Istanbul during Ramadan

Istanbul is a liberal city, and plenty of Istanbulis do not fast during Ramadan. Restaurants, doner stalls, and other public eating places will stay open throughout the city, and you will have no issues with eating and drinking in public.

In Istanbul (and other Turkish cities), large tents are set up in certain parts of the city in the evenings during Ramadan, and the local government provides free evening meals to anyone who comes along (no one will try and check whether or not you were actually fasting!). I found these a lovely Turkish experience. There are also special night markets for Ramadan - I remember a busy one near the Hippodrome when I was in Istanbul.

I've been in Turkey a couple times during Ramadan and will say that as tourists in Istanbul, Cappadocia and "someplace on the coast" you will scarcely notice anything is different. That said, I personally try to refrain from drinking or eating in public--especially towards the end of the holiday--and I also did my best to follow the fast for about a week one year. I succeeded save a few swigs of water one especially hot and sunny day when we'd been touring on our feet since early morning. I sincerely don't know how some outdoor workers survive. Non-Muslims are under no obligation whatsoever to obey the fast but especially towards the end of Ramadan when it occurs during the long, hot days of summer people can get rather testy and resentful. Consuming food/drink in a bus during daylight is probably the worst faux pas and can earn you some nasty looks. Most restaurants will be utterly jam packed right after sunset so it's best to avoid that time.

If you are in Turkey anytime from say Thursday, July 16 through Tuesday, July 20 you can expect some travel impacts. Worst is either getting out of any large city at the beginning or getting into any large city at the end of the holiday. The days dead in the middle however are typically very slow as everyone is at their destination. You can also expect general tourism by the Turkish to pick up greatly around and for some time after these dates as many avoid taking holiday during Ramadan.

Beyöğlü and Sultanahmet are generally the most convenient areas to stay in as tourists. Sultanahmet is essentially on top of many of the major sites of the city. Personally I find it too touristy and somewhat difficult to find good food at a reasonable price--it is however very convenient especially if your time is short. Much of Sultanahmet will seem nearly deserted at night.

Beyöğlü (especially within a few blocks on either side of Istiklal Caddesi) is also very popular with tourists but it is equally--if not more--popular with the Turkish as well so it feels decidedly more "Turkish". There are innumerable places to eat, drink (anything), shop, smoke, dance, etc. and it's easy to find good food at a reasonable price. Alcohol is rather expensive in Turkey--particularly in night club and always for imported liquor/wine. The popular local beer, Efes, is a decent pilsner that is an especially good value when served on tap. There are also some excellent Turkish wines at low to moderate price. If you stay in Beyöğlü I suggest finding a hotel fairly close to either Taksim Square or Galata Tower as both have one-stop subway lines leading down to the tram line that takes you across the Golden Horn to the Sultanahmet area. The north side of Istiklal Caddesi near Taksim Square has a great number of bars and clubs that rock LATE and LOUD into the night--especially weekends. Keep that in mind when choosing accommodation.

During July nearly any beach within a hour or so by land of an international airport (Izmir, Bodrum-Milas, Dalaman, Antalya and Gazipaşa) will be crawling with tourists--most of them from western Europe and a great many of those on cheap package holiday at all-inclusive resorts. When touring on your own it is rather difficult to find suitable beach accommodation--particularly when your time is short. Your cost of one night at one of the resorts that caters to inexpensive package holiday goers may cost you as much as they paid for one week! Getting away from such usually involves quite a bit of transport time and/or significant expense for accommodation.

You can find some fair beach places near Izmir--Çeşme and Kuşadası are the closest. Çeşme hasn't been overtaken by the package holiday trade (but it can be rather expensive) while Kuşadası is nearly on top of the ancient city of Ephesus. Flights between Izmir and Istanbul and fast, frequent and inexpensive and you can also get direct flights between Izmir and Kayseri (Cappadocia).

Antalya is a city of more than a million with tourism the only industry. There is a lot to see and do in the general area and the "soft stone" (the only way I know to describe them) beaches are incredible. Old Town Antalya, Kaleçi, retains a bit of authentic charm but alas there are no beaches as it surrounds a small harbor. If you choose carefully you can find a nice place for a few nights in/around Antalya without either ending up in a package tourist, cookie cutter hell-hole or spending a fortune. There are also direct flights between Cappadocia and Antalya.

I suggest you make any necessary domestic flight reservations ASAP! I also suggest that you make hotel reservations for everyplace you intend to stay very soon as in my experience the best value places in Istanbul, Cappadocia and most coastal destinations tend to fill rapidly during high season!

We made some very good friends in Cappadicia during Ramadan in 2013.
On the last day of our visit, one took us to breakfast before our departure. He ordered and paid for the meal and then watched as we ate.

