Best Western Istanbul

... and new zealand. this as far as our plane tickets take us so far but plan to end in south america before coming home after the best year of our lives. all of you are more than welcome to join us, and we hope that we see a few of your familiar faces ...

... staff. There are several car rental agencies inside offering shuttle bus service to different hotels. We had pre-booked a room in Hotel Best Western Senator in Shahzadebaazi area. The best deal we got for the transfer was 15 euros per pax (We were two so ...

... a lot of time walking up hill, so I knew I was heading in the right direction. Finally, finally I stumbled upon a Best Western-The Best Western President Hotel to be precise. From the street I could see that the hotel had a rooftop patio. I was ...

... a bit for tomorrow.   Went for a quick chicken doner wrap and then met our friend and walked to the Old English Pub in the Best Western. I think this was to try and make us feel more at home. We had a couple drinks and then walked to a café (in ...

... Asian part of town on the other shore! Thye trip back to Tekirdag went even faster. One hour and forty minutes, including heavy traffic in Istanbul. This morning it rains, so that will be a setback in the enjoyment of our travel. But we will go to ...

... mine was at the WAY end but it all made it.  Yippeee-no lost luggage for me this time! Next up was getting transportation into Istanbul.  Somehow, I managed to get a taxi for 120 Turkish lira.  That was a huge score as it was a ride to the hotel, a 4 ...

... the cob. They were a nice treat after a long afternoon of walking around. Topkapi Palace: another extremely famous landmark of Istanbul. The palace is huge, with four courtyards, and plenty of exhibits scattered around to provide an insight into the life ...

... out the room, and waited for the others to arrive from the first business meeting. Today's event was a lecture at Istanbul University and I'm pretty bummed we missed it but we shall have other opportunities to immerse ourselves in the Turkish culture! ...

... are not on the schedule once we hook up with the Rick Steves Tour.  We walked Istiklal Street from one end of Istanbul to the other!  It's the main shopping street with relatively high-rent stores.  There was lots of great people-watching ...

... like sardines fighting for empty space to stand. I haven’t had such experience since my earlier days in Taipei. The buildings in Istanbul are closely justified just like Asia, but the façade of various buildings has a European feel to it. We had ...

... entire day on the bus for a 4.5 hour trip..first a WC stop then lunch then another WC stop...ugh! So we arrived in Istanbul to late to see any sights. We did however, have perfect weather for Bosphorus cruise. Later tonight the farewell dinner. Early ...

... with veggies. The spice bazaar was interesting, but you have to wander outside the "official area" into the side streets for the best people watching. So many great smells! The lemon tea was my favorite smell, no idea how it tastes. The nut and candy ...

... around 3:00pm with Wylla getting us taxis to the hotel.  The one I was in ended up getting to the hotel first and for the best price! Yes!!!!!  After dropping our stuff of at the hotel, we walked to the Topkapi Palace so we could go on the tour.  Much ...

... organising my locker of the things I wanted to keep and the items I would leave behind or throw away when we arrive in Istanbul. Our tour started at 12pm and we first visited the museum (additional cost here), which contains relics from the First World ...

... Arabic like script to the Western alphabet (with a few minor additions, like Ç, Ö, and Ş). Having been to Istanbul, a throughly Western city, it is easy to imagine the devout of the country-side, frustrated by the shift toward Western culture and ...

... to rob us once we withdrew more cash? One wonders. One thing, however, stands certain. For being, then, a European Capital of Culture, Istanbul, culturally, is far from European. That is not to say we didn't have a great time in Istanbul - we did! But ...

... Turks was a big blow to Christianity at the time. In fact, some of the Crusades were ordered to protect Constantinople (Istanbul's former name as we all know from the Barenaked Ladies song). Unfortunately the crusaders sent were terrible and they ended ...

... a very beautiful mosque hidden in the market streets. Then I strolled some more to Süleymaniye Camii, said to be the best mosque in Istanbul - nowadays however closed for reconstruction. At least there is a nice cemetery at the premises. Next on the way ...

... ;today I head over to Romania later on today on the overnight bus after doi ng some more wondering through Istanbul which is a great city.  I didnt have the best nights of sleep last night which I o n ly have  my self to blame I choose ...

... . Luckily, a trip to the pharmacy was able to curb the symptoms of my sickness and I managed to keep on exploring Istanbul. Although I was somewhat sick, I still managed to see some amazing places with some really interesting people. On the first ...