Istanbul is a city worth visiting
To begin with, Istanbul, along with such cities as Paris, London, Rome, Moscow, must be seen at least once in a lifetime.
Byzantium, Former Second Rome, Former Constantinople, Constantinople - all this is Istanbul.
We were in Istanbul at the end of December 2008 - we celebrated the New Year there. In Turkey, the New Year is not celebrated as it is customary in Europe. But for tourists they arrange New Year's programs in hotels, and in bars, cafes, restaurants.
We stopped in the historical part of the city - Sultanahmet, in the boutique hotel TRIA 4 *. The hotel is small, only 22 rooms. There are no Russians in the hotel, mostly Italians, British. The undoubted advantages of the hotel include its location - to Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque is only 5 minutes walk. The rooms are small, the furniture is new (very comfortable beds), there are bathrobes, slippers, tea/coffee. Good breakfasts, in addition to the standard set - sliced cheese, sausages, yogurt, traditional Turkish sweets, figs, dried apricots, nuts, even honey in combs.
The meeting party is ADRIATIC, the largest tour operator in Turkey. Very well organized excursions, there were no problems with the transfer.
Our tour of Istanbul included three excursions.
The first is a tour of the Beyoglu area. Walk along Istiklal Street, climb the Galata Tower (height - 61 meters), from where a fantastic view of Istanbul opens. You will visit the best areas of Istanbul - Nisantasi, Ortakoy. These areas have the best discos.
The second excursion is the Dolmabahce Palace, the museum of mosaics in the Church of Chora.
And probably the most interesting excursion is the Blue Mosque, St. Sophia Cathedral, Topkapi Palace.
The Blue Mosque, as tourists called it, is actually the Sultanahmet Mosque, with six minarets - the first largest in Istanbul. It got its name "Blue Mosque" thanks to the white and blue handmade ceramic tiles that were used in the interior decorations. The floor in the mosque is lined with carpets (keep in mind that you can only enter the mosque without shoes. At the entrance you will be given a package where all tourists put their shoes and enter the mosque barefoot).
Hagia Sophia - the former Eastern Orthodox Church, turned into a mosque, in 1935, by decree of Kemal Ataturk, was transformed into a museum.
Of course, your stay in Istanbul is not limited to these excursions. You need to walk around Istanbul on your own, without excursion groups. Take a boat ride along the Bosphorus, feed the seagulls on the Sea of Marmara.
You can get around Istanbul by metro. But we used a taxi. Although gas prices in Turkey are simply wild, taxi fares are not much different from those in Kiev.
You can write a lot about Istanbul, but believe me, it’s better to visit there at least once.
