It was just terrific. They explained everything. You have to be comfortable with nudity, your own,…read moreand the scantily dressed woman who is scrubbing and helping you (if you are a woman). But I would do it again in a heartbeat, so relaxing.

The Suleymaniye Hamam was a cultural experience, that's for sure…read more I wanted to try a genuine Turkish bath, and the Sulimaniye Hamam is not only one of the oldest ones in Istanbul, it's also one of the few that allows co-ed bathing. In fact, it requires you come with a partner to partake. So I coerced my husband into coming along and made reservations for a Turkish bath. We arrived early but they took us right away. You are given a changing room (shared with your partner) and asked to dress in a bikini for women (they give you shorts and a top if you don't bring your own) and a towel for men. You're also given some very uncomfortable wooden sandals. A side note here: They made my husband leave his glasses in the changing room, which left him functionally blind. The glasses WOULD have steamed up in the bathing room, but I think that would have been preferable to him not being able to see at all, AND we saw another person wearing glasses in there. (OK, I saw another person wearing glasses in there--husband saw nothing.) So if you wear glasses and want them on your face for the bath, do it. After changing, you're brought into a large steam room for about 30 minutes to wait for your bath. There's a large heated marble square in the center of the room to sit on, and sinks around the perimeter of the room for you to fill bowls with water to splash yourself. Each of the four corners of the room is a treatment area, with two benches and two sinks. When it's your turn, the bathers will call you in to a corner and begin the treatment. The treatment consists of exfoliation with a loofah, followed by laying down on the table to be scrubbed all over with bubbles. They work on your back first, then your front. The scrubbing includes a little bit of massage, which was nice. Then, you are splashed with clean water to rinse the soap, and moved back to the area next to the sink where they shampoo your hair. Finally, you are splashed with progressively colder water until you're completely rinsed and soap-free. The last part of the experience is getting dry. The bathers bring you into a side room and wrap you in Turkish bath towels. They do not like it if you try to wrap yourself, I learned. Finally, you're brought into a room with benches and tables where you can order coffee, tea, water, or other refreshments. After our sweaty bath experience, all we wanted was water and more water. When you're done, you go back to your changing room, get back into your clothes, and that's it. You can pay for your refreshments on the way out (you pre-paid for the treatment) as well as leave any tips in a designated box. Pro tips: Bring something to hold back your hair if it's long. Bring makeup wipes since any makeup you're wearing will smear. Bring deodorant to reapply, as well as any hair products or makeup you might need, unless you plan on going straight back to your hotel. They do have blow dryers available for use at the hamam. As I said at the beginning, this was a cultural experience. I didn't find it relaxing exactly, especially since I wasn't sure what was going to happen at any given time. I'm glad I went, but I probably won't seek out a Turkish bath experience here at home.

Tourist Trap? For sure! The Grand Bazaar is a maze you'll get lost!…read more Oldest market, and for me the biggest I have ever been to. It has several entrances and exits, thousands of merchants (no exaggeration) and you'll find everything in here from souvenirs, teas, Turkish delight, spices, fake branded clothes and so on. Higher prices than anywhere else. Beautiful decor, prepare to face the crowds and the maze. You'll be trapped and get lost, so bring your patience along. But when in Istanbul, you have to visit!

The Grand Bazaar has been around since the 1400s and is one of the oldest and largest covered…read moremarkets in the world. It is worth a look just for the experience. There are several gates to enter and it is easy to get lost if you are not paying attention. You will find all kinds of stores here: clothing, jewelry, shoes, souvenirs, teas, spices, carpets and more. In terms of actual shopping though, you can find cheaper prices outside. Because their rent is higher and because they know they can ripoff many tourists, the prices here are inflated even after bartering.

