Travel insurance - Tips & Advice - Holiday destination guides
Conjure up an image of Turkey’s capital city, Istanbul, and you’re likely to see a vista peppered with domes and minarets, rich with mosaics, intricate ceramic tiling and plush carpets on which to lounge and enjoy a fragrantly spiced feast. It’s a vision that is centuries old but one that you still can find today, standing side by side with an increasingly sophisticated and modern metropolis.
Istanbul is marked by its unique location on the Bosphorus strait and therefore lies between two continents – the western portion is in Europe and the eastern portion in Asia.
Bazaars
Stepping into one of Istanbul’s bazaars can be like stepping back in time, with the Grand Bazaar (Kapali carsi) being one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world. It was built out of wood around an old Byzantine building during the Conquest of Istanbul and now covers 31,000 square metres with over 4,000 shops selling fabrics, clothes, jewellery and furnishings. Make sure you have a bit of time to get your bearings around this huge labyrinth. Plus check out the Egyptian Bazaar ‘spice market’, the traditional Arasta Bazaar behind the Blue Mosque, and Sahaflar Carsisi for secondhand books.
Decorative arts
Istanbul has a wealth of museums in which to see and learn about Turkey’s rich history of decorative arts with trademark hues of blue, turquoise and gold. These include the immensely domed Ayasofya Museum (the Basilica of St Sophia) with its fine Byzantine mosaics; the Archaeological Museums in Topkapi Palace with artefacts from the Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Hatti and Hittite civilisations; the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art; the Museum of Turkish Carpets; and the Mosaic Museum. Just take a walk around the city and you’ll find stunning decoration everywhere adorning everywhere from the mosques, churches, synagogues and palaces, to the hotels, restaurants and shopping areas.
Hamams
The Turkish bath or hamam is a fundamental part of life in Istanbul and a revitalising experience for visitors. The origins of the hamam can be traced back to the ancient Roman bath, part of the Byzantine lifestyle which was later developed into something more elaborate and leisurely by the Ottomans. Hamams started off as annexes to mosques but soon developed into their own structures with the most famous being the palatial Cemberlita Hamami in Cemberlita Square, where you can still go for a bath, massage or kese – a scrub-down with a special mitt. There are some mixed hamams but it is usually a more relaxing and traditional experience to find a single sex one where you can strip off more comfortably.
Long weekend?
Here’s just an idea of what you could do on a long weekend break...
Day 1
Take a walking tour of Istanbul’s street markets (avoid Sunday as some of them are closed). You can travel from the Grand Bazaar down Uzunçarsi Caddesi through the Tahtakale market district to the Golden Horn and the Egyptian Spice Bazaar. Grab a lunch of kebabs and pastries while there. For local flavour, the Tahtakale district is 99% Turkish so you could expect better bargains and less tourists to compete against! Also make time to visit the Blue Mosque with its gorgeous glasswork and tiles. Then enjoy cocktails in the bars of Beyoglu or traditional water pipes (narghile) in Sultanahmet.
Day 2
Take a heavenly hamam – Çemberlitas is the most well known but can therefore be quite busy and less authentic. It’s worth a visit for the sense of history and the architecture though. Another spectacular hamam to try is the Cagaloglu Hamam with its lavishly arched steam room and tulip tiles. (Double check if the hamam you choose is open – some are closed Sundays.) Afterwards, kick back with a Turkish coffee in Ottoman style. Try the Pierre Loti Café or The Pudding Shoppe.
Day 3
Check out museums in Topkapi Palace. Then walk across the Galata Bridge to the Galata Tower to the north of the Golden Horn and admire the city views and Seraglio Point from the cone-topped Genoese tower. You can enjoy tea and grilled snacks at the restaurant and café at the top.
Travel options
Train
If you have three days to spare on either side of your trip you can get to Istanbul by train – an adventure in itself. Take the Eurostar from London to Brussels, then on further trains to Cologne, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest and finally Istanbul. The final train crosses the Danube from Romania into Bulgaria via the longest steel bridge in Europe. You then arrive In Istanbul through the impressive Byzantine Walls of Theodosius, along the Bosphorus and under the walls of the Topkapi Palace. See www.seat61.com/Turkey.htm for more details.
Plane
There are regular scheduled flights from London to Istanbul Ataturk International, plus some from Manchester and Dublin flying with BA and Turkish Airlines. You can also fly to Istanbul Sabiha-Gökçcen with Easyjet, although this is 70 miles from the centre and you would need to get a shuttle or taxi to the city. See www.flightmapping.com/Europe/Turkey/Istanbul for more details.
Find out more
Get more information and holiday ideas from http://english.istanbul.com/ and www.tourismturkey.org. Guidebooks like Time Out Istanbul, Wallpaper’s Istanbul City Guide and Lonely Planet’s City Guide to Istanbul can also help you find your way around while there.
Essential insurance
Street robbery and pickpocketing are common in Istanbul’s main tourist areas so keep a watch on your personal possessions. You should definitely invest in travel insurance to make sure you are covered against theft and also any health incidents that could occur – for example, stomach bugs are not uncommon for visitors where food and water are unfamiliar.
With Direct Line it’s easy to sort out your travel insurance on this website. Our single trip travel insurance policy is perfect for weekend breaks as well as longer holidays to cities