Things to do in Istanbul
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Cumhuriyet Anıtı (Republic Monument)
reviewed
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Culinary Backstreets
Ansel Mullins and Yigal Schleifer produce Culinary Backstreets, an excellent blog that investigates the traditional food culture of the city.
reviewed
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Culinary Backstreets
reviewed
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Borsa
reviewed
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Biletix
reviewed
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Baylo
The much anticipated re-opening of the Pera Palace Hotel in the lower section of Asmalımescit has been accompanied by a boom in glamorous bistro-bars in its immediate vicinity. Of these, Baylo is undoubtedly the best. The elegant interior provides a perfect backdrop for the 30-something bankers, architects and other professionals who head here after a busy day at the office.
reviewed
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Aynalıkavak Kasrı
reviewed
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Avrupa Pasajı
reviewed
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Alay Köşkü
reviewed
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The House Café
The House Cafe is the most glamorous of the city's concept cafes, with interiors by the uberfashionable Autoban architectural group, menus by Australian/UK-trained chef Coşkun Uysal and prominent locations, including Sofyalı Sokak in Asmalımescit.
reviewed
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Tamirane
This self-described 'avant-garde café-restaurant and music venue for urban explorers' is located in the grounds of the privately run Bilgi Üniversitesi. A huge warehouse-style space with an outdoor terrace, it is best known for its Sunday afternoon live jazz sessions, which kick off at 3pm.
reviewed
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Sumahan on the Water
The grassed waterside terrace at this boutique hotel is an idyllic place to while away the afternoon hours. Ferries, fishing boats and private launches will pass as you sit in the sun enjoying well-prepared Turkish dishes and a glass of wine or a good Italian-style coffee. You'll find it north of the iskele (ferry dock); the entrance is via the hotel foyer.
reviewed
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Sublime Porte
reviewed
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Spiral Column
reviewed
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Sofrada Restoran
Near the fayton park and clock tower, this place serves up simple dishes including mücver (zucchini fritters), köfte and karniyarik (aubergine stuffed with minced meat). You won't find a cheaper meal than this on the island.
reviewed
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Kybele Cafe
The lounge bar/cafe at this charmingly eccentric hotel close to the Basilica Cistern is chock-full of antique furniture, richly coloured rugs and old etchings and prints, but its signature style comes courtesy of the hundreds of colourful glass lights hanging from the ceiling.
reviewed
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Kiyi Restaurant
This ramshackle place is a favourite of big-city food critics. Start with the mezes (there are plenty of options) and then opt for some simply grilled or fried locally caught fish. To get here, walk left from the ferry terminal alongside the water, passing the row of restaurants and then turning around the bend.
reviewed
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İstanbul Vision City Sightseeing Bus
This is a hop-on-hop-off double-decker bus service with multilanguage recorded commentary. Ticket booths are opposite Aya Sofya and in Taksim Sq. The full circuit takes 90 minutes, or you can get on and off the bus at six stops around town (note that buses only run four times per day from November to March and nine times per day from April to October). Expect traffic congestion on the Beyoğlu section.
reviewed
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İstanbul Food Workshop
A three-hour Turkish cooking class/market visit costs TL100 to TL145 per person, or you can take a six-hour Turkish and Ottoman cooking class plus a market visit (TL160 to TL235 per person).
reviewed
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Golden Horn Ferry
Most visitors to İstanbul know about the Bosphorus cruise, but not too many have heard about the Haliç (Golden Horn) trip. Until recently, this stretch of water to the north of Galata Bridge was heavily polluted and its suburbs offered little to tempt the traveller. All that's changing these days, though. The waters have been cleaned up, beautification works are under way along the shores, and impressive museums and galleries are opening in the Haliç suburbs. Spending a day hopping on and off the ferry and exploring will give you an insight into a very different – and far less touristy – İstanbul.
reviewed
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Gedikpaşa Hamamı
This Ottoman-era hamam has been operating since 1475. Its interior isn't as beautiful as those at Çemberlitaş, but services are slightly cheaper and there are separate hamams, small dipping pools and saunas for both sexes. The operators will sometimes transport guests to and from Sultanahmet hotels at no charge – ask your hotel to investigate this option.
reviewed
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Club Mavi
This hotel restaurant is in a pine grove on a bluff on the quiet side of the island – taking a fayton here and back is an enjoyable part of the experience. The food takes second place to the view, which is spectacular.
reviewed
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Bosphorus Ferry
Divan Yolu and İstiklal Caddesi are always awash with people, but neither is the major thoroughfare in İstanbul. That honour goes to the mighty Bosphorus strait, which runs from the Sea of Marmara (Marmara Denizi) to the Black Sea (Karadeniz), located 32km north of the city centre. In modern Turkish, the strait is known as the Boğaziçi or İstanbul Boğazı (from boğaz, meaning throat or strait). On one side is Asia; on the other, Europe.
reviewed
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Bigudi Cafe
The pub admits gay men, but the arty terrace club, where lipstick lesbians outnumber trucker-butch types, is resolutely off limits to nonfemales.
reviewed
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Askeri Müze
For a rousing museum experience, present yourself at this little-visited museum located 1km north of Taksim. Try to visit in the afternoon so that you can enjoy the concert given by the Mehter, which occurs most days between 3pm and 4pm.
The large museum is spread over two floors. On the ground floor are displays of weapons and Turkish military uniforms through the ages, as well as glass cases holding battle standards, both Turkish and captured. These include Byzantine, Greek, British, Austro-Hungarian, Italian and Imperial Russian standards.
Also on show are an old-fashioned diorama of the Conquest and a tapestry woven by Ottoman sailors (who must have had lots of time on…
reviewed