Post by Kim on Oct 26, 2002 14:10:08 GMT -5
It took me some time, but here it is: my impressions of Istanbul!
It was just as I feared: I’ve been groped, men (and women!) jumping on my lap, showing me their private parts…. But apart from these stray cats, it was perfectly all right.
Turkish men are very polite, unless they want to sell you something, then they follow you around and try to convince you to come into their store. The city itself is an interesting mix of cultures: Oriental and western influences are perfectly combined. Churches have been converted into mosks and vice versa. Life is rather cheap, but you do have to spent some millions to get a bite to eat. A drink costs about 1.5 million Turkish lira! If you plan to go there, don’t miss a boat trip on the Bosporus (and a visit to Asia). Visit the Aya Sofia and the Blue mosque, but if you want to see the real thing, just pop into a little mosque (I believe Istanbul has got about 300). Topkapi Palace is great, it’s easy to imagine the splendor of the life of the sultans and their wives. Also go to the cistern, It’s been a storage for water for hundreds of years and is now open to public. The classical music and the lights complement the mystical atmosphere perfectly.
Try to book a hostel or hotel in the old center, close to the Blue Mosque, it saves you a long trip each day, because most of the sights are to be found there.
Cat
It was just as I feared: I’ve been groped, men (and women!) jumping on my lap, showing me their private parts…. But apart from these stray cats, it was perfectly all right.
Turkish men are very polite, unless they want to sell you something, then they follow you around and try to convince you to come into their store. The city itself is an interesting mix of cultures: Oriental and western influences are perfectly combined. Churches have been converted into mosks and vice versa. Life is rather cheap, but you do have to spent some millions to get a bite to eat. A drink costs about 1.5 million Turkish lira! If you plan to go there, don’t miss a boat trip on the Bosporus (and a visit to Asia). Visit the Aya Sofia and the Blue mosque, but if you want to see the real thing, just pop into a little mosque (I believe Istanbul has got about 300). Topkapi Palace is great, it’s easy to imagine the splendor of the life of the sultans and their wives. Also go to the cistern, It’s been a storage for water for hundreds of years and is now open to public. The classical music and the lights complement the mystical atmosphere perfectly.
Try to book a hostel or hotel in the old center, close to the Blue Mosque, it saves you a long trip each day, because most of the sights are to be found there.
Cat