Istanbul and Turkey 101

Many friends who plan to visit Istanbul have been asking me for pointers, suggestions. Here is an email that has evolved over the last 3 years or so. I hope you find it useful and use it to forward your friends. I am sure it will continue to evolve. As it does, I will amend it.
Enjoy
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Things to do in Istanbul:

Go to the Topkapi Palace. Get an English speaking tour guide. This is the Ottoman Palace where the emperor lived. Quite historic and has many stories. Would take about 2-3 hours.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topkap%C4%B1_Palace

In that area, there is also the Basilica Cisterns, it is quite cool. So, go in there as well. Although small and it will be a quick tour, About 30 mins.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_Cistern

Aya Sofya (Hagia Sofia) Very old church (1500 years or so) from Byzantine empire times which was converted to a mosque. Still has some old murals. Was burned down, restored, survived many earthquakes etc. Cool place. Again it is near Topkapi. Get a tour guide. There should be some in the area. (1-2 hours)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia

Sultanahmet Camii (aka Blue mosque) very nice architecture. Should be walking distance from the Topkapi palace. (30 mins)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Ahmed_Mosque_(Istanbul)

Suleymaniye Camii (Suleyman Mosque) 2nd largest mosque. Worth seeing. should be 10-20 mins 3-4 euros cab ride from Topkapi.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%BCleymaniye_Mosque

Dolmabahce Sarayi (Dolmabahce palace): the neo-modern palace that the emperor moved in mid-late 1800 ( i think) it is ok. very nice, by the water etc)

Grand Bazaar (Kapali Carsi): Old style bazaar. Used to be horse stables during the empire, and now millions of shops. Quite big. Bargain for everything. They would not be selling it to you if there were making a loss.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grand_Bazaar,_Istanbul


Shopping/Food
Go to "Nisantasi" (Nisantasi is a mostly residential neighborhood) (ask where "Beymen" is, Beymen is a department store) That area has nice small shops and restaurants, and usually becomes livelier at night.

Another cool area is "Bebek" (by the water, right across the water from my house :-) there are some restaurants and small cafes there too.

Beyoglu neighborhood has a main street called "Istiklal Caddesi". Many shops there too.

Some big very nice modern malls:
- Akmerkez (in Etiler)
- Kanyon (in Levent)
- Cevahir (in Sisli)
- Metro City (in Levent)

Fine dining and clubbing
-360: Cool/hip restaurant and club as the night progresses. Has a very nice view hence the name 360. May need reservations, but should not be hard once you have the phone number.

-Tike and Kosebasi. Top 2 kebab places. They are both in "Levent"

-Another pricey but very cool/hip/popular place is called "Ulus 29". Awesome view, especially with full moon. If you go there, call in advance and make a reservation. I am sure any hotel concierge can handle it. It also has a bar and a club next to it, and becomes pretty active depending on the day of the week and time.

Water: Drink bottled water. DO NOT drink from tap. Usually they always serve bottled water at restaurants. Even none of the locals drink tap water.

TIPS and More:
Almost everyone at the touristy places and restaurant will speak some degree of English. Sometimes the taxi drivers may not, but they are nothing like their French colleagues, they will make a big effort to get you where you want to get to.

Don't take too much cash with you. Almost virtually every shop takes credit cards, and there are ATMs all around. Especially around old city. Be careful about your bags etc. Just be smart :-) Don't go waiving your money in the air.

Taxi- They are all yellow and hard to miss. They all have meters etc. If someone is trying to give you a deal, just ask them to turn the meter on. Usually no deal is better than the meter. One more thing about the taxis, take a look at the meter it should say "Gunduz" which means daytime, and not "Gece", night. The night meter is on between 12am and 6am. If you get in a cab during daytime, it should always say Gunduz. The night tariff has 50% premium. If you cross the bridges which I don't think you will, then you have to pay the toll (even if you cross it in the no-toll direction)

About money: The exchange offices will always give you the best rates. However, on 100-200 Euro worth of withdrawals from ATMs it will only matter a couple of Euros. So, usually not worth looking for the best deal. One thing, do not exchange at the hotels. They always have the worst rates.

Turkish Lira used to be in denominations of a million. However, January 2005 they have introduced the "new" Turkish lira ("yeni" Turk lirasi). In case you did not get it, "yeni" means "new". So 1 new lira is 1,000,000 old lira. The look and feel of the new lira is exactly the same (colors and size) it will just not have the additional zeros.

Simple Turkish 101:
English - Turkish (phonetics)
Yes - Evet (a vet)
No - Hayir (higher)
Please - Lutfen (loot fan)
Thank you - mersi (merci)
Hello - Merhaba (mer ha bah)
Goodbye - Baybay (buhbye)
Taxi - Taksi (taxi)
Water - Su (sue)
Coke - Kola (cola)
Diet Coke - Diyet Kola (dee yet cola)
Bread - Ekmek (ache make)
Menu - Menu (maeh nue)

Pointing at something with your finger will get you everything else :-) No words needed.