Cheers,
Peter

People do get worried about visiting during Ramazan but in the area's you'll go you won't even really be aware it is Ramazan.Not all Turks are Muslim...and not all Muslims fast :)
As mentioned earlier in Istanbul there is a fair held throughout the month in Sultanahmet's Hippodrome .This consists of traditional entertainment stalls,food stalls,handicrafts etc.It has a lovely atmosphere in the evening so do try to go at least once.

Also as mentioned there are Iftar tents set up around the city serving free evening food to people.Personally speaking I would refrain from going unless you are a fasting Muslim.These are essentially set up for the city's poor to ensure that they are able to enjoy something of Ramazan month,they shouldn't be regarded as an opportunity to get free grub.Local council budgets are pretty stretched these days especially in larger cities due to the number of Syrian refugees so it is better not to add further burden.

You can eat and drink in publicbut do so in a modest manner.That is;don't wander the streets with a BigMac groaning and drooling in ecstacy smacking your lips!Those who fast are used to doing so but it is unkind to 'make a meal'out of eating in an provocative manner.

Beyoğlu doesn't close...not at any time of the year!Perhaps what you have read and confused is that some of the Bosphorus side night clubs close during the summer.They transfer to their summer seaside branches in such as Bodrum and Çeşme.You'll still find Beyoğlu to be bustling and vibrant :)

July is high season so any coastal resort will be busy so try to fit in one that is easiest for travel.Do you intend to visit Selçuk Ephesus?If so then you could stay in nearby Kuşadası for a couple of beach days thus combining the two things.There are direct flights between local Izmir airport and Cappadocia's Kayseri airport so this makes travel easy enough.Sunexpress and Pegasus cover the route but flights are not daily so you need to check these out to see which fits your dates.

If you aren't going to Ephesus then from Cappadocia the south coast makes sense.Again there are direct flights from Kayseri to Antalya with Anadolujet and Pegasus but again,not daily(so you have some homework to do!).Alternatively there are regular overnight buses you could use for this.
If you don't want to stay actually in Antalya then Side,Kemer,Belek,Olympos are all pretty close to get to.
At this time there will be some domestic tourism but it won't be heavy as many will wait until the end of Ramazan to go on holiday.

As Mike said,if your plans mean you'll be travelling out of Istanbul in the days immediately before or on the last day of Ramazan then you need to get bookings made soon as it feels as if the whole of Istanbul is on the move.So the critical dates for you will be 15th,16th and 17th July.Similarly returning to the city on the 19th will will utter chaos!

If you haven't made any bookings yet then also consider moving on directly upon arrival and save Istanbul to the end,i.e try to plan to stay in Istanbul either will before the end of Ramzan or after it has finished,so you don't have the stress of trying to leave or return to and from Istanbul during this extremely busy travel period.

Consuming food/drink in a bus during daylight is probably the worst faux pas and can earn you some nasty looks.

Actually, The only time and place you can safely eat or drink in public without feeling guilty is while traveling. Eating or drinking on intercity buses, trains and airplanes is totally acceptable in Ramadan. I personally never fast in Ramadan while I am on a trip longer than 100 km.

I personally never fast in Ramadan while I am on a trip longer than 100 km.

That (distance) must be the difference. It was on short--but not local--buses when I saw my friend getting very dirty looks for drinking water.

I have heard of that travel exception for the fast even if I don't quite understand why it exists as I've asked my observant friends if there is an exception for heavy work in extreme heat/humidity to hear, "no".

There is an explicit exception to the fast if you travel a certain distance in a given day (I think it's from the Koran rather than the Hadith, but I could be wrong). The distance is based on 7th century travel, so most modern long-distance buses easily pass the given distance. Not fasting on such travel days is optional; you can still fast if you want, and if you choose not to, you're meant to make it up by fasting an extra day at the end of Ramadan.

I believe there are some other exceptions - if you're too old or too sick to fast, if you're in the middle of a Holy War, that sort of thing. I'm certainly not an expert on the details.

http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~muslims/fasting.htm provides a pretty good description of, and rational for, the Ramadan fast. It also includes the exceptions.
A couple of items differ from a book I got from Al Azhar University; one being the distance travelled which exempts one from fasting that day, the other re. smoking. Opinions differ as to whether or not smoking breaks the fast, as it's not ingested into the stomach like food, though most muslims hold that it does.

Incidentally, the reason travellers are exempt stems back to a story in the ahadith (plural of hadith). Apparently, during Ramadan one year, the Prophet was leading a group of his followers when they crossed a river. Noticing how everyone's eyes went straight to the water, the Prophet called for a gourd, filled it with river water, and drank deeply in front of his men. Then, of course, they were all free to drink too. :>D

It is pretty much a settled issue, Smoking is not allowed during fasting. I am sure you'll find conflicting opinions on every issue but smoking in public is a big no no during Ramadan.

If you are going to smoke in public, you might as well deficate on the street while you are at it. It is that bad .