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Woolly says – Our time in Istanbul certainly seemed to go too quickly, although not our usual independent way of travelling it proved to be highly successful and excellent value for money. We booked the three days, two night tour through one of the tour shops in Alanya and for 900 TL (approximately £250 GBP) we had all of the transfers, flights to and from Antalya to Istanbul (including snacks on the plane), two nights’ accommodation, a cruise on the Bosphorus and a half day Istanbul classics tour included in the package. I was well impressed. The tours would have cost 35 Euro each if booked separately (approximately £28.00 GBP) and when Jo priced everything up separately we found that we saved £30.00 GBP overall leaving extra money for snacks!
We had expected the price of food to be more in the city and were very pleasantly surprized to find that most meals were at least 5 TL (approximately £1.43 GBP) less than the prices we pay in Alanya which meant that Woolly could eat his fill without worrying about emptying his wallet – actually I’m not sure where his wallet has gone as it didn’t make an appearance for the whole trip!
Woolly says – I got it out at least once but then put it away again as Jo beat me to paying the bill. Our hotel was OK, not the cleanest, but it provided a bed for the night which is all you really need, and a very basic buffet breakfast (always important for a hungry mammoth) it was however in a lovely area of cobbled streets which were lit with lanterns at night and allowed us to listen to the Gypsy violins playing in the evenings which was well worth doing. Fish dishes were in abundance but being a large city so were the usual burger joints and side café’s which were pleasant to sit at and watch the world wander past. The Pierre Lotti Coffee House provided a beautiful view with reasonable prices, although the cable car could have been missed! I really enjoyed the roof top terrace cafe (Sultan Café) and looking out over the city while enjoying their thirst quenching freshly squeezed lemonade while sampling the rather delicious cakes on offer (well it would be rude not to) and would certainly recommend the short hill walk to get
up there.
He is recommending the walk as he got carried! It was a bit of a hike but well worth it. The trips were very good although some information did get a little lost in translation they certainly gave you a good overview of the beautiful city and the buildings it contains. The only slight disappointment was the visit to the Hippodrome with its lack of remains although the two Obelisk’s were very impressive and we enjoyed the short diversion of a marching band. One thing that we were all in agreement over was the crazy driving! Woolly says – There MAD, totally bonkers! Cars seem to have only one speed – VERY FAST – and horns are blaring all the time, but it is exciting to be a part of it, well until the accidents. We saw one car on its roof and witnessed a crash where one car just drove into the back of another! Not for the faint hearted. The taxi fares (although a cheat for getting around) were very cheap and except for the one cabby that dropped us in the back of beyond and left us to find
our way back to the hotel got us everywhere we wanted to go in mega quick time.
Having barely scratched the surface of this incredible place we all had our favourite parts…….. Woolly says – I loved the Rahmi M Koc Museum and would love to go back and spend longer there, finding my Fez in the Grand Bazaar was definitely my highlight of the trip.
Daughter Zoe says – I loved the roof top terrace overlooking the city, it would have been even better if I could have thrown Woolly off of course! I also really liked the Süleymaniye Mosque, although much simpler in décor and design than the Blue Mosque we were able to see how the Mosque operated and observe while people were praying.
Like Woolly I did love the museum and I’m with daughter Zoe on the roof top café but my favourite has to be Hagia Sophia, a most incredible Mosque which although know where near as glamorous as its counterparts had a feeling all of its own and in my book was truly stunning. Woolly says –
with palaces, tombs and a fortress, to name but a few places still to explore and several hundred more café’s and restaurants to sample I think Jo needs to get back down the road and get on with booking our next trip to Istanbul!
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