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Istanbul Turkey, 36 hours, any IBB locals?

XtremeJ

XtremeJ

Wanker
Joined
May 21, 2020
Member Number
893
Messages
257
Loc
Redstone Canyon, Masonville, Colorado, USA
Routing through Istanbul for next years safari to deepest darkest.

Will have about 36 hours to sleep and sight see. Any locals? Any recommendations?

Used a friend of a friend to book this flight as Untied was wanting $9K plus :eek: per person. Thought about using AA miles, we have a few million, but flights through Europe in late January are stupid expensive, and while we were tempted to route through Doha, it would have added a day of travel round trip. And added a stopover each way

Instead, Turkish Airlines, sub $4K per person, and they throw in a night (or two) at a 4/5 star hotel in the city. And I still earn Untied points through the partnership. Denver direct daily, and Istanbul direct Johannesburg daily (though you depart at 1am to accommodate arrival).

Really jealous of the Pyleit types who can hop on a jump seat and get anywhere for near free.

So apart from the Midnight Express nightmare, any advice from any locals or frequent travelers to the Bosphorus? I won't be trying to score drugs to take on Safari as I am afraid my butthole might not enjoy the Turkish Prison experience.

Church, church, bridge, mosque, bridge, church, Persian rug shop, church, coffee shop.

Not for me, so what do you recommend? Almost though not quite Boomer age, so if you were there on a Navy trip in 1986 I am not sure we will follow your advice. :lmao:
 
Might look into hopping a flight to SeaTac and then out, Turkish Airlines is $1200 from SeaTac to Johannesburg.
 
RusM said:
Might look into hopping a flight to SeaTac and then out, Turkish Airlines is $1200 from SeaTac to Johannesburg.
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Suspect that is the cheap seats, we are fortunate that anything further than continental US we travel upfront.

Just something that gets me about going west to go east (well actually north from SeaTac), AA was same, best flights to Doha were through Phoenix.

And really try to avoid more than one stop along the way, so adding SeaTac plus the added travel hours would have likely been a no. Biggest issue through Europe is the 8 hour layover each way - hence taking advantage of the layover nights offered (we could have scored up to 3 nights). Compared to Newark to Johannesburg direct which can be 15/16 hours. And not a huge fan of Newark, even the Polaris Lounge sucks, and the layover always seems to be "barely enough time between flights if you run" to "six hours waiting for the next Denver flight. And in and out of Denver in January can always through a wrench in the plans.
 
If you have never done it, the Hagia Sophia, blue mosque, basilica cistern, and spice bazaar are all worth visiting. Street donners are the shit.

​

 
XtremeJ said:
Thanks Norm, Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque already on the list.

Street Donners?
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I guess it's "Doner kebab" , we called them "doners" . I could survive just off of the street doner places. The smell of the spice market is something you will remember. It's all pretty close, so it doesn't take long to visit everything. The Hagia Sophia has viking graffiti if you look for it .


doner.jpg
 
Ah copy,

those kebab places are awesome, we used to get schwarma's which are very similar, beef or lamb, cooked vertically so the fat runs through, and then sliced and added into or served with pita bread

already know we won't have enough time to sample just the food alone.
 
I used to work for a gold mining company with a property in Turkey. (We'll leave out the fact that they really can't operate mines very well, they killed 9 people about a year ago :flipoff2: )

I did spend a significant amount of time in Istanbul, and i think Hagia Sofia should be on your list of places to visit. It is an amazing structure, and has a ton of history. Just a block or so from Hagia Sofia is the Basilica Cistern, one of the best remaining examples of an underground Roman Cistern. If you like museums, a few blocks walking distance from there is the Istanbul Archeological Museum, which has a ton of historical artifacts. Beware however, everyone there will try to sell you someth ing - a jacket, a rug, etc. etc. You just have to be firm and tell them that you are not interested. If you have more time, you can walk or take a taxi to the Grand Bazaar, which has a billion small shops (and again, every single one of them will try to get you to buy something from them).

you can also visit the blue mosque (it's just across the square from Hagia Sofia), but it has no historical significance and I found it sort of 'stale' compared to Hagia Sofia. There is also the Topkapi Palace, but I don't remember much of it from my visit.
 
Two more things I thought of - the doner ( and almost all meats) are fantastic, as are the breads they make. I survived a lot on their lentil soups as well - nothing fancy, but a good comfort food (especially when I was out and about without my Turkish friends to explain the menu items). However, if you come across Kokorec, I would abstain. They cook it with lots of spices and it smells wonderful, but it is basically lamb intestines, so I never ventured to try it.
 
Norm said:
I guess it's "Doner kebab" , we called them "doners" . I could survive just off of the street doner places. The smell of the spice market is something you will remember. It's all pretty close, so it doesn't take long to visit everything. The Hagia Sophia has viking graffiti if you look for it .


doner.jpg
Click to expand...
Ufka, not sure on the spelling. Donor is the restaurant name.
 
Didn't we have a member from turkey?

I think his rig was called the frog and he brought it to TTC or something one year?

May have been somewhere in Israel though 🤷‍♂️
 

About Us – Pudding Shop

www.puddingshop.com www.puddingshop.com
This used to be a thing for travelers to meet up.

A Turkish bath, also known as a hammam is truly an experience.

Topkapı Palace is very interesting.

Chai tea instead of coffee, but these guys don't wash the cups.
 

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