Another trip, another gem, and by gem I mean SAW İstanbul, where travel dreams go to die. First…read moreoff, nothing screams "welcome" like being herded through security twice because why not spice things up with a little déjà vu and a bonus pat-down? The signage? Oh, it's there. Somewhere. Probably hiding behind a guy chain-smoking under a No Smoking sign. Yes, this airport smells like a tavern. Staff range from visibly annoyed to outright hostile, as if your very presence personally offended them. Honestly, I think the ticketing agents made a blood pact to make sure no one leaves here with their sanity intact. Are you hungry? Hope you brought a second mortgage. You can treat yourself to a sad sandwich that tastes like betrayal and costs more than your flight.

The check in was fast and smooth and the service from the staff only bad thing was was the conveyor…read morebelt stopped working and almost destroyed my stuff.

Talk about a super quick way between continents! May be by far the fastest way but at a big price…read moreand I don't mean financial! The trains can be so crowded with people. I mean it is insane actually how people push to get on and off of these trains despite there being a good number of cars attached to the good number of trains that run this service. Either way I was still amazed by the speed of getting from one point of Istanbul to another, you pass under the Bosporus Sea without even knowing! I recommend to try at least one unless your not being on being around large groups of people.

Artık karşıya geçmek çok hızlı. Hele de metro bağlantılı yerlere. Yalnız iş trafiği dışında saatler…read moreseçmekte fayda var, yoksa binmek imkansız. Bi de yerin, suyun filan altından gidiyor, o kalabalıkla iyice klostrofobik olabilir. Nautilus alışveriş merkezinin hemen dibinde. Belki de bu yüzden küçük bir büfe ya da otomat koymaya gerek duymamışlar. Ancak bunlar küçük de olsa önemli, hayatı kolaylaştıran ayrıntılar diye düşünüyorum. Girişte İstanbul kart doldurma ya da tek bilet alma makineleri var ki bu süper bir şey. Mesela Zincirlikuyu Metrobüs istasyonunda tek bilet alınamıyor!

Must-see landmark of the city... Historical train station... soon to reopen I believe.read more