The Blue Mosque was one of our first stops on our tour that day…read more My best advice is to wear pants that are loose and long, so everything down to your ankles is covered and you're wearing mid length sleeves on your tee shirt, not having bare shoulders. Even though my sister in law and I were wearing full length leggings they handed us both the communal skirts they give out as cover to those (men and women alike) that need it. We had both planned ahead and brought headscarves with us but there are plenty of stores directly around the mosque where women can buy a pashmina or something similar to wear, just make sure you pick one up unless you would like the communal one the hand out at the gate. Right before you enter you remove your shoes and they can be left in the bookcase on the side of the room while you visit. The mosque is gorgeous and the tile work is breathtaking. The decorated ostrich eggs that hang from the chandeliers were once upon a time used to ward off insects in the decades previous to air conditioning. It's a gorgeous space and absolutely worth a visit if you're in Istanbul.

An absolutely stunning mosque in the heart of Istanbul. Decorated inside with over 20,000…read moreblue-toned iznik tiles, it's truly a masterpiece. Likely one of the most visited sites due to its location in Sultanahmet Square. It is an example of Ottoman commitment to Islam and a reflection of their immense wealth. Like most mosques in the city, it's completely free to enter. Women must wear a head scarf and be modestly dressed. Scarves are provided if you don't have one. The mosque is very crowded during peak hours. I've had better luck in the evening for a more peaceful experience. Worth a visit and worth the hype!

Beyazit Sahaflar Bazaar is the booksellers part of the larger Bazaar, and a very good place to find…read morea book by literature Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk. Most of the books are in Turkish, but there are all sorts of languages available. The architecture is interesting a combination of Byzantine and Ottoman, it's right next to the Istanbul University. Not a popular tourist site, it's even less crowded weekdays and in the off season. You can meet nice cats here.

This was by far my favorite activity I did while I was in Istanbul. I went for the full Ab-i Hayat…read morepackage, but they were doing a special of 10% off appts before 1:00 pm so it ended up being $315 dollars. My partner in the process was Selda and she was AMAZING!!! Honestly she made the entire experience. She was respectful but funny and really helped me feel confident and lose my nervousness since it was my first time and I had no idea what to expect. They also gave me a full bar of their soap plus a Turkish towel in a cute bag. After the "wet" portion of the experience, before the oil massage upstairs, I sat in a nice little relaxing area and was brought some sherbet tea, water, and Turkish delight while I rested. Services i got: - Traditional full body scrubbing in the warmest quarter. - Organic Lavender Extract and Sea Salt Refreshing hand and foot peeling. - full body clay mask. - Relaxing bubble wash ritual on the warm marble stone. - Hair wash ritual with redbud scented shampoo. - Aromatherapy Massage with redbud scented oil in the private massage room. - Fresh and dried fruits to finish off the experience. Overall the entire experience took about 2.5 hours and left me feeling so refreshed.

The bathhouse is absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking. The customer service is excellent and so are…read morethe goodies that come with the larger package. It is quite pricy but worth treating yourself to this experience.

This is an Orthodox Church that convert to mosque. This may be happen during Ottoman era in 1453…read more This history site is classified as museum and it is classified as Ayasofya Cami. You need a ticket to visit for non Muslim visitors. You can buy the combo ticket with Hagia Sophia museum or building visit along. Price is not cheap. The interior can spot some mosaic tile with orthodox figures. The ticket only allows second floor visit. The wall is kind of cover up with huge platt. You won't see the wall painting. However you can see how big is the dome. Visit take you one hours.

Absolutely stunning! Hagia Sofia, I was not familiar with your game. It was so interesting to see…read morehow much Christian influence and history is here, which I had no idea about. Our ticketing and entrance process was smooth, though busy - expect lines if you don't go right away in the morning or near closing. Wear clothes that cover your shoulders, chest and knees - and a scarf for covering your head for ladies. They do have some there if you need one. The space is huge! Down on the main floor is just for practicing Muslims to pray, so the space accessible to guests in the higher area. They did have a few spots where you can get audio info, but it was pretty limited info and more of a description of what you're seeing. The ticket covered admission to the museum (not attached, another building) that was VERY helpful and informative! We did that second but wished we'd done it first. Such a stunning space with a ton of history. An absolute must in Istanbul!

