I am going to Istanbul for a week. Any tips on what to do or see?
Haga Sofia seems interesting.
Pet as many cats as possible
You're not getting a girlfriend
>>2876252The market is overrated, skip it, take a ferry to the Asia side or an island instead. The fish was good there too.
Hair transplant?
I was there recently, lovely city.>Hagia SophiaSkip it. It's under renovation, which is a good thing of course, but it's covered in scaffolding inside and out. Also it costs 25 euros to enter, and you can only walk around on the second floor gallery. It's sad how they treat their world heritage, but it is what it is.>Blue Mosque and other mosquesAll mosques (except Hagia Sophia for some reason) are free to enter. There's an area to take off your shoes before entering and shoe shelves on the inside. They are closed for tourists during prayer but open in between. The Blue Mosque is the most impressive, I went into every mosque I came across there, and they all kinda look the same honestly. So if you just visit the Blue Mosque (which you definitely should) you won't miss out on anything. The Camlica Mosque, the largest in Turkey which looms over the city from the Asian side, is impressive just because of its size and the view from the hill is amazing, but getting there is a pain. All mosques have free (or very cheap) public bathrooms right next to them. Some were quite filthy, but all of them had hand soap available.>TopkapiDo visit, you can buy a ticket with Getyourguide that lets you bypass the queue, gives you a small introduction by the guide before he lets you explore on your own. Make sure it includes a ticket to the Harem, it's the most impressive part of the palace. Don't pay to visit Hagia Irene, it's completely empty inside. There's a "museum of holy relics" filled with obvious fakes and forgeries supposedly from the time of Muhammad and before, they unironically have a wooden stick on display and claim it to be the Staff of Moses. Visit for a laugh, or don't because it kinda makes you doubt anything else on display.>Yerebatan (Basilica) CisternDo visit, it's an impressive structure. Don't visit the Serefiye cistern, it's much smaller than Yerebatan, littered with modern """art""" and grossly overpriced.(1/2)
(2/2)>Grand BazaarYou can stroll through, but for the love of God don't buy anything, and if you shake hands with a vendor they will grab you, pull you into their shop and block you from leaving. Not the highlight of my trip.>Galata TowerSeriously impressive views over the city, the sunset views are apparently magical.>Princes IslandsNice day trip if you feel you've seen everything the city has to offer. Tranquil car-free islands two hours by ferry from the port. Be mindful of the last return ferry in the low season, you wouldn't be the first tourist to be stranded there overnight.Otherwise, just enjoy your visit. It's a surprisingly cozy city despite its size, with cobblestone streets and narrow alleys everywhere. Eat Turkish food and smoke shisha, sit on a cafe and watch the people. Don't take taxies because they will rob you blind, the public transport system is excellent.
>>2876597>>2876598nice info, thxcan you recommend restaurants? or which food to get or avoid?
>>2876600I just went into any random restaurant that had shisha when I was hungry lol. Lahmacun (Turkish pizza), pide, börek and kebab (the real kebab, with meat on sticks) are all very tasty and available everywhere. There's a street vendor every 10 meters selling simit, a type of bread. It's very cheap, but kinda dry. Seafood is abundant, but I don't really like seafood, so you'll have to figure that one out on your own I'm afraid. Turkish cuisine is overall really fucking tasty, I can't really say I ate something that I wouldn't recommend. Just be wary of empty restaurants with very pushy vendors trying to get you to eat at their place.
I'm thinking of lying about being Muslim to get into the Hagia Sophia for free. How can I achieve this? How do they test you?
>>2876606thats Johnny Somali mindset, dont do it
>>2876587Not with that attitude
I visited recently, tomtom kebap is super good for dinner near istikal street and sinop manti is pretty yummy if you find yourself in the asian side! Public transport is great and the people are friendly just near hagia sofia there's lots of annoying tour guide people trying to sell you things.The ferry across the strait is great on a sunny day to see the city and also Topkapi is incredible.