To wrap up our amazing trip across Asia, we spent four days exploring Istanbul. After arriving in the city on our Turkish Airlines flight from Almaty, we checked into our hotel and headed out to explore the 17th largest city in the world.
Day 1: Checking-In and Exploring Karaköy
The first half of the day was taken up by our travel to Istanbul so it was early afternoon before we headed out to start exploring the city. Our first order of business was lunch and we headed out from our hotel in the direction of the Galata Bridge.
We ended up having an overpriced lunch at one of the tourist traps on the bridge. The food was OK but I didn’t even bother grabbing a photo. Here, you’re paying for the location and the view. I don’t even remember the name of the exact place we ate as they are essentially the same.
After lunch we headed off towards the Galata Tower. We didn’t have any plans to go up in it with ATX Jr., and that was especially true once we saw the entry prices. Tickets for the former prison were $35 and we didn’t feel the need to spend that much to go inside.
We strolled through the streets in Karaköy for roughly an hour, stopping into a few stores and doing a bit of shopping as we made our way back to the hotel. Along the way we came across one of the three “umbrella streets” in Istanbul which was fun and unexpected.
After a pit stop back at the hotel to let ATX Jr. get a nap, we headed back out in search of dinner. On the recommendation of the hotel concierge, we headed to the Kabataş neighborhood on the hunt for some local cuisine. We had a great dinner though the cigarette smoke that was constantly in the air detracted from the experience. One guy at a table near us smoked 8 cigarettes during the course of our meal.
After dinner and dessert, we headed back towards the hotel through the bustling streets of Karaköy. Due to our early start to the day, we had nothing left in the tank and headed to the room to get some sleep.
Day 2: Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and the Grand Bazzar
For our first full day in Istanbul we woke up around 9:30a and ended up leaving the hotel around 10:30a. Mrs. ATX located a great little restaurant, Mum’s Cafe, where we grabbed brunch before heading out to explore the city a bit.
After fueling up we headed across the Golden Horn via the tram towards the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque. Mrs. ATX ordered our skip the line tickets online and we were quickly admitted. Women must cover their heads and shoulders before entering so bring a scarf if you plan on visiting.
Istanbul is well known for the large number of street cats in the city. They were everywhere during our visit and never seemed bothered by the humans all around. One of them even ended up in the Hagia Sophia and was posing for photos.
In a testament to the history of the city of Istanbul, the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque was previously a church and Christian mosaics adorn various portions of the building but these have been covered by cloths.
After touring the Hagia Sophia we headed across the street to the Basilica Cistern, a subterranean water supply constructed in the 6th century. The lines were out of the building and down the street waiting to get in but, our skip the line tickets took us right to the front.
The cistern is kept with very little water in it as catwalks have been erected to allow visitors to walk across it. LED lighting changes colors throughout the space which makes for some interesting views and looks to the space. ATX Jr. loved all of the different colors and was mesmerized by it.
Also, you guessed it, there was a cat in here too.
After our visit to the Basilica Cistern, our plan was to head over to The Blue Mosque. It was closed for one of the daily prayers so we called an audible and went off in search of lunch. Given our location in Istanbul we wanted to find someplace with a view and after a Google search we found Grace Rooftop Restaurant at the Lady Diana Hotel and Spa a few blocks from the mosque.
The restaurant was busy but not crowded when we arrived, just before 2:00p local time, and we were shown to a table by the window. The views of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia were fantastic and we also had a great view of the ships transiting the Bosphorus.
Just after 3:00p we entered the Blue Mosque. While the space is impressive, the Hagia Sophia dwarfs it in terms of beauty and cultural significance in my opinion. It’s still worth seeing but the low hanging light fixtures made me feel like I was in a convention center until I looked up at the ceiling.
With our mosque and cistern visits completed, we headed off in the direction of the Grand Bazzar. Along the way, we stopped at Hafiz Mustafa for an afternoon snack (if you haven’t figured out yet, we eat a lot when we travel).
We arrived at the Grand Bazzar just as rain started to fall. What started as a drizzle ended up as a full blown downpour after we entered the space so we spent more time than anticipated wandering the maze of alleyways that were lined with stalls pushing knockoff designer goods and local items.
After the rain stopped, we made the 20 minute walk back to our hotel where we had drinks at the rooftop restaurant. Afterwards we headed to Paps Italian, the brother restaurant to Mum’s where we had brunch to start the day, for dinner.
On the way back to the hotel, we needed to grab a couple of things from a convenience store. Once again the skies opened up and we found ourselves hiding out inside with a couple of dogs who found refuge in the candy aisle.
