Travel Agent Pakenham

The First thing I remember of Turkey and especially Istanbul is the way the heat hits you when stepping out of the plane onto the steps of the plane to walk down to the tarmac.

The City of Istanbul is a collage of historical buildings, shopping, Museums, restaurants, bars, and markets. I stayed here for 3 nights and was based at a centrally located hotel. Arrival on my first night was a transfer ride from the airport to my hotel (this I would recommend for any non turkish speaking visitor). Once checked in a walk to a local coffee bar/restaurant was my first experience of the food and drink of Turkey and boy, was I not let down by their pastries, and the coffee kept me awake all night needless to say only drink if you like it strong.

My first full day was spent on an escorted all day city tour, this is a bit of a ritual for me with city stays as I use it to dictate what I want to see or experience especially as in 3 days you can't experience it all. The tour included entry to The Blue Mosque, shopping at the Grand Bizarre, the Spice Bizzare and an attached museum to name a few but these I remember.

The Blue Mosque is a must, it really took my breath away with it's stature and commanding Dome - it's not to be missed. Shopping at the Grand Bizzare was fantastic fun!! This covered market is huge and don't forget never pay the asking price have fun haggling, the locals love it, as I did buying my leather sheepskin flying jacket (hey come on it was the 90s). No purchases at the Spice Bizzare but with it's smells & distinctive vivacious atmosphere I was glad I passed through. An added side excursion finished the day with a turkish massage, OMG!! I came out 6ft taller and full of life, a MUST do when in Istanbul.

My list was chosen and with girlfriend in tow we started with a night ferry cruise on the Bosphorus (main body of water between the black sea and sea of Marmara), I had to look that up by the way LOL!! A pleasant night cruise with views back over the old city and the night lights of Istanbul earned me great points with the Girlfriend as we sat hand in hand.

The first day on foot revealed chaos on the streets of Istanbul, there were people everywhere especially traders with their trolleys stacked high above their line of sight with hessian wrapped stock and boxes probably fresh off the ports, I don't know how they manage. I can picture this being just like London in the old days all the hustle and bustle. Today was shopping day, my girlfriend was advised by a shopaholic friend to go to a place called Istiklal Avenue (don't ask me where it was) but by far a shoppers paradise which is at least a few kms of boutiques, music and bookstores, art galleries, cinemas, theatres, cafés, bars, libraries, pubs, coffeehouses, historical patisseries, chocolateries, tech shops and restaurants, all of which are seamlessly integrated into the elegant 19th century Turkish architecture.

With an afternoon flight planned the last morning was spent local to the hotel with a visit to what I remember being described to me as an underground water storage converted to a kind of museum. The Basilica cistern was lovely, a cool atmosphere professionally displayed by clever lighting turned my imagination into something very different in real terms. Column after column lined the walkways in this amazing structure. Our last Item on our list was the Galata Tower, this for me was not much but the views were spectacular and worth the cab ride to get me there (this the hotel organised).

Well there you have it folks, a quick insight into my experience of Istanbul and Turkey I hope you enjoyed the read as much as I did jogging the memory cells. If I can be of any assistance in your enquiry/plans to visit Turkey please feel free to contact me, also be sure to read my other experiences in Turkey in Antalya, Fethiye, Marmaris and Bodrum.