Im coming to Istanbul on 28th..staying for couple of days and i could use some of your help..as a gift ive decided to bring some books to someone..so if you could give me some recommendations on some more equipped bookstores in Istanbul that have books in English only..could really help me a lot..

Here is the list:

Once upon a broken heart -stephanie garber

Alchemised-SenLinYu

The secret history-Donna Tart

Powerless- Lauren roberts

This woven kingdom- Tehereh Mafi

Fourth wing- Rebecca Yaros

Hi everyone, My boyfriend and I will be in Istanbul for the Champions League Final on 30th May. He is a huge Arsenal supporter and was consequently hoping to watch the match in a nice bar/local place (ideally not a huge/very touristy sports bar). Very grateful for any recommendations!

Hey everyone! I’ll be coming to Istanbul with my boyfriend from 28th to 31st May specifically for the Kanye concert but we’d also like to explore the city a bit. What type of weather should we expect and what outfits would be practical? Should I pack more light layers or is it hot enough for summer clothes. Thanks!

I’ve just got back from Istanbul and I’ve realised something:

tourists experience one Istanbul, locals experience another… and guess who ends up paying two or three times as much.

Here are the most common “subtle scams” I’ve come across, and how to avoid them without coming across as a cheapskate.

1) The airport taxi that sees you as a walking €50 note

If you don’t know the going rates, you could easily end up paying double, or even more.

The reality: you can get to the city centre by metro or shuttle bus for much less, and without any stress.

2) Restaurants “with a view” that mainly serve up the bill

An incredible terrace, views of the Bosphorus, a menu translated into eight languages = you already know you’re going to be overpaying.

Tip: Two streets back, you can often get the same dish for half the price and three times as authentic.

3) The “friends” who take you out for a drink

A milder version of late-night scams: a “friendly” person strikes up a conversation, suggests a bar or club… and the bill turns out to be astronomical.

4) Golden rule: you always choose the venue, never the other way round.

Souvenirs sold as “handmade” but churned out by the same factory

In heavily touristed areas, many items are sold as handmade… when in fact they’re mass-produced.

The right approach: compare prices in several shops, venture a little off the main streets, and don’t be afraid to haggle.

5) The makeshift guides who stick to your heels

In front of certain monuments, you’ll find blokes who turn into “official guides” overnight.

If you don’t agree on a price BEFORE you start, you’ll end up with an exorbitant bill at the end.

What I did to avoid getting ripped off:

• I used the Istanbulkart for all my journeys (metro, tram, ferry) : it worked a treat and was cheap.
• I didn’t just stick to Sultanahmet; I also went to Kadıköy on the Asian side, which is much more local.
• I relied on genuine advice from fellow travellers and locals, not the first person who stopped me in the street.

And you, what kind of hassle did you have in Istanbul?

Edit- PRINCES'S ISLANDS, NOT PRINCESS ISLANDS!! For those wanting to spend a few relaxing hours I suggest taking the ferry from Kabatas to the big island of Büyükada and getting off at the port of Adalar. Dont make my mistake and get off at the 3 Islands before the big one as they really aren't super interesting, other than the 3rd one. Have lunch at the big island and then come back. Around 5 hours and cost 210lira each way.

Merhaba! I am planning a 5 day trip to Istanbul in July. I am staying near Galata Tower. I am sharing my itinerary with you. Do you have some tips or comments on that? (This includes a lot of walking)

Day 0 (arriving)

Chill

• Leaving the hotel around 6PM
• Fast dinner: Yöremiz Pide Lahmacun
• Karaköy (explore east side)
• Sunset: Galata bridge and west side of Karaköy

Day 1

A ‘can I really do it?’ day

• T1 tram to:
• Basilica Cistern (on opening)
• The Blue Mosque (inside)
• Hagia Sophia (only outside because of the renovation and high costs)
• Soğuk Çeşme Sk. (lunch: Chimney Bistro Pub & Restaurant)
• Gülhane Park - long break in the shade, for at least 2 hours to rest before hitting the bazaars
• Grand bazaar (max 1 hour)
• Egyptian bazaar and surrounding streets
• Dinner somewhere around
• Night cruise at 8PM

Day 2

Go nuts

• Ferry to Kadıköy
• Kadıköy Çarşı - explore, go nuts
• Lunch: Sinop Mantı
• Moda - explore, chill
• Bar crawl: 
  • Karga Bar
  • Incir Pub
  • Zincir Bar
  • Wizard Pub
  • Whatever that looks trashy but cool

Day 3

Chill… first part of the day at least

• Ferry to Heybeliada (Princess Islands)
• HA-2 bus to Alman plajı stop (for a mini hike)
• Circle back by the north waterfront of the island
• Lunch: Mira’da Kokoreç Restaurant Sokak Lezzetleri
• Explore the area around the port
• Evening: Beyoğlu, İstiklal Cd.

Day 4

Local magic

• 30D bus to: Ortaköy (quick stop)
  • Büyük Mecidiye Mosque
  • Explore a little bit
• Back to Besiktas Square
  • Explore a little bit
• A ferry to Kuzguncuk
  • Kuzguncuk Evleri
  • Ahşap Evler
  • Explore
  • Lunch: somewhere nice
• A ferry to Üsküdar
  • Üsküdar Çarşı - go nuts
  • Explore
  • Go back to the hotel and lay dead

Day 5

Local colors

• Balat (Bus to Yavuz Selim)
• Ismail Aga Mosque
• Wander down the streets to:
  • Colorful houses
  • Farangati 
  • Renkli Merdivenler
  • Merdivenli Yokuş Evleri
• Lunch: Makam-ı Balat
• Explore or go back to Karaköy

 

Day 6

• Leave :(

Honestly, I’ve really enjoyed my time in Istanbul so far, The Turkish people are very sweet, helpful and kind, I’ve enjoyed doing numerous workshops and tours about the history of Türkiye. The only issue I’ve encountered is the above in the title, I don’t consider it a representation of the kind Turkish people we’ve met and have helped us so far on our visit but my only question is how we can further stop the harassment. We are often followed and pestered even after we say a firm (but polite!) “no thank you” or simply ignoring. I’m hoping anyone who is more informed than us can offer us some tricks while we are still here as it is sadly putting a damper on fully immersing ourselves in the unique Turkish culture and food.

