Amazing Weekend In Istanbul
Istanbul is a multi-million city with a rich history and oriental flavor. This city is an ideal option for a weekend trip: you can come here for a romantic weekend with your loved one, for shopping with a friend, or just come to unwind for a couple of days, drink delicious Turkish coffee and enjoy walks in this wonderful city.
A lot of tourists come to Istanbul for two or three days, so today I want to tell you what you can see in Istanbul in a few days and offer options for routes around Istanbul that have been tested on myself. It is better to live in the historical center. It’s very easy to walk between the main attractions, transport is not needed for this.
The first route includes destinations that in my opinion are “must see”. You can reach by tram or walk if you live not far to the Gulhane stop to get to the main entrance to the Topkapi Palace. Topkapi Palace has been the main residence of the Sultans for 400 years. The palace is located on a large territory at Cape Sarayburnu. Topkapi Palace does not look like a standard palace: it is a territory with four courtyards on which many buildings and premises, gardens, arbors are set up. There are kitchens, a mosque, a library, a harem, and rooms where the Sultan met and met with the people, and his private chambers. Now in the Topkapi Palace there is a museum where you can see collection of weapons, porcelain, household items of the Sultans and a large treasury of sultans. And it seems to me that Istanbul is that city where it is much more interesting to walk quietly, paying attention to all sorts of small details and collecting them into a single picture, rather than chasing and looking only at what is written in the guidebook.
The largest and main mosque of Istanbul. It is one of the symbols of the city and is visible from almost any part of Istanbul. Inside - marble decoration, huge arches and many Orthodox Muslims. The “quietest" season is in the winter. The prices for tourist needs are not high. The air warms up to + 6–8 ° C as much as possible, but extremely rarely drops below zero. Winter is the time of rains. Istanbul has high humidity and cloudy weather.
The Asian part of Istanbul is less touristy, but it is recognized as an authentic city center with neat promenades along the sea and national restaurants. Do not worry: getting from Asia to Europe is not so difficult. The main places to stay here are Kadikoy and Uskudar. Kadikoy for me is a very lively area with many neighborhoods and streets that are no different from the European part. Uskudar is inferior in size, but I fell in love with it behind the promenade, which offers a fantastic view of the Bosphorus.
The energy that is soaring in the air above Istiklal Street is special, one feels some spirit of freedom and change, the change of Istanbul and Turkey as a whole for the better. Playing and singing artists create a special atmosphere on the street, and they do it in such a way that it is simply impossible to pass by and not stop.
The Grand Bazaar is the oldest market in the world. After this, not visiting this place is simply unforgivable. My family and I like bright colors, noisy sellers, crowds of scurrying buyers. In this atmosphere, you can plunge into culture and discover the real face of the country. The Grand Bazaar is like a city in a city, it has its own streets, which are more than 60, a huge number of shops and “permanent residents” represented by sellers. You can buy on it almost everything the same as in other markets of Istanbul, but an order of magnitude more expensive. Therefore, we recommend that you just walk along it, and buy in other places, which we will write more about.
And finally, I want to mention another symbol of Istanbul, located in the European part of the city - the Galata Tower.
Everyone can climb the observation deck of the tower and see Istanbul from a height of about 70 meters. Galata Tower, due to its location, is clearly visible from different areas and places of the city. We ourselves did not climb it, but walked in that area and according to our observations, in the afternoon, 2 hours before the closure of people who want to climb, it becomes smaller.
Among the cafes and restaurants of Istanbul with beautiful panoramic views you can find quite budget options. I love El Amed Terrace Restaurant terrace, located on the fourth floor of an old building, from where you can see the connection point of the Bosphorus with the Sea of Marmara. A rich assortment of menu will allow you to choose Oriental and European dishes, seafood and barbecue. Here you can find a lot of grilled food: you should definitely try lamb kebab with pistachio sauce, as well as appreciate the taste of juicy sea bass. Since this restaurant is considered inexpensive, you can eat together here for a very affordable price: on average, you will pay 70 TL. Well, at the end of lunch, the staff will pamper you with free tea and baklava. The restaurant plays atmospheric music, and the waiters are very welcoming and helpful. In a compartment with a panoramic view of the sea waters, a romantic and peaceful atmosphere is created here.
Text by
Anna Makhotkina