CC

Hi

Off to Istanbul in a few days, just wondering if any of the
worldy-wise of peeps of Scoobynet have any advice on what do to/what not to do as I've never been there before.

Anything appreciated !

Luke

Its my 2nd home !!! so where to start????

Are you single????? if so you could have the time of your life!!!! I kid you not.

Its been raining a bit but dont worry. The nightlife is around Taxim square, Tunnel and along Istiklal cad.(the main drag). Dont go into "chic chac passage" its a bit tacky..................



For food well you will be in heaven.

So where to eat............??? How do you like your food?? if you want the most amazing over the top top totty place then make sure you are welllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll $$$$$ "Papermoon" dont say I didnt warn you|!!!( I'm serious.its one of the most expensive places in the whole world)

If you want a fantastic restaurant with great food and fantastic views along with nice "Cool Music" and a great bar......... try my favourite "5th floor" {"5.Kat"] its full name is :Bilsak 5. kat. Soganci sok. No.7. Cihangir. Just a few mins walk from taxim square. Past the German hospital. If you take a lady she will love you............... and its not expensive. Fusion euro type food.

For the best "ocakbasi" then a quick taxi to "Guler Ocakbasi" in Harbiye. Full street name: Cumhuriyet caddesi babil sokak. It down a very steep little road. The Chef is a diamond geezer!!!!

For coffee try "Kaffeehaus" just on the bend near tunnel. Full of nice folk.


Other things.................. Dont get involded with any dope etc............This is not the place ........believe me.

Its a safe cool place. The Police etc are nice and will look after you. Taxis etc are fine.........But they do drive like **** nutters!!!! Your £ is worth a hell of a lot............ give some back ,ie tip well. Believe me they realy need it and its their money realy !!

Shopping............... Close your eyes and imagine everything you want and when you open them you will see all!! Clothes are fantastic value.

Tourist bit........... well the blue mosque etc is nice. Take a boat to the other side and look around.

If your lady or you wants the BEST deal on leather bags and "Fake" watches etc then As i know the whole ball game back to front in Istanbul .... I will give you a contact that you can trust. (Call me : 07958 425508) he will look after you and you will save a lot of time not been messed around with the usual quality they sell to tacky tourists. He is located in the top of the "grand Bazaar". Which is a hell of a lot better than the bottom bazzar!!! its also a good place for Gold and antiques........ If you buy any $$$$ stuff ask my friend to "introduce you to the seller first"!!!

NO VISIT is complete without a lunch a "Sultan Hammed Kofte shop"

Its the most famous place to eat and costs less than a few pounds for lamb that will blow tyou away!! WARNING... its reputation is so good many local restaurants tell you theirs is the real one.

As you go in (Its got 3 floors} the cashier is on the left and they are cooking the meat on the right. Its decorated inside in white. you should find it.


Take you pick again for the nightlife.... Its all there.

"Lemon garden" is a great place for a few drinks... then you could move on to "Soho" or "Sasahathane" (Atlas passage} These are all on Istiklal street. I find the smaller clubs better than the large ones...............

Make sure you ALWAYS carry your passport. Its big problems without one.

If you get ill !!!!! go to "Marmara Akedemic hastani" or the german Hospital !!!


Have a great time: any futher questions???


Luke

andrewdelvard

I had three great month in Turkey, very warm, hospitable people and from what I remember of the women they have moustaches nearly as good as the mens. Most are ugly as sin but the hot ones are..well hot.
Oh and for Gods sake barter for everything! If you take the first price you're considered a fool.

triple top

One word of warning,be very careful how you act to the locals cos they are known not to like the the English or British(what ever you use when you are abroad?)cos my mate found out the hard way when he was stabbed by some young turkish lads (nice especially when he was spending his money in their country and he is a real nice guy too) after a argument in a bar in turkey..All the guys in turkey seems to carry knives and they will uses them and the police are useless when it comes to helping or even preventing trouble!?!,so be aware how you act towards the locals.

Otherwise enjoy your holidayand the cheap beer

Luke

.................. Would say that ofcourse these things can happen. But they are so protective of tourists these days..........Any turkish guy getting into a ruck that goes wrong will be looking at one hell of a jail sentence, And he knows that.. yes they carry knives. Been to Lodon, Liverpool, swindon etc??? .... just as bad.

Hang with the rough...take the rough.

triple top

I wouldn't say UK is as bad but it seems a thing for young guys in Turkey to carry knives and willing to use them.

Btw im not slagging off your country i'm just pointing out just to be careful.

XT

{quote]nice especially when he was spending his money in their country[/quote]


Isn't this the same in every country?

Luke

Lads........ I'm irish/english,italian and srilankan. I just happen to be married to a turk!!

triple top

Quote..Isn't this the same in every country?..Quote

Yep but he was slightly annoyed after spending over a grand on a holiday and coming back with 3 stab wounds and as i said he is a nice guy and wouldn't start any fight so he didn't find Turkey very hospitable but of course other people find it a good/cheap place to go on holiday

CC

Thanks for info!!! Not sure there's much else to know!

I'm travelling with my g/f so I must be on my best behaviour

Just one thing if anyone can help me....

I *think* I'd to get a hire car so that we can get about but I've heard the drivers are loonys, plus I've never driven on the rhd side. What do you think, good or bad idea? Or is the public transport ok anyway?

Luke

CC

I need to keep this simple


****************** ** *** ** ***** ** **** **** * (pretend editing)


I was trying to say " You would be a right F*ck head to even think about it!!!!!

Also Forget london etc for traffic wardens/clamping and towing away!!! In Istanbul they are the "masters"

Just hail a little cab and enjoy. Also "Dolmus" (Local transit type buses) are great....



Where are you staying??

[Edited by Luke - 6/2/2003 1:52:41 PM]

[Edited by Luke - 6/2/2003 2:00:33 PM]

CC

lol I think i ge the message

thanks again...

rik1471

HAVE YOU NEVER SEEN MIDNIGHT EXPRESS??!!!

Hurman

If you are taking the misses be careful. Is she tall, over 5ft? The Turkish men seem to have a problem with tall women, especially the short ones. My wife received a load of abuse in a couple of seperate incidents. She is 5ft 10" and good looking. One guy said to me 'is this your wife' to which I replied 'yes'. He then sympathised with me and told me how sorry he was to hear that!! Cheeky git but starting an argument with the vertically challenge man could have resulted in a trip to the local hospital as described before. This was in Marmaris a totally tourist reliant town. The rest of the holday was OK but not amazing.

On the up side Istanbhul is a superb city and well worth a visit just make sure your hire car has rubber skirts all the way round it!!