Personal Favorites: Hookah​ Style: Turkish…read moreAmbiance: It is a half-open​ half close historical place Service: Pretty awesome​ A lot of people sit very close to each other smoke hookah, drink tea and chill. There is not much place in the world that you can find this kind of place. Nobody judges you the way you look or speak or dress. You can find a lot of different​ type of people in this place. Traditional Turkish Coffee, tea, ​and hookah those are all you need to chill. If you want a souvenir​ that you can find a gift shop​ as well. The restroom​m​ is a little problem but you will survive. If you are visiting Istanbul this is a perfect spot to rest between Cemberli Tas and Blue Mosque. This place definitely​ something you need to experience it.

Besides being a historical spot it is a popular hookah spot. It is a authentic place and the prices…read moreare really good. Food? No. But soft drinks are served. The waiters can be annoying as they walk around all the time asking whether you would like something and the place can be a little overcrowded but overall it is worth visiting and enjoying a hookah/shisha/water pipe with some Turkish Tea/Coffee or Gazoz (Turkish Sprite). Best hookah in Istanbul? Definitely not. As a daily hookah smoker I would give them a 5/10.

One of my favorite things we did! Definitely worth seeing. Take your time! It's also nice and cool…read moredown there so it's a nice break from the sun.

Basilica Cistern is so stunning! I had NO idea what to expect, but had heard this was a must-see in…read moreIstanbul. LOCATION It has a prime location right in the square near Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque. It's underground so you won't see much above ground/a huge building, but you'll see the line forming. PRICE Tickets are NOT cheap at around 30 euro, but for us, it was a highlight so was worth it. The line was quite scary, but it moved rather quickly! You can also buy skip the line tickets if you've got a busy day. HISTORY This is a large underground water resovoir with huge vaulted ceilings and hundreds of Roman-style columns. It still holds a bit of water inside, and learning about the history with the plaques onsite and the audioguide was seriously impressive! INSIDE It's just magnificent walking on the platforms through the space, admiring the sheer magnitude of the columns. They've done a great job of uplighting, and the lighting changes every few minutes to give different perspectives and ambiance. They also have some cool art installations here that add to the space! This is a photo op heaven, and we never felt crowded inside as there was plenty of walkway and you cover a lot of ground inside. A must do in IST!

You can't miss this passageway! There is a nice stained glass design above the entrance on…read moreIstaklal Street. Cool little arcade full of restaurants (a few shops too). I heard from a tour guide that Russian Emigres got permission to sell flowers in this arcade a hundred years ago or so. The word Çiçek means flower in Turkish. The restaurants are traditional meyhane, which is a Persian word which means something like 'wine house'. In short, there are pubs there. I found this on a tour with the fantastic guide by the name if Katerina. Check out the Culinary Backstreets Tour of Istanbul.

Our local tour guide (Safiye) took us down for a stroll on İstiklal Avenue, which is a well known…read moreshopping street in Istanbul. That included taking us inside St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church. In a City full of stunning mosques and sprinkling of Eastern Orthodox, visiting this Roman Catholic establishment kind of turned the tourist saying of "Oh Joy, another Church!" on its head. We found the interior to be very impressive and comforting. This is the largest church in Istanbul and has Italian pedigree, both in its founding and in its clergy today. Depending on the day of the week, one could attend Mass in either Turkish, English, or Italian. Pope John XXIII preached here for 10 years while he was the Vatican's ambassador to Turkey before being chosen as pope. He is known as "the Turkish Pope" because of his fluency in Turkish and his oft-expressed love for Turkey and Istanbul. Gayle and I were able to admire a statue of him installed within the church's courtyard. I also detected a bit of Byzantine/Eastern Orthodox influence within a few of the "Icons" inside the church. One was how the 3 fingers are put together to signify the Trinity, with the back 2 fingers following. And if we stuck around longer, my guess is that we might have seen people crossing themselves in either the Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox mode.

Went here for Christmas Eve service - absolutely beautiful!! Decorated to the nines both inside…read moreand out. If you're around Taksim Square on Christmas Eve, stop by for a visit at least. If you want to stay for mass on Christmas Eve, come early. 45 minutes before the service and it was standing room only. Very diverse crowd!