Has anyone been to Istanbul?

Have been to Istanbul three times. The last two times we just remained in the hotel awaiting our flight out of IST the next morning. I am in the minority on Istanbul, but this is the only place I have traveled to where I did not feel safe or comfortable. And, this was before all the terror issues over the past year.

jmarto1....we just felt that we were being "watched" or "followed" everywhere we went. Yeah, I know, sounds really dumb. Just on the first visit which lasted three days we could just never shake the uncomfortable feeling. Now, I know many others who have been to IST and spent time there and just loved it. There are many historical sites and interesting locations, but just never felt comfortable among the people of the city.

I visited Istanbul in May 2015 and have nothing but good things to say. As a woman I wanted to respect their culture and refrained from wearing shorts while there and made sure my shoulders were always covered. Everyone has different experiences, but my visit was great. Unlike LC412000, I never felt uncomfortable or like I was being watched (and I'm a white Western woman- so if I feel safe everyone should ).

It's a hilly city with a lot stone streets, so bring good shoes. For the love of God do not rent a car- their drivers are a special kind of terrible.

We hit the major sites (Hagia Sohpia, Blue Mosque, etc.), but one of the more unique experience we did was a Taste of Two Continents Food Tour. I highly recommend it (gets great reviews on Trip Advisor too), but make sure you starve yourself in advance, it's a TON of food.

We did not visit any of the baths. Talked with some Turkish friends of ours before we left and they said that's more of a touristy thing (but I have no doubt you can find some nice ones).

5 Kat is a rooftop bar with great views of the Bosphorus. I highly recommend checking it out.

Had a phenomenal Turkish breakfast at Van Kahvalti Evi. Breakfast for 2 (tons of food w/ unlimited tea) for about $16 usd.

I'm just gonna say it- the Grand Bazaar is kind of overrated. However, I really enjoyed the spice market.

Beware of the gypsies... they are everywhere and will take an opportunity they can to hustle you for some change.

I visited Istanbul for a week. It is an amazing place and probably my favorite foreign city I've visited. Some things I did:

-hagia Sofia, blue mosque-both elaborate and amazing mosques
-topkapi palace
-took a boat ride across the Bosporous to Asia
-Turkish bath
-smoked the nargile (hookah)
-grand bazaar
-bought a Turkish kilim

And lots of other things. Be sure to put your haggling shoes on..the salesmen are relentless.

I would be a liiiiitle weary to go there now..there was some civil unrest there in 2013, and I'm sure it's worse now with the Syrian migrant crisis. i doubt you'd get blown up, but just sayin

And to the poster who said he felt like they were being watched..? That's weird. Was someone actually following you or were you just scared for no reason?

Unfortunately my scilian olive tine has disappeared. I have Turkish in my lineage and it shows in my beard when I grow it out.

What is the general sentiment towards you there?

what do you mean? towards being an american?

Like I said, no one can really tell you're American unless they speak really good english and can distinguish different english accents. Or you are running around chanting U-S-A!

To the people i told I was american, everything seemed cool.

I wanna go back just for the pomegranate juice

It is weighing in on my decision. Muslim rage isn't something I like to mess with.