re: 10 hour layover in Istanbul

"Was there for a week in the beginning of this month"

Any suggestions that I won't find on a top 10 things to do in Istanbul list on the internet?

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Any suggestions that I won't find on a top 10 things to do in Istanbul list on the internet?

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To be completely honest not really. The first couple days we stayed in the Tarabaya district away from the historic center to north along the Bosphorus (European side), and whole stretch from Tarabaya southwards along the Bosphorus is lovely, the waters of the Bosphorus are surprisingly blue and clear for passing through such a large metropolis.

I digress that whole stretch hosts some of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods and there are lots of gorgeous mansions, really unique cityscape. You could try and check Rumeli Fortress in that Bosphorus waterfront stretch but when I went it was all under renovation save for a small garden area so the ticket attendant practically discouraged me from bothering.

Next to Rumeli is a restaurant called Kale which has excellent Turkish breakfast dishes and breads (rolls and flatbreads) worth checking out if you do go, and the immediate stretch of Bosphorus there is really nice for leisurely strolling.

In practical terms my advice to is to stay in Galata area over Sultanahmet, it’s a bit more aesthetically appealing and less kitschy and still very well located. On the other side (of the Golden Horn) not far from the Sultanahmet district is the neighborhood of Balat which is also worth checking out for it’s colorful architecture and lively restaurants/cafes.

In Galata area we stayed at “Hotels Galata” we had a 9th floor room that looked onto the Golden Horn (inlet off the Bosphorus that separates Galata and Sultanhmet) with a panoramic view to Sultanhmet - and all its mosques i.e. Blue & HS among many others - so it offers gorgeous sunset views which silhouetted the impressive mosques and then of course when the mosques are lit up at night with the call to prayer in unison that was also a special sight to behold.

I digress near Galata Café Arada Beruit is a lovely Lebanese/Turkish restaurant that does an excellent Turkish style breakfast spread, highly recommended.

Mandabatmaz is a quaint alleyway cafe serving traditional Turkish coffee just off of the Istiklal street which is the main high street of the city.

The nosedive of the Turkish lira has lead to a lot of artificial price inflation by local vendors, I found that proper sitdown restaurants were often comparably expensive to Amsterdam where I live, hotel prices were similarly on par with Northern European prices, and alcohol is also priced steeply, this was the case to due the sin tax that’s always existed in a country where Islam is influential however inflation has made it worse.

Where I found prices to be cheaper than most of Europe were for street foods, certain groceries and taxis/Ubers.