Six years ago we visited the amazing city of Istanbul for the first time, no doubt with the same aim as every other first-time visitor to the city; we wanted to see Sultanahmet Camii (the Blue Mosque), Topkapı Palace Museum, Aya Sofya (Haghia Sophia) and the eerie Basilica Cistern. They were on our must-see list. …
Ever heard, or even said, the phrases, ‘It’s full of tourists. I don’t go there. It’ll be too expensive.’ Well, if you skip these places, you could well be missing out, as we found out when we went to Istanbul in October. This is a photo of the famous Çiçek Pasajı (Flower Passageway) along Istiklal …
So what is this special snack I’m about to tell you about? Hmm, is it special? It’s certainly different! I’m referring to the Islak Hamburger. ‘Islak ‘ is the Turkish word for ‘wet.’ Or ‘damp’. Or ‘sloppy’. You get the idea, this is a Wet, Damp, Soggy Burger. You can see why it aroused our …
While the historic tram that trundles up and down Istiklal Caddesi all day long may be one of the little pieces of nostalgia that make up Beyoğlu (and a free ride for the kids who cling to the back of it), for us, the Tünel funicular is an absolute necessity. Walking down the hill towards …
The iconic bright red Taksim tram is a living legend of historic Istanbul. The city wouldn’t be the same without it. Apologies for the cliche, but the Beyoğlu area of Istanbul really is a feast for the senses. It’s a tourist’s must. Every time we’ve visited Istanbul, we’ve spent time in the area and we’re …
You may remember, way back last winter, we did a few posts about Turkish pickles. And we even discovered that they’re good for you. Well, that’s always going to be a bonus for us, seeing as we struggle to get through a meal without having a side dish of pickles. Our visit to Istanbul last …
Happy happy! We’ve been to Fethiye Otogar (the bus station) today and booked our bus to Istanbul. Absolute bargain as well. We decided to choose Metro just because we’ve used them in the past and we like them and it’s only cost us 45 lira each (NB: this was in 2010). We paid more than …