Pocket Rough Guide Istanbul (Travel Guide eBook)

Description

Pocket Rough Guide Istanbul contains everything you need to know about this unique, continent-straddling city-from insightful coverage of the key sights to expert reviews of the very best restaurants, bars, clubs and shops.

Image-packed itineraries help you plan your time in the city, while the equally colourful "Best of" section ensures you don't miss any highlights, from the tile-spangled interior of the landmark Blue Mosque to the fabled ferry ride on the Bosphorus.

The rest of Pocket Rough Guide Istanbul is broken-up into areas for easy navigation, with expert accounts of all major and many minor sights, as well as honest reviews of the top places to enjoy a real kebab, dance at a riverfront club, buy some souvenir Turkish Delight - and much more.

Informations

• Publié par: Apa Publications
• Date de parution: 01 octobre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780241246948
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 64 Mo

Extrait

Contents HOW TO USE INTRODUCTION TO İSTANBUL ITINERARIES BEST OF İSTANBUL PLACES 1. Sultanahmet 2. Topkapı Palace to the Golden Horn 3. Grand Bazaar District 4. Northwest quarter and the land walls 5. Galata and the waterfront districts 6. Beyoğlu and Taksim 7. Beşiktaş and Ortaköy 8. Asian İstanbul 9. The Bosphorus and Princes’ Islands ACCOMMODATION ESSENTIALS MAPS AND SMALL PRINT How to Use How to Use Table of contents



How to use this Rough Guide ebook
This Pocket Rough Guide to Istanbul is one of a new generation of informative and easy-to-use travel-guide ebooks that guarantees you make the most of your trip, whether you’re spending an afternoon or a few days away.
From the table of contents , you can click straight to the main sections of the ebook. Start with the Introduction , which gives you a flavour of Istanbul, with details of when to visit and what to see, followed by helpful day-by-day and themed Itineraries . The Best of Istanbul picks out the highlights you definitely won’t want to miss, the world-famous Blue Mosque to the historic Grand Bazaar. The Places chapters are your comprehensive neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood guide to the city, with full-colour maps featuring all the sights and listings. Finally, Accommodation recommends the best hotels, B&Bs and hostels and Essentials covers all the practical information you’ll need, from public transport to opening hours and festivals. A handy chronology and useful language list round off the guide.
Depending on your hardware, you can double-tap on the maps to see larger-scale versions, or select different scales. There are also thumbnails below more detailed maps – in these cases, you can opt to “zoom left/top” or “zoom right/bottom” or view the full map. The screen-lock function on your device is recommended when viewing enlarged maps. Make sure you have the latest software updates, too.

Introduction to İstanbul

Few of the world’s cities capture the imagination quite like İstanbul,superbly situated at the confluence of predominantly Christian Europe and thelargely Muslim Middle East. It is a booming megalopolis of more than fifteen millionpeople, standing astride both the Asian and European sides of the Bosphorus strait,the vibrant cultural and economic powerhouse of a resurgent Turkish Republic. Ofcourse İstanbul has been a major city for over two thousand years, and it isthe incredible legacy of the two great empires which made it their capital, theChristian Byzantines and Muslim Ottoman Turks, that make it so appealing today.

Galata
For most visitors, İstanbul is a city of two, albeit rather uneven, halves. Thefirst is the old city, strategically located on a peninsula pointing east across theBosphorus towards Asia, and cut-off from the European mainland to the west by thesubstantial remains of the monumental Byzantine-era land walls. The peninsula is boundto the south by the glimmering waters of the Sea of Marmara, to the north by the curvinginlet of one of the world’s finest natural harbours, the Golden Horn. Likeancient Rome, which Constantinople superseded as the Roman Empire’s major city,it was built on seven hills. There is so much to see and do in the old city that youcould spend weeks exploring its many sights, but even with just a few days at yourdisposal it’s possible to get a real flavour of this great metropolis.Fortunately, the majority of the major sights, such as the Haghia Sophia (Aya Sofya),Topkapı Palace and Blue Mosque, are located within a short distance of each otherin compact Sultanahmet. By far the best way to explore is on foot, especially as thereare so many smaller, easily missed sights tucked-in between the major ones, fromByzantine cisterns to historic Turkish baths. The buzzing waterfront around the GoldenHorn-spanning Galata Bridge is unmissable, and offers superb views up to the oldcity’s exotic skyline of domes and slender minarets. Try, too, to get a taste ofthe conservative parts of the old city by walking a section of the land walls orexploring the backstreets of the northwest quarter. Although the language barrier may beformidable and street signage less than perfect, don’t be afraid to wander offthe beaten path and temporarily mislay yourself. After all, with water on three sidesand the towering land walls on the fourth you’ll eventually reach an unmissablelandmark.