We are planning a trip to Istanbul this summer. One of my kids has severe allergies to dairy products, even cross contact to milk, cheese, yogurt etc. causes a reaction. Given that many of the Turkish restaurants and cuisine use butter, cream, cheese, yogurt etc. and there are communication barriers, what would be the best approach to minimize a medical emergency? How could I relay to the serving staff about the allergies so they could avoid cross contact in the kitchen or when serving food to our table?

Could anyone with food allergies share their experience or recommendation. I truly appreciate it. Thanks!

Hey guys, I’m thinking about moving from Georgia to Istanbul sometime this year. I’ve got 2 dogs, so I’m trying to understand which areas are actually nice to live in if you walk your dogs every day.

Some places in Istanbul feel amazing, and some feel like absolute chaos 😅

I don’t really care about nightlife or tourist stuff, mostly just want an area where it’s comfortable to go outside with dogs without dealing with crazy traffic, huge crowds or aggressive street dogs all the time.

Right now Kadıköy looks nice to me, maybe around Caddebostan, but I’m still researching.

Any dog owners here? Which neighborhoods would you recommend?

Whether taxi, restaurant, shoe-shine or let's get a drink, has any tourist ever reported a scam to the police?

Hello everyone. I finally went to Istanbul and had a great time, on the other hand, I have to join the choir of people saying that this city is a gem, but the people living in it are pushing tourism away. We stayed 5 days and not a single day passed without multiple people trying scamming us, for us it was almost a constant experience with few exceptions of very kind and helpful people.

On top of the classic scams that I’m not going to repeat, I wanted to raise awareness on 2 scams that we fell into and that I never read of, so that it may not happen to other people.
They were both on the first day, on our way from IST airport to the city. We wanted to come by metro as our hotel was on the line, so from IST we went to the metro station and we bought from the ticket machine a “Turkye card”. I remembered reading online about a card that allowed you to travel freely in the region Istanbulkart, turkey card, something like that. I remembered it was red, and the machine said that you could use that card basically for everything. Of course since the name clicked, it was red and the machine recommended it, we bought two and topped them up with some money, just to find out that of course they don’t work in Istanbul. So basically the government itself put a machine at the Istanbul airport that sells a useless card at the Istanbul metro station, taking advantage of unaware tourists. Nice way of welcoming tourists I guess.

So after arriving in Gayrette and realising we wasted money with the turkye card, we tried buying an istanbulkart from the machine. There was a guy there that was “helping” tourists making their cards. Of course we should not have trusted any random person in the street, but at that point we were frustrated, tired and dumb, so we followed what he did.
This guy made us buy an Istanbul kart, and then he told us to recharge it, so far so good, the only issue is that with a very quick movement of hand he switched our charged card with an empty one, so we paid 14€ in tickets just to receive a card that had only 200TL on it. Of course we should not have trusted any random person at the station, at the same time he was very quick and smooth with the switch, so even if I was staring at him and what he was doing we did not realise what happened until we were already far and needed the metro again.

All of this just to say that I loved this city, but what we got from this trip is that both the people (restaurants, shops, taxis, general scammers) and the government (fake transport cards, ridiculously overpriced tourist attractions) see tourists as idiots and just want their money at all costs. I’m really sorry to say it but I will not recommend this city to all my friends and family, because as much as I loved the beauty of the architecture, there are many other places as beautiful and where you are not treated like that.

Hi friends,

I'll be visiting Istanbul with my 76 year old father and would like your tips for seafood restaurants (e.g., grilled fish, traditional recipes, shellfish).

Some context: my father survived a heart attack last year but since then can only eat fish and vegetables. I don't see him very often because he lives in my home country (South America) and he's very excited about finally coming to Istanbul. It's always been on his bucket list to see this beautiful city.

Please help me make my old guy happy while I'm still on time. I'd really appreciate your help! I'd like to spoil him a bit by showing him nice food and nice places as I see him once every year or every other year due to the distance. 🙏🙏

Yardımlarınız için hepinize çok teşekkür ederim!!

saw this happen again today near galata.. guy drops the brush “by accident”, tourist picks it up trying to be nice, next thing you know he’s cleaning the shoes and asking for money (1500 lira 😭)

worst part is you can literally see they target confused tourists on purpose. feels like every person visiting istanbul hears about this scam at some point so i genuinely don’t get how nobody stops them.. do locals just completely ignore these guys now?

Hey everybody

I am a student going to Istanbul for an exchange semester. The university I will attend is Arel University, and I know the campus is far from the centre of town.

Arel offers on-campus accommodation, but as it is far away from the city centre, I'm a bit afraid that the social life will be complicated.

On the other hand, I heard that traffic is crazy, and if I live in town, it will be complicated to get to uni.

What I really want is to be around as many students as I can and socialise, as this is an Erasmus. But my international coordinator there told me that usually international students don't live on campus.

So I don't really know what the best option is, to live on campus or in neighbourhoods in the city centre?

If there are past students or Turkish people who have opinions about what I should do, or know what neighbourhoods are nice, it'd be great!

Thanks!!