Ideal for a City Break, you will find you have to come back again as there is so much to see and do. A bustling, vibrant City full of culture, atmosphere and history, staying in a converted palace, an old Ottoman hotel or an ultra modern building, you will need to absorb the smells and tastes of this wonderful City.
Bridging Europe and Asia, a trip across the Bosphorus is a must, as is a visit to the Sultan Ahmet area where some of the most impressive must do’s are sited. Topkapi Palace, once home to Sultans and with a harem, where you can stroll around and view the elaborate jewellery and costumes. Sultan Ahmet, The Blue Mosque, with it’s six minarets and cascade of domes. The Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya) once the greatest church in Christendom and later a mosque and recently part of the setting for Dan Brown’s Inferno. The Hippodrome, now a park, is great to sit and rest in before visiting the Basilica Cistern which is sited beneath the northern edge of the park, and you may recognise the columns and waterways from the James Bond Movie From Russia with Love or from the climax of Dan Brown’s Inferno. The Grand Bazaar, the Egyptian Spice Bazaar are great fun to browse within and you may get some bargains and certainly enjoy banter with the stallholders and shopkeepers. These markets have been around for hundreds of years and the locals are still doing their shopping in them, for everything from spices and herbs, jewellery, antiques and of course the great Turkish Carpet.
Take a break in one of the many restaurants or cafes, eat a fish sandwich by the sea, then back to your Low Cost Holiday Hotel, for a rest before discovering Istanbul by Night. Go to Beyoglu with it’s upmarket shopping, Istiklal Caddesi offers the whirling dervish hall (you will need advance booking to see a performance,) quality restaurants and bars and music clubs.
Also a must is a boat trip to Princes Islands, in the sea of Marmara, where you stop at Buyukada which is a pedestrianized Island with horse drawn carriages to take you around, beautiful houses and a monastery perched up high. On the way to the Island the sight of Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya and Topkapi in the distance is a feast for the eyes.
A day would not be enough to see the delights of the Dolmabahce Palace, with a mere 285 rooms, massive formal gardens and a in the region of 500m Bosphorus shore facade. An approximately 4000 kilo bohemian crystal chandelier hangs from the ceiling drawing the eyes onwards and upwards to the beautifully painted ceilings and the furniture, artwork and fabrics are a feast for the eyes. A grand staircase, columns, formal gardens with fountains and sculptures nesting amongst the plants.
Istanbul is the place for a Buzzy Holiday, great for Christmas Shopping, or indeed any shopping, with genuine designer brands, copies, amazing jewellery, spices and herbs, dvd’s, leatherwear, hustle, bustle, history, fun and laughter, for a City Break or Low Cost Holiday, Istanbul is ideal.
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