Discussion
arrange dates with girls from Constantinople (they'll meet you in Istanbul).
Other than that, try the food (turkish food is ace), check out the grand bazaar, avoid keeping money in your back pockets and don't get upset when they're a bit 'grabby' trying to check out their wares, look at some old ruins, drink efes and that's about all I can recommend.
Other than that, try the food (turkish food is ace), check out the grand bazaar, avoid keeping money in your back pockets and don't get upset when they're a bit 'grabby' trying to check out their wares, look at some old ruins, drink efes and that's about all I can recommend.
DoctorX said:
Don't hail a cab on the street, you'll get fleeced.
Assuming you've not got luggage in the boot you can however argue the toss with them, pay what you think reasonable, and get out... assuming you fit the PH build stereotype obviously.Other scams to watch out for include the dropped shoe shine brush (just ignore it and keep on walking) that I've never seen anywhere else.
Great city, the most popular places have already been mentioned, but do explore a little further. Good place for just wandering around. Oh, and the food / tea / coffee is excellent!
One last point: if you're doing "visa on arrival", you get this at a separate counter next to customs. Seen a few people spend ages in the customs queue only to then discover they're in the wrong place.
LooneyTunes said:
Assuming you've not got luggage in the boot you can however argue the toss with them, pay what you think reasonable, and get out... assuming you fit the PH build stereotype obviously.
Other scams to watch out for include the dropped shoe shine brush (just ignore it and keep on walking) that I've never seen anywhere else.
Great city, the most popular places have already been mentioned, but do explore a little further. Good place for just wandering around. Oh, and the food / tea / coffee is excellent!
One last point: if you're doing "visa on arrival", you get this at a separate counter next to customs. Seen a few people spend ages in the customs queue only to then discover they're in the wrong place.
Ha ha, the shoe brush, forgot about that. Lost count of the number of times that happened. Other scams to watch out for include the dropped shoe shine brush (just ignore it and keep on walking) that I've never seen anywhere else.
Great city, the most popular places have already been mentioned, but do explore a little further. Good place for just wandering around. Oh, and the food / tea / coffee is excellent!
One last point: if you're doing "visa on arrival", you get this at a separate counter next to customs. Seen a few people spend ages in the customs queue only to then discover they're in the wrong place.
Watch out for
Misleading prices in bars & restaurants. In our hotel the dinner bill was presented in 3 currencies! One bar quoted beer price in local currency on their board outside. When we got the bill it was the same figure but in Euros. One restaurant added VAT onto the bill. I made a fuss and had it wiped. Another restaurant presented us with a menu with no prices saying they were being re-printed. When I made a fuss suddenly a fully priced menu appeared.
Taxis. On the way back to airport the taxi driver distracted me and switched his meter off. Tried to charge me an extra £10 above the regular fare.
It's a shame that you have to be so wary because it's a great place.
Trams are good. We finally settled on one bar as our base in Sultanahmet and they really looked after us.
Misleading prices in bars & restaurants. In our hotel the dinner bill was presented in 3 currencies! One bar quoted beer price in local currency on their board outside. When we got the bill it was the same figure but in Euros. One restaurant added VAT onto the bill. I made a fuss and had it wiped. Another restaurant presented us with a menu with no prices saying they were being re-printed. When I made a fuss suddenly a fully priced menu appeared.
Taxis. On the way back to airport the taxi driver distracted me and switched his meter off. Tried to charge me an extra £10 above the regular fare.
It's a shame that you have to be so wary because it's a great place.
Trams are good. We finally settled on one bar as our base in Sultanahmet and they really looked after us.
Nice cheap things to do:
Walk up and down Istiklal Caddesi, which is a historic shopping street - used to have a tram too, but no idea if it's still there
Visit the Pera Palas hotel - I used to stay there years ago, well before the recent multi million makeover, so it may have lost the shabby original charm - the bar used to be ok
Take a ferry across the Bosphorous to the Asian side, and back
Take a ferry to the Princes' islands just off the coast of Istanbul - not a huge amount to see but a nice boat trip and peaceful after the frenetic mayhem in the city
Have a beer at the Ciragan Palace hotel - great views, and dirt cheap compared to paying to stay there
Worth a tourist trip to see the underground Royal Cisterns near the Blue Mosque & Topkapi Palace
Advice:
Always wear seat belts in taxis and tell the driver to slow the
down when they drive recklessly
Pedestrians are expendable, so treat all car drivers as psychopathic killers and you'll probably survive
Western women (and blondes particularly) will attract a lot of unwanted male attention, and Turks don't hide their pervy leering / groping
Never draw glasses or a moustache on a picture of Ataturk on a bank note - Turks really don't appreciate it
As others have mentioned, the shoe shine boys are a right old pain. As are the carpet salesmen around the touristy areas. The best way to get rid of them is to tell them you work in Istanbul - they should immediately leave you alone and go off to hunt for tourists (assuming you don't look like a tourist)
Walk up and down Istiklal Caddesi, which is a historic shopping street - used to have a tram too, but no idea if it's still there
Visit the Pera Palas hotel - I used to stay there years ago, well before the recent multi million makeover, so it may have lost the shabby original charm - the bar used to be ok
Take a ferry across the Bosphorous to the Asian side, and back
Take a ferry to the Princes' islands just off the coast of Istanbul - not a huge amount to see but a nice boat trip and peaceful after the frenetic mayhem in the city
Have a beer at the Ciragan Palace hotel - great views, and dirt cheap compared to paying to stay there
Worth a tourist trip to see the underground Royal Cisterns near the Blue Mosque & Topkapi Palace
Advice:
Always wear seat belts in taxis and tell the driver to slow the
down when they drive recklesslyPedestrians are expendable, so treat all car drivers as psychopathic killers and you'll probably survive
Western women (and blondes particularly) will attract a lot of unwanted male attention, and Turks don't hide their pervy leering / groping
Never draw glasses or a moustache on a picture of Ataturk on a bank note - Turks really don't appreciate it
As others have mentioned, the shoe shine boys are a right old pain. As are the carpet salesmen around the touristy areas. The best way to get rid of them is to tell them you work in Istanbul - they should immediately leave you alone and go off to hunt for tourists (assuming you don't look like a tourist)
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