Traveling to Turkey

From hidden gems in the Grand Bazaar to smoky bookshops in the back streets of Beyoglu, we hunt down   Istanbul 's fast-disappearing antique treasures. Sofa Antique Shop Sofa Just outside the Grand Bazaar's Nurosmaniye gate, Sofa is almost more museum than shop. Arguably most visitors to Istanbul aren't in the market for priceless 19th century Greek and Russian orthodox icons, Ottoman miniatures and book illuminations, but for those who are, it's a must. The icons are often unusual examples of late Ottoman-era production and the miniatures and illuminations portray anything from mythological scenes to Ottoman sultans. Owner Kashif Bey has also lovingly built up a fantastic collection of Turkish, Ottoman and Islamic art, from delicately carved signet rings to maps of the region, engravings and ottoman landscape and portrait paintings, as well as huge art books. Admittedly none of this comes cheap, but Sofa has built its reputation catering for collect...

Most interesting facts of Turkey Before you read this,you need to prepare yourselves for the facts that the house of Santa Claus is not in North Pole or Amazon female warriors did not live in Amazon rainforests in South America. Republic of Turkey is full of history and there are many facts that will surprise you when you start to read the article below. So here are some of them possibly you never knew. - The Color "Turquoise" comes from the clean color of the see on the Aegean coasts in Turkey. - The millenium stone at Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul was the zero meridian point of the world once upon a time. - The Famous Trojan wars took place in Western Turkey Truva town. - The First church built by men (St.Pete's Church) is in Antioch (Antakya) Turkey. - The oldest known human settlement in Turkey is Catalhoyuk (7th millenium B.C.) - Ephesus and Halicarnasus - two of the most famous places of the ancient world - ...

According to Forbes.com Istanbul is  number 7 of the World's top 10 cities for street food.But who cares!Every mother thinks her own gosling is a swan.I love Ottoman-Turkish Cuisine with it's richness and it's number 1 for me.You will find the most popular street food of Istanbul on this article. Since the tastes differ, you will only find the top 10 street food in Istanbul to eat on the go. If you would like to see the rest of the popular street food of Istanbul, go to best street food of Istanbul page. So here is number 1 on our list; 1. Doner Kebap World wide famous doner kebab is usually Chicken,lamb or beef grilled on a skewer (mostly vertically) and served in bread, pita bread or tortilla (so called lavash in Turkey). As the German-Turks say "doner macht schoener" which means  "Doner makes you nice(r)" :) 2. Simit bread Who could resist the smell of fresh baked simit bread with some toasted sesame seeds on it? This 100 grams of ro...

Every single body complains about how tired they are after visiting historical sights of Istanbul in the Histoical Peninsula.Old city of Istanbul based on seven hills and yes it's full of ups and downs on high heel enemy cobblestoned streets. What do you want to do after a tiring day? Go back to your room,take shower and lay down?You will wake up with ache on your feet in the next morning.You sir, need a treatment! That's why the hamams for. 60 Traditional Turkish baths out of 200 are still standing proudly in the city of Istanbul and waiting for people to go there and clean themselves.And maybe arrange Tellak (massuer) or Natir (masseuse) to help you clean and strech :) What is the best time to go to a hamam? Well, it depends on a person but there is a common believing in public that you should go either way on a rainy day or in the evening when it's little bit cooler outside. What are the best hamams in Istanbul? If you spend your holiday in old city area ...

If you are planning to use very convenient public transportation of  Istanbul and do not now where to buy an Istanbulkart (public transportation card),read the topic below for the best help on the web. Where to buy Istanbul card at the Atatürk Airport? If you will use the metro in order to reach Oldcity area (or any other destinantion by metro),after the luggage claim you need to go out of the security door and turn right,go until the end of the hall and use the lift.Press the button for  lowest floor and that's it. What you need to do is to walk hallway until you reach to the end. At the airport you will see many signs showing how to go to metro station. That's the terminal station where you will find Istanbul Kart. Where to buy Istanbul card at the Sabiha Gokcen Airport? You can easily find Istanbulkart  at the white kiosk across the street from the exit of the arrivals terminal. Look for a small bistro & little cafe.It's next to it. Other m...

This is a guide about how to reach from Ataturk airport to Besiktas/Ortakoy area if you are planing to stay in a hotel and enjoy the Bosphorus breeze at the same time. You will use exactly the same way as i explained in How to reach from Ataturk Airport to Sultanahmet area? You will use the M1-airport metro & T1 tram combination.But this time you will wait until the terminal station which is Kabatas.When you arrive at Kabatas,you will see a main bus station.Bus lines 25E-Kabatas-Sariyer and 22RE-Fatih Sultan Mehmet-Kabatas are passing from Besiktas (first station after Kabatas,15 minutes of walking distance) and Ortakoy station.And the frequency of the buses are every 20 minutes.Buying Istanbul Kart would be very useful in this case. Most popular hotels in this neighbourhood are Four Seasons Bosphorus (Besiktas station),Ciragan Palace Kempinski (Ciragan station) and Radisson Blu Bosphorus (Ortakoy station). There are also some places you might want to visit on weekend ev...

96T Airport-Taksim line How to get to Taksim from Ataturk Airport? by Emre Ozkiper. Taksim is one of the easiest destinations to reach by public transportation from any part of Istanbul. Despite all the chaos and protests happened in Gezi Park in 2013,Taksim is still the most popular tourist destination (both for locals and foreigners) with it's very central location and the reasonable priced hotels. At the airport,if you are the lucky one,you will manage to catch the public bus 96T Taksim-Ataturk Airport.It's using the coastal road and goes until Taksim.And the station is located in front of the exit door,opposite to taxi station.I f you miss it,you will have to wait 2 more hours until the next bus arrives.So calculate your arriving time and see if you can catch it.If not,there are always other options.Check Havatas Shuttle Buses and economic airport private shuttle services. See the 96T Taksim - Ataturk Airport schedule below Every day of the week 08:20 10...

How to get to Sultanahmet from Ataturk Airport? by Emre Ozkiper Actually, many people think it's difficult to reach from Ataturk Airport to Sultanahmet Area by public transportation.Despite the crowd it's one of the easiest public transportations to use in Istanbul . How to go to metro station after luggage claim? I promise you,if you have a roll on luggage,you don't have to lift it even once until you arrive Sultanahmet square. Do not hurry to go out of the Airport once you go out of the luggage claim door.When you see a bunch of welcomers waiting for their guests, turn right and keep walking until the end of the hall.There you go! you found the elevators that go to metro floor directly.Simply follow the signboards. Can i buy token or Istanbul Kart (Card) at the airport? When you reach to metro station at the airport you will see many token machines and a ticket sales office.I saw a couple times that the ticket office was closed at late hours.If so, buy to...

Nostalgic Tram Public transportation in Istanbul by Emre Ozkiper Updated on May 2014 Public transportation in Istanbul  is a crucial part of the solution to the city’s economic, energy, and environmental challenges- helping to bring a better quality of life.P eople are using public transportation a lot and reach to their destinations faster than any car.Officially 14 million 160 thousand 467 people are living in Istanbul. There are buses,trams,funiculars,metros and so many alternatives that you can use to reach to most tourist attractions in Istanbul.It will be the smartest action to use public transportation during rush hours and weekend evenings. I know it will mean nothing to you if i write the stations and lines one by one.That's why i decided to explain each one seperately. What you need to do is just to pick one destination and click on the link below to find out how to reach there by public transportations. How to Go From  -Ataturk Airport to Sultan...