Here's your essential guide to getting the best out of a city-break in Istanbul.
Location nickname: The City on Seven Hills
Don't miss: Galata Bridge
Best avoid: Topkapi Palace
Don't miss: Simit - sesame 'pretzels' - simply delicious
Best avoid: Kokoreç - chargrilled lambs' intestines
Basilica Cistern: 53 steps below street level, close to Hagia Sofia, the Basilica Cistern was commissioned by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century and used well into the 20th. Now almost empty and artfully lit its 336 marble and granite columns scavenged from earlier structures, including two with notable carved medusa heads, are a remarkable sight.
Blue Mosque: Since the early 17th century Sultan Ahmet Camii's six minarets and nine domes have been an Istanbul landmark, its name becoming synonymous with the city's historic centre. Entry is free but a guided tour will add depth to the experience. Visit early or late to avoid queues, and remember modest clothing.
Çemberlitas Hamami: Hamam may have joined the lexicon of spa treatments. However, an authentic Turkish Bath is far removed from the sanitised, luxury European offering. Near Sultanahmet, 16th century Çemberlitas Hamami is used to tourists and offers a hamam experience beneath skylit domes and amongst lavish marble fixtures that are themselves works of art.
Eat at a Meyhane: Traditional drinking and eating establishments - in that order, meyhanes offer mezze-style dishes such as yaprak ciger (lamb's liver), dolma (stuffed vine leaves), saksuka (fried aubergine), fava (mashed beans) and piquant ezme (chilli, tomatoe and garlic sauce), all designed to soak up Turkey's social lubricant of choice - raki. Safa Meyhanesi in Zeytinburnu district is a fine example of the genre.
Ferries: Istanbul's connection to the sea via the straits of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn is current and vital as well as historic. There are plenty of 'tourist cruises' but at 4 Lira a trip aboard one of the city's 45 municipal ferries is a bargain. Take the tram to the terminus at Eminönü and pick your boat…
Galata Bridge: Once a chaotic string of wooden pontoons infested by characterful restaurants the current concrete bridge struggles to recapture former charm - though it's undoubtedly more fireproof. For good views of the city and waterborne activity, walk across from Eminönü to Karaköy, passing lines of hopeful rod fishermen. A market serving simple and delicious balik-ekmekfresh fish sandwiches greets your arrival.
Galata Tower: Funky cafes, musical instrument shops and arty boutiques surround the 14th century Galata Tower, an instantly recognisable lookout rising from north shore of the Golden Horn. At almost 70-metres high the view from the tower's al fresco gallery is not for the faint hearted.
Hagia Sofia: It's a church? It's a mosque? Actually it's a museum, and has been since the edict of Turkey's secular first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1935. Dating from the 6th century, the building's soaring domes have endured earthquakes, fires and multiple violent conquests to remain a masterpiece of Byzantine architecture.
Shopping: Though the Grand Bazaar remains fascinating, many vendors have become emporia of tourist tat - head across the Golden Horn for 'real' shopping. Here Turkey's late 20th century 'economic miracle' is apparent amongst the up-market retail outlets populating the long street of Istikal Caddesi in Beyoglu, home of expensive boutiques and designer fashions.
Trams: Cheap and frequent, Istanbul's trams are a triumph of public transportation, even providing a slick transfer from Istanbul Ataturk Airport for those with little baggage. Buy individual tokens from multilingual machines at stops or benefit from reduced fares with a contactless Istanbulkart available from kiosks near tram stations.
This article has been produced in association with www.talkholiday.com
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