Visisted Caferağa Medresesi in between exploring different sites. Situated close to Basilica…read moreCistern and Hagia Sophia and is the perfect spot for a quick break and refreshment as you're visiting sites. Located within a historic center. In addition to food and drinks, there is also art, ceramics, etc to explore and purchase. Outdoor dining space with shade available. Came in for quick Turkish coffees. Service was friendly. Coffees were rich and flavor and served as the perfect pick me up. Also ordered some menemen, which is a popular Turkish dish consisting of eggs, tomatoes, peppers, and spices. Very nourishing and added to our need to refuel.

Turkish people totally gets it!!! Phenomenal coffee with equally amazing food. You could never go…read morewrong here from fine dining to street food like kumpir.

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.

Enjoyed visiting so much. The vibe, the lovely people, our hotel Sofitel was great. Loved the…read morecats in the streets, the shops and restaurants are fantastic. I would visit again for sure.

Taksim Meydanı or Taskim Square is a large open area with a monument in the center…read more It as a vast complex surrounded by shops, vendors, a huge mosque and the like. There is also a park adjacent as well as several embassys, and its one of the main shopping districts in Istanbul It was later in the day and some light rain on and off so for our visit it was not packed. But we also wanted to get back to Sultanment so we did not spend a ton of time here,

The Maiden's Tower (Kız Kulesi) is on a tiny islet at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus…read morestrait. it's over 2000 years old and has been used as a tax collection booth, defense tower, lighthouse, and quarantine station. I really wanted to see it because it has been in two James Bond films. It appeared in the background of the classic 007 "From Russia With Love" and it was featured as a secret hide out in "The World is Not Enough". There is a tour here which you can via boat which leaves from the Galata Port. You can reach the islet by short boat rides from Salacak or Kabataş piers. Inside the tower is a history museum and a cafe with views of both Europe and Asia. With the Istanbul Museum Pass you can access the Maiden's Tower Monument Museum, but you have to pay a 5 Euro boat transportation fee at the piers. Entrance fee otherwise is 27 Euro for the ticket plus 5 the for the boat transportation. Boat trips from Karaköy Pier are daily between 9:30 and 5:00pm Boats to the Maiden's Tower leave from Üsküdar-Salacak pier every day of the week between 10am and 4 pm. You can buy tickets at the office in front of the pier.

I was a tad obsessed with the Maiden Tower before our Istanbul visit. I didn't think I'd have time…read moreto check it out, but I managed to do so and it didn't dissappoint. Just a ferry boat small trip on the Asian side of Istanbul in Uskudar. I am sure it looks nice during sunset, but I loved it on a cloudy windy day as well. Leander's Tower dates from the Byzantine period, it has a long history, it burnt, it was rebuild a few times. For the film geeks, you can see it in a Bond movie, "The World Is Not Enough" with Sophie Marceau. The legend says that a sultan built it for his daughter to avoid a prophecy of dying from a snake bite. It happened anyway. Off the beaten path, but worth checking it out if you have the time while visiting Istanbul!

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.

This is a must-see in Istanbul!…read more LOCATION It's in a different area than the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia so it takes a bit of a tram ride, but it's worth it. TIMING We were not prepared for the sheer size of this palace. Holy COW. We came midday with a few other things to do in the area, and could have left much more time to go slower but still very much enjoyed spending ~2 hours here. This palace is soooo huge, and they have different areas throughout the buildings with exhibitions and displays. See as many as you can! I recommend starting on the right side and working back and around from there. ATTRACTIONS Most of the attraction is the sheer magnificence of the interior decor and design in the palace: chandeliers, stunning rooms and spaces, and lots of art. NO PICS?!? The biggest bummer and reason for docking a star: NO PHOTOS?! You're telling me you're gonna show me the most magnificent castle and I can't take a pic?! That was a huge bummer. You can be sneaky but they do have guards everywhere. What's the harm in a little no-flash memory of the space? AMENITIES They have a cafe and a restaurant onsite, as well as restrooms and some gardens with benches to relax. You'll need it from walking around the massive palace!

A top sight in Istanbul. I liked the walk through that you do through the main building. There…read moreare no photos allowed but it's a huge palace like something you would see in Europe. Outside there are some beautiful views of the coast and city and lovely gardens to walk through. I bought my tickets that day it wasn't too long in the morning. Like any other place, you have to go through security and another line for tickets and then another to enter. It was my favorite place to visit. In the spring the tulips were nice.