{"id":62,"date":"2013-07-01T17:18:06","date_gmt":"2013-07-01T17:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/?p=62"},"modified":"2025-04-09T19:25:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T19:25:53","slug":"10-things-i-loved-about-istanbul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/10-things-i-loved-about-istanbul\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Things I loved about Istanbul"},"content":{"rendered":"

There were more than 10 things I loved about Istanbul, but I’ve made a list of the most obvious and memorable reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. The Markets and Bazaars<\/span><\/h2>\n

Visiting markets is by default my favorite thing to do while I’m traveling. It’s where you can get a feel for what local life is all about. It’s the place you are most likely to be overwhelmed with curious smells, a mix of colours, foreign sounds, unfamiliar tastes, big smiles, sharp selling techniques… I hardly ever head to the market to shop, but more so to experience a new city. The markets and bazaars in Istanbul were no different. Although I did end up buying some local delights after sampling some teas, sweets, honey, cheeses and herbs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"FISH
fish market<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"LAMPS
lamps at the bazar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"SPICE
the Grand Bazar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"SPICE
Spice Bazar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. The Street food + vendors<\/span><\/h2>\n

The street food I found in Istanbul was nothing I’d never seen before (except the stuffed mussels, yummy!), yet there is something very appealing about getting your food off the streets. It’s always very affordable and the vendors in Istanbul seemed to have a great time selling a show along with their product. Whether it’s your grilled sardine being thrown onto your sandwich bun from 5 meters away, or it’s the sweet nothings the vendor whispers into your ear as you reach for your d\u00c3\u00b6ner, there is nothing ordinary about ordering a portion of street food in Istanbul. Try getting a “dondurma” (chewy Turkish ice cream), you’ll certainly get a complimentary show.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"KEBAB\"
kebab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"GETTING
getting a dondurma<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3. The views from and around the Bosporus<\/span><\/h2>\n

The river flowing through the city forms the backdrop for a romantic scene. Lovers, fishermen, kids playing, families on their outing, teenagers killing time… There is life around the Bosporus, that’s certain.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ROMANCE
romance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"SUNSET
sunset by the river<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"VIEW
view from the Bosporus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

4. The hip boutiques in\u00c2\u00a0Karak\u00c3\u00b6y,\u00c2\u00a0<\/b>Beyo\u00c4\u0178lu<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Even though these shops were not within my budget range, I had such a good time window shopping and browsing the sales-racks hoping to find a steal. I often said to myself: “I’ll come back when I have more money!” The best shops, offering unique pieces by young designers, are off the main roads and near the Galata tower. Prices here are similar to those in Western Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"BOUTIQUES\"
boutiques<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Fresh juice any time of the day<\/span><\/h2>\n

Apple, carrot,\u00c2\u00a0pomegranate, raisin, orange, lemon, strawberry, melon, pineapple, peach… All the fruity flavours you can imagine, whenever you want, for a very sharp price. Hello vitamins!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"FRESH
fresh juice<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

6. The old town<\/span><\/h2>\n

You could spend a whole week (or more) discovering this area, in fact, many tourists never make it to the other parts of town. I didn’t visit all the mosques and museums, nor did I walk all over the old town with a tour guide, so I missed out on the thousands of \u00c2\u00a0historical tales and explanations about the city. However, I managed to arrive at the sites before all the other tourists did which allowed me to get a real feel for that part of town… There is such serenity and spirituality in the air. At the crack of dawn, that is…<\/span><\/p>\n

\"INSIDE
inside the mosque<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"BY
by the mosque<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"BLUE
blue mosque at dawn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7. The street art<\/span><\/h2>\n

I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expecting to find such a vibrant street art scene in Istanbul, but there it was \u00e2\u20ac\u201d splashes of color on crumbling walls, playful characters peeking out from alleyways, and giant murals staring down at you from buildings. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like the city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got a secret voice, whispering stories through spray cans and paintbrushes. Some pieces are loud and political, others quiet and poetic. And the best part? You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even have to look for it. It finds you<\/em> as you wander. In places like Karak\u00c3\u00b6y, Kad\u00c4\u00b1k\u00c3\u00b6y, and the backstreets near Galata, the art feels raw and real \u00e2\u20ac\u201d like the city is still dreaming, still experimenting. A gallery without walls, open 24\/7.<\/p>\n

\"..\"<\/p>\n

\"MURAL\"
comic mural<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"MURAL\"
mural<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

8. Shops selling the most random things<\/span><\/h2>\n

It makes the city all the more\u00c2\u00a0interesting. How often do you see a shop entirely dedicated to growing and selling medicinal leeches? (you place them on your body when you’re ill and they suck out the infested blood…)<\/span><\/p>\n

\"BB
BB guns<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"OLD
old personal photos for sale<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

9. Tea time break<\/span><\/h2>\n

I think I probably had a tea break every hour, two hours max. Just sitting along the road side or a terrace in the shade with a glass of hot tea and a book, watching people get on with their lives. Just wonderful!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"TEA
tea on a terrace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TEA
tea and cigarettes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

10. The surprises<\/span><\/h2>\n

I was often surprised in Istanbul. Small surprises and bigger ones. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but these are just some of \u00c2\u00a0the unexpected elements. Visit Istanbul to discover which surprises the city has in store for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"STREET
heart warming street performance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"MOVIE
movie scene<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"CHURCH
catholic church in the middle of town<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Have you ever been to Istanbul? What was your favourite thing?<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u00c2\u00a0The post “10 Things I loved about Istanbul”<\/a> first appeared on Travel Cake<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There were more than 10 things I loved about Istanbul, but I’ve made a list of the most obvious and memorable reasons. 1. The Markets and Bazaars Visiting markets is by default my favorite thing to do while I’m traveling. It’s where you can get a feel for what local life is all about. It’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":74,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[109,103,112],"tags":[11,12,10,13,14],"country":[264],"class_list":["post-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","category-lists","category-turkey","tag-europe","tag-experiences","tag-istanbul","tag-markets","tag-turkey","post_format-post-format-image","country-turkey"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phrKJj-10","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.travelcake.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/28.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&quality=89&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4306,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions\/4306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}