Hotels in Istanbul - Prices and Reviews

Waking up feeling cleaner than either of us has felt in weeks, we had another good breakfast at the Niles Hotel and finished planning how we'd spend the rest of our time in Turkey. Thanks to a local travel agency, we were pretty much all set with travel for the next week+ in Turkey and could enjoy the rest of the day in Istanbul. We decided to b...

Istanbul is the transition for Europe-Asia and for me.  Though I first came to Istanbul from Greece, still, Istanbul is the last place in Asia for this three-year long trip.  In a way, it also begins a session through Eastern Europe, as this evening I board a sleeper train and leave for Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Aside from this, some other things will ...

October 27 Istanbul Sometimes I rank right up there in the stupid category. Sleeping just didn't work that well for me, so at 5:00am, I did a quick shower and decided to put on my walking shoes and take a look around our section of town. I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera. Beautiful buildings and public areas wanted to be photograph...

Catchup Entry - wow a long one coz there's so much happened Internet access has been tricky and this is a very messy article - it's been written as we go and jumps from past to present to future tense - no time to fix it. We have been on the road for just over a week now and we thought it was a good opportunity to reflect on the week. First thou...

I am sitting in the Istanbul hostel typing this as U2's song "one" plays in the background. (i didn't even request it!) It has made me think of mentioning to you that the children have started to realize that we are "one but not the same". As we have travelled the children are at first a bit shy with the new people we meet and then before long t...

Monday 7/11/05 Istanbul arrived in Istanbul last night. its overcast and cold, so today is a rest day. went for a walk around sultanhamet, betweeen aya sofia and the blue mosque at night. Tuesday 8/11/05 Blue Mosque and the Bosphurus My first time inside a mosque. from the outside, the blue mosque is beautiful - fat cascading domes of blue juxta...

First-timers need at least 3 days in Istanbul. You need to stay close to the old city - where most places of interest are - saving lots of commuting. You can easily walk to the Blue Mosque, Haga Sofia, Hippodrome, Grand Bazaar, Cisterns, Topkapi Palace. You can ride the trams here - just a stop or two between Sultan Ahmed and the Grand Bazaar. R...