. It is the most beautiful city that I have been to and i have travelled my share of the World. The highlights of this bustling city full of people has to be the Blue Mosque for me. Its amazing Architecture reaching back several hundred years is truly an amazing sight. The high domes and the intricate detail on the Inside with domes and arches merging into each other is truly a sight for any mathmetician/architect to view. My first thoughts were how did they make it with the tools they must have had in those days. To add to the delight of the Mosque there is a truly delightful garden with winding pathways and a beautiful fountain in the middle. One can sit on the benches surrounding the fountain during the hot summer days and feel the gentle spray of water on ones face. Istanbul also...

Yasman 19.07.2000 · Read review
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Review of Istanbul (Turkey)

Fine seafood cuisine in prime Istanbul tourist territory

Advantages: Excellent seafood, good value for money, good tourist location
Disadvantages: I'm about 20km away from it

...INTRODUCTION On my business trip to Turkey, I get to go to Istanbul centre at the weekends if I?m lucky. There aren?t many decent restaurants where I am staying and so any chance to find one is very welcome. It was when walking around the tourist mainstay of Sultanahmet that myself and a colleague had to choose somewhere to eat, which was proving tricky, as the Lonely Planet recommendation for the area didn?t seem to exist any more. As this area is one of Istanbul?s main tourist traps, this threw me a bit. Restaurants in big city tourist areas to me guarantee several things; proximity to sights, high prices, outside tables, insistent restaurateurs and menus disappointingly tailored for tourists. The choice came down to which one we instinctively liked and I favoured Pasha, as it seemed to have a decent seafood menu, so in we...

larsbaby 16.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Pasha, Istanbul

Where Europe meets Asia UPDATE

Advantages: Istanbul is a very diverse city with endless cultural sights and beautiful landscapes. Food and nightlife are excellent and very different to the rest of Europe.
Disadvantages: Traffic is an absolute mess. It can be hard to find a park or green spot downtown. The souvenir dealers and "guides" in the touristic areas can be very annoying.

...2nd UPDATE 21.07.2001: I have added a few more insider tips for this latest update and streamlined the rest of the review. 1st UPDATE 24.05.2001: The sections on Sultanahmet, Galata and Beyoglu Districts have been rewritten, and the Bosphorus suburbs added. ISTANBUL. What else can I say but that I have fallen in love with this city and its people. Istanbul is so many things in one: a meeting place of cultures eastern and western, a historic battleground of Greek, Roman, Persian, Byzantine and Turkish empires, and a thriving metropolis with modern lifestyle and chaotic traffic. Istanbul is the unofficial capital of Turkey, and the only city that can claim to be part of two continents, Europe and Asia. At already over fifteen million inhabitants, it still...

From_The_Continent 18.02.2001 (21.07.2001) · Read review
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Review of Istanbul (Turkey)

Where the occident meets the orient

Advantages: Lots to see, friendly people
Disadvantages: Very exhausting, wheelchair users will have big problems in getting around

...While living in Northern-Cyprus I saw myself confronted with the situation, that whenever I wanted to leave the island to visit my family back home I couldn't do so with a direct flight, but had to endure a stop-over in Turkey. As I had visited Istanbul before my relocation and loved the city, I always made sure that this stop-over was not only going to happen there, but would also last a minimum of 3 days - rather then the usual 30 minutes pit-stop it would take to reach the UK, or anything between 1-8 hours, as in my case, to reach Germany. With my husband being Turkish-Cypriot and having friends in Istanbul we didn't have to bother with accommodation. "Lucky you" I can hear some of you thinking. Well, everything is relative and visiting friends in Turkey and wanting to do some sight-seeing within a rather short span of time can...

fritzthecat 07.04.2006 · Read review
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Review of Istanbul (Turkey)

  In the lap of Turkish luxury on the outer Istanbul extremities

Advantages: Superb facilities, friendly staff
Disadvantages: Remote location and complicated to get to the tourist areas, noisy weddings

.... HOTEL CONTACT DETAILS Titanic Business Hotel, Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa Street No:43 Kartal 34880 Istanbul, Turkey. Phone ; +90 (216) 309 68 68 +90 (216) 453 50 50 Fax ; +90 (216) 309 84 84 E-mail ; business@titanic.com.tr Website : http://www.titanic.com.tr/titanicbusiness.asp?lang=EN...

larsbaby 13.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Titanic Business Hotel, Istanbul