OT: Istanbul

[Guest guest]

Howdy Jay,

 

Hi

>

> i am planning a trip of 4/5 days to Istanbul, do you think it's a good

> idea?

>

 

It is NOT a Good idea .. it IS a GREAT idea. ;-) But .. just as one

must be careful in many large cities .. one must be careful in this city of

almost 14 million people. Istanbul is the ONLY city in Turkey where one

must be careful.

 

1. If you need a taxi ask your hotel desk to call one .. roughly 25% of the

taxis in Istanbul will take you for a long ride to a short destination ..

similar to those in New York City. Probably the other 75% of the drivers

will take the most direct route and if you should happen to leave your purse

in the taxi they will probably take it back to your hotel or to the police

station.

 

2. When you go to the Covered Baazar (which your must) men should carry

their wallet in a front pants pocket .. women should carry their purse

strapped to their body and under their coat or a shawl .. and if someone

bumps into you immediately place your hand on your purse of wallet. The

pickpockets at the Covered Bazaar are masters of the trade .. few of them

are Turks .. they are refugees from the Balkans. As good as they are ..

they are amateurs compared to those in Madrid .. all the pickpockets in the

world are amateurs compared to those in Madrid. And in Turkey the cops

will catch them and prosecute them .. there are many plain clothes cops in

the Covered Bazaar. They don't prosecute in Madrid because the tourist

must come back and be physically present for court .. the crooks know this

so they are even more bold. Though we did not get a prosecution on one in

Madrid .. I did teach the dude to be humble .. and I hope he had medical

insurance.

 

3. Do NOT try to change money with anyone on the street or in the

airport. They are some masters slight of hand artists .. and there is no

need to change there .. every corner will have an exchange booth. The

exchange rate today was $1.00 USD = 1.55 New Turkish Lira

 

4. If you are traveling on your own .. DO NOT pay the asking price at any

hotel .. to include the Sheraton, Hilton or whatever .. ask for the Discount

Rate .. there is always a Discount Rate but you must ask.

 

5. Do go to Topkapi and all the Grand Mosques.

 

6. I would recommend that you not eat in the hotel .. eat in the small

restaurants that are found everywhere .. and if you want the freshest of the

fantastic fish that are in season there now .. have your hotel get you

a taxi to Sariyer .. its out on the North end of the Bosphorus .. a little

village of fish restaurants .. cats will be walking around under your

table. ;-)

 

7. Do try the Boza .. I miss it big time .. and its a winter drink.

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

 

8. If you go to Ankara and need help on the street .. just tell them you

know Butch .. that's all .. them that have not met me have heard of me.

;-)

 

 

> Will it be too cold and rainy?

>

 

Depends on when you are going .. it was 59 F and partly cloudy there today.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/local/TUXX0014

 

 

> How far are the rose fields from the city?

>

 

They are 5 hours by car if you drive like a Turk and 6 hours if you drive

like an American. ;-) But there is nothing to see in the Rose Fields now

... the Roses are asleep for the winter .. not even any leaves on the

bushes. They wake up around early March and the harvest and distillation

begins around Mid May .. it lasts 6 to 8 weeks only.

 

 

> Will it be possible to visit rose oil plant?

>

 

Not before the first part of May .. they are closed until then. They have

no reason to be open now.

 

 

> sorry for the trouble

>

 

Not a problem and no trouble .. if asking questions on this list was seen as

causing trouble then there would be no need for the list. :-)

 

 

> thanks in advance

> Jay

>

 

Welcome you are for sure .. have a nice trip .. and keep smiling. :-)

 

Butch .. http://www.AV-AT.com <http://www.av-at.com/>

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I would add one more thing...never drink tap water, it is not suited

for human consumption. You are better off with bottled water. I love

tavuk guvec (chicken casserole) and kirmizi mercimek corbasi (red

lentil soup) and ayran ( made out of water and yogurt) could be a

great choice of drink.

 

Enjoy your time in Turkey. What a wonderful place! I used to vacation

there almost every summer while living in Europe and I did enjoy every

second that I have spent there.