Istanbul with kids

November 2011

Turkey for Thanksgiving
Because our school loosely follows the American academic calendar, we were lucky to have a 5-day weekend over Thanksgiving.
It was a wonderful opportunity to travel because the demand is low (thus, lower prices!) - none of the British schools have days off.  We took advantage of this and spent the five days in Istanbul, Turkey.  Turkey for Thanksgiving - the kids thought that idea was fantastic. 
Visiting Istanbul with kids was a fun adventure!!

ARRIVAL - getting to Istanbul from London ~
My first mistake was "trying to make the most of the 5 days" and scheduling an early flight out Wed am and a late flight to return Sun evening.  We flew Turkish Airlines out of Heathrow, a 7:55, which meant we needed a taxi at 5:15 AM.  We landed in Istanbul at 2:00 pm, which put us at our hotel around 3:30 pm.  We had to pay a $20 visa charge for each person upon arrival at the airport.  The drive to the hotel was interesting - those first impressions of a new country...we were struck by all the random ruins we saw, also there were quite a lot of playgrounds, it seemed clean, and quite calm.  

Kids were happy to have their own "connecting" room to ours.

We stayed in the old town, where we could walk to most of the main attractions

First evening - dinner at Rumeli, a great little restaurant - we instantly loved the Turkish food and hospitality

Walking through Gülhane Park, our first afternoon.  The park is just next to the Topkapi Palace. It is the oldest and one of the most expansive public parks in Istanbul.

The hotel had a small pool where the kids would have preferred to spend 100% of our time in Istanbul.  We had to wear swim caps....

Second day...walking through the city.  We wandered down towards the water, where the Bosphorus connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean via the sea of Marmara.  There are plenty of ferries, tours, fishing boats and leisure boats keeping the waters zooming. 

We were mesmerized by all the jellyfish under this bridge - the water was teeming with them - millions we swear!

Kids always like to watch fishing in action

These donut type snacks looked delicious but disappointed when we ate them.  Very greasy and no taste at all

FOOD!!

Jonah loved the Sour Cherry drink!  YUM!

We all enjoyed the restaurant food, prices were reasonable, portions generous.  Here are some photos of random things we ordered....

 




 

Our breakfast buffet at our hotel was awesome - Josh loved the potato fries.  They were served hot cocoa each morning....parents enjoyed the yogurts, fruits, vegetable omelets, brea

We loved our breakfast buffet at the hotel - delicious.  One of my favorite Turkish treats was the apple tea - very sweet & yummy!

MARKETS

You're surrounded by shops in Istanbul, and the pressure is on....haggling is all too common, and when you look like our family, your are a traveling target.  We may as well have been carrying a sign that said We Are Tourists.  But we didn't need to, the baseball hats, jeans and casual wear, no headscarves - it was obvious. 

Turkish delight

Carpets are famous in Turkey, but we did not buy one, and heard everything from stories of getting ripped off to those who thought we were nuts NOT to be buying a carpet. 

Entrance to the Grand Bazaar.  WOW, this place is huge, fun, amazing....we didn't get much of anything....lots of jewelry, handbags, clothing, shoes, crafts, glassware...

MOSQUES

Having never been in a Muslim country, one of the most interesting things for us was the call to prayer.  Heard on the loudspeakers, with chanting and everything, it sort of shocks you, as you're walking about as a tourist, and then you see the men coming to the mosques...it's fascinating.

They have to wash themselves outside the mosque before entering

Inside the Blue Mosque we were given a "free tour" which ended in a carpet shop

Hagia Sophia

BOSPHORUS CRUISE

Ally and Josh were more interested in playing this game than the cruise

Putting a foot in Asia.....

Walking in ASIA...we took a ferry to the other side of the Bosphorus where we wandered a bit, got lost, but we were able to say we spent the afternoon on the continent of Asia.

At the Topkapi palace.. a really interesting visit.  Not so easy to explain Harems to your children

We met up with another family from school whose kids are great friends with ours for a dinner the last night

The Kids' favorite thing about Istanbul:
THE CATS

The cats are everywhere - in the mosques, museums, hotels, restaurants, shops....

My Least Favorite Thing::

GROSS Turkish toilet, but when there are no other options....

 

On the morning of our last day, I got up very early to go try a Turkish Bath.  Someone on the plane said it was a "must" and the books said the same.  Thinking I'd better not miss this opportunity, I went to the classic bath, the Cemberlitas Bath, but I left a bit disappointed.  Had I known more about what to expect, I would not have been disappointed.  I didn't know that Turkish Baths are sort of self-service...  at this one, you undressed, wrapped in a small towel, washed in a basin area with your hand towel and soap in a metal tin, and then lay on the hot marble slab in the middle of the room.  You lay there like a sauna, and then if you have paid extra you get a scrub down, where you are engulfed in bubbles, completely exfoliated, and left to soak a bit.  Then you rinse off...and that's about it.  I was expecting a bit more of a spa-type experience.  There was no water, no pampering, and it was very hard to find workers (there were several of us there - all tourists - trying to do a Turkish Bath on our last day of our vacation - not knowing what to do).  I'm glad that I tried it, but I wish I had known what to expect before doing so.  Very interesting!  One lady there told us that the Sultan matriarch would go to the baths to find the most perfect women for her sons.  Since they are always covered in public this was the only place where she could have a good look at who qualified!  And after visiting the Harem at the Topkapi Palace, apparently there were a large number of them.

Last day - toured the Museum of Archaeology - where we saw the Gates of Ishtar, the Treaty of Kadesh, the Oldest Love Poem in the world (written in cuneiform), and the Alexander Sarcophagus



Lots of ruins of artifacts are just laying around outside....

 

my favorite photo - view of the Bosphorus from the Sulymane Mosque

Levni Hotel

http://www.levnihotel.com/ 

Turkish Airlines

http://www.turkishairlines.com/

 

Info about Istanbul:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul 

Restaurants we tried:

Rumeli Cafe - Excellent!

Masal Restaurant - very good

Hamdi Restaurant - few vegetarian options

Havuzlu in the Grand Bazaar - overpriced

 

Our itinerary:

Wednesday

5:15 taxi to Heathrow

7:55 flight arrive 2:00 Istanbul time

3:30 arrive hotel

Walk/explore 4:30 - 6:00

Dinner 

Thursday

Breakfast buffet

Swim at pool 10-12

Walk to Eminonu/port/fishing/etc.

Bosphorus Cruise

Sulymane Mosque

Relax at hotel

Dinner

Swim at pool

Friday

Breakfast buffet - we love it

Hagai Sophia 10-12

Blue Mosque (prayer time)

Lunch - street food

Basilica Cistern

Topkapi Palace 1:30-3:30

Swim

Dinner

Saturday

Breakfast in hotel

Blue Mosque "guided tour" 

Grand Bazaar

Ferry to Asia (Uskudu)

Dinner at Hamdi Restaurant with Costello family

Sunday

Mom goes to the Hamam

Kids swim

Late breakfast

Checkout of hotel 11:00

Visit Museum of Archaeology 

Last markets 

Car to airport 4:00