Best places for a perfect kebab

Forget that soggy late-night kebab at your local takeaway. Real kebabs come in manyforms in the land of their birth and eating them is a seriously enjoyable business.Try a metre-long special at Akendiz Hatay Sofrası , a lunchtime stand-up treat at Dönerci Şahin Üsta , a southeast Turkish delight at Develi or a rakı -enhanced kebab feast at Kenan Üsta Ocakbaşı .

   The second half of the city is the European quarter of Beyoğlu and Galata, northacross the Golden Horn from the old city and easily reached by tram or metro. As well asbeing home to the famous Galata Tower and a host of wonderful, mainly nineteenth-centurybuildings, it is İstanbul’s entertainment hub. Even if you’ve nointerest in the hedonistic delights of cinema-going, gallery-gazing, shopping,bar-hopping, puffing on a water pipe or clubbing, you should come here to challenge yourpreconceptions of what a predominantly Muslim city is like, dine at one of the myriad(usually excellent) restaurants or simply join the Friday or Saturday crush of peoplesurging down İstiklal Caddesi. Then, if there’s time, a bargain ferry rideto Asia awaits.

Rumeli Hisarİ

When to visit

Hot, humid summers and cold, damp winters mean spring and autumn are the best timesto visit, with May–June and September–October offering the (usually)dry, warm weather ideal for exploring on foot. Needless to say, this is also themost expensive time for accommodation. Midsummer is more than bearable, however,with maximum temperatures rarely exceeding 28 degrees – avoid long trampsduring the hottest part of the day and enjoy the benefits of warm evenings in arooftop bar or restaurant. One downside of midsummer visits is that manyİstanbulites decamp to Aegean resorts and some clubs close for the duration.Winters can be snowy, most likely in January or February, or more usually simplycold, wet and windy (the downside of the city’s proximity to so much watermeans it has a maritime climate). Fog can also be a problem in winter, sometimesclosing the Bosphorus to shipping. On the plus side, hotel rates are cheaper and thearts and cultural scene vibrant.
< Back to Introduction to İstanbul
İstanbul at a glance

Eating
İstanbulites are fussy and demanding when it comes to food. Whetherchoosing a humble simit (sesame-coated bread ring) from astreet barrow or a freshly-caught fish in a stylish Bosphorus-front restaurant,they’ll only accept the best. Fish is highly prized, but more regularfoods include all kinds of sulu yemek (stews), served-up frombig steamtrays, the Turkish “pizzas” pide and lahmacun , a bewildering array of savoury pies and breads,soups and, inevitably, kebabs – either grilled on skewers over charcoalat an ocakbaşı or sliced from a rotating spit ata dönerci . However tempting for ease, don’t justdine in tourist-dominated Sultanahmet, head across to Galata/Beyoğlu , further west in the old city – or acrossto Asia .

Drinking
Turkey may be predominantly Muslim but there are plenty of places to enjoy adrink in İstanbul. The most lively area by far is buzzing Galata/Beyoğlu , where student bars rub shoulders with hiplicensed cafés and the well-heeled sip cocktails at expensive rooftopestablishments. Nevizade Sokak in Beyoğlu isparticularly noted for its raucous drinking (and eating) scene, particularlymadcap on a Friday and Saturday night. The old city is much quieter, thoughthere are plenty of places on Divan Yolu and Akbıyık Caddesi for abeer, glass of wine or the national drink, rakı , ananiseed spirit.

Shopping
With some four thousand shops in a mall over five hundred years old, the Grand Bazaar is a shopping experience few visitors will wantto miss. There’s everything from fake designer jeans to centuries-oldTurkish rugs and plenty of cafés to take the weight off your feet for awhile. The Spice Bazaar in Eminönü is much moremanageable and equally historic, the streets around it are wonderful forfoodstuffs. The Arasta Bazaar near the Blue Mosque is good forquality Turkish souvenirs; for more food shopping, head to Kadıköy in Asia or into conservative Fatih for theÇarşamba Pazarı (Wednesday Bazaar). For fashion, İstiklal Caddesi is the focus.

Nightlife
The old city has very little in the way of genuine nightlife. The real action isacross the Golden Horn, primarily in and around İstiklalCaddesi in Beyoğlu , where there are clubscatering to every taste, from hard rock to dance and jazz to blues. Galata has a few small bohemian venues, as does Kadıköy in Asia. For pop glitz, head down to theBosphorus-front in Ortaköy/Kuruçeşme. For something moreTurkish, try a meyhane , a kind of tavern, where the food(usually fish) takes second place to drink and the locals sing and dance totraditional Turkish music, as in Kumkapı in the oldcity.

Our recommendations for where to eat, drink and shop are listed at the end ofeach Places chapter.
< Back to Introduction to İstanbul
Itineraries

Day one in İstanbul
Day two in İstanbul
Backstreet İstanbul
The European quarter

Day one in İstanbul

1 Haghia Sophia The mosaic-clad interior of the domed Haghia Sophia (AyaSofya), for a thousand years the largest enclosed space in the world, stillimpresses today.
2 Basilica Cistern Beautifully lit and atmospheric underground Byzantinecis