Istanbul Stories and Tips

Quote: Istanbul is one of the world’s biggest cities but for most visitors, the things they want to see are very close together and it’s easy to forget that 13.4 million people call this city their home. It’s a big city that feels – from the…

Quote: During our trip to Istanbul we had a lot of good meals but you don't always want the bother of finding a restaurant, sitting down and having a proper meal. Sometimes you just want something to 'grab and go' and my top recommendation for cheap,…

Quote: As I had been in Turkey for almost five months, my mother decided that it was high time she came to visit and to lavish me with own particular brand of maternal over-protection. So, as any good son would, I went to meet her at…

Quote: It was a balmy Sunday evening and I was going to the airport to pick up my mother. As I had plenty of time and was keen on saving a few lira, I decided to use the city's transit system rather than splurge on a…

Quote: I remember a couple of extremely hot summers spent in South Korea and China, through which the supply of air-conditioning was decidedly sparse. This was, predominantly, due to the rather frugal nature of my employers who did not want to eat into their profit margins…

Quote: The events in this story were caused partly by the ambiguity of the information provided by Istanbul's transport system and tourist authorities, partly by my own overt stupidity and partly by the apparent decisiveness of two Chinese tourists. Things began on a Tuesday afternoon in…

Quote: Although it has an impressive setting spreading across several hills on two continents straddling the Bosporus between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara (technically, Istanbul is not on the Mediterranean Sea but on the Sea of Marmara), I didn’t find…

Quote: Turkish football is a decidedly tribal beast. In itself, this may not seem like an especially unusual statement. After all, football in most countries follows a similar pattern. However, the city of Istanbul takes things to completely different level, playing host to some of sport's…

Quote: The division between Europe and Asia is, geographically at least, signaled by the bridges that span the Bosphorous. This may be true in purely physical terms, but the identity and persona of the two continents are not so black and white. The transition from Europe…

Quote: My name is Paul. It was bequeathed to me as much in compromise as anything. This is, at least, what I am told, as I have no great recollection of the name actually being bestowed upon me. Apparently, my father wanted to name me after…