Once the rain stopped we grabbed our items and headed back to the hotel where we turned in for the night.
Day 3: Dolmabahçe Palace and Back to the Bazzar
On our second full day in town we planned to head over to Dolmabahçe Palace. First, we needed breakfast and we headed back to the Kabataş neighborhood where we had an amazing meal at Papadopoulos Coffee and Cake.
After breakfast, we hopped on the tram for the short ride over to the Dolmabahçe Palace. We purchased admission to the grounds and the primary palace but elected to skip the extra exhibits. While the grounds are impressive, inside the palace was extremely impressive. I was only able to grab a couple of photos before I was informed that no photography was allowed inside.
After our visit to the Dolmabahçe Palace it was time for lunch. We stumbled upon Kaiser Kabatas which was located a block off of the water with great views of the Bosphorus. The owner/manager was fantastic and we had a great time visiting with them, they also made a fantastic bacon cheeseburger which really hit the spot. I’d highly recommend this place if you’re visiting Istanbul.
After lunch, we decided to head back to the Grand Bazaar as Mrs. ATX had a few things she couldn’t live without. We also needed an extra suitcase to get some gifts and other items we accumulated on the trip back home. May as well use a knockoff Louis Vuitton suitcase.
After our second visit to the Grand Bazaar, we returned to the hotel, dropped off our purchases, and grabbed a quick dinner from a fast casual restaurant across from the hotel before retiring for the night.
Day 4: Galataport and Crossing the Bosphorus
On our final day we had no real plans and decided to take it easy. We started things off with breakfast in bed. While we typically like to go out and enjoy local spaces, nothing screams vacation quite like room service.
We had an extremely late start to the day as we enjoyed our last day of vacation and didn’t end up leaving the hotel until after noon. Our first stop was the Galataport, which serves as Istanbul’s primary cruise port as well as an upscale shopping mall. The views were fantastic and a strong breeze was blowing as a thunderstorm was forming nearby.
While Mrs. ATX was busy exploring the shops, the Louisiana boy in me spotted a Popeye’s Chicken which I couldn’t pass up. It was just a snack, not lunch but it certainly hit the spot.
After our visit to the Galataport, we made the short walk to the ferry terminal for the trip over to the Asian side. Istanbul has the unique distinction of being located in two different continents and I couldn’t pass up the chance to go from Europe to Asia as part of a 15 minute ferry ride. The trip also provided great views of the Dolmabahçe Palace and some large ships transiting the Bosphorus.
Once on the Asian side, we didn’t want to hop right back onto the ferry so we found a coffeeshop near the dock for an afternoon pick-me-up.
After leaving the coffeeshop I realized that the crowds were significantly larger. Many residents were celebrating Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan and families and other groups were out in force to celebrate. This caused quite a backup at the ferry terminal but, since we had a baby in a stroller, we were taken to the front of the line and managed to avoid most of the pushing and shoving.
The ferry ride itself was calm and quite scenic. It was a great way to see the waterway without paying the exorbitant prices for a tourist boat.
Crowds on the Europen side were even worse than the Asian side, to the point it was difficult to walk.
Instead of fighting the crowds, we headed back towards our hotel where we stumbled upon a fish wrap stand that is apparently very famous.
Mrs. ATX was a big fan and this ended up being our dinner for the night.
We turned in early as we had a 6:00a flight from Istanbul to Paris but we had a great time in Istanbul and I look forward to returning in the future.
Summary
Istanbul is an amazing city that provided us with so many different cultural experiences. We visited during a period of unrest but we felt completely safe during our visit and I would gladly return to explore more of the city.
Thanks for the wonderful review. I visited Istanbul for the first time last September on a scouting trip and really enjoyed it and your perspectives help me view things from an independent stance. For instance I thought the tower was pretty expensive as well, and for that matter the cistern was similarly priced but I couldn’t turn it down after seeing it in a James Bond movie. I didn’t mind paying a bit more for the Bosporus cruise with hotel pickup and will likely repeat. The pictures of people dressed for winter at the tail end of March is a bit puzzling though.
My wife and I are going to Istanbul in late September and your reviews and food insight will certainly come in handy. I’m hoping that the views and actions of our government doesn’t cause too much issue with us as respectful tourists but the Turks seem pretty tolerant, particularly in Istanbul.
Lastly, any idea why that street dog’s ear had what looks like a theft prevention device in it’s ear? I’m used to seeing those on expensive clothes at the mall.
Nice review. I really enjoy visiting Istanbul. One of my favorite sites is the Basilica Cistern, as I’m a big James Bond fan and it was there that part of From Russia With Love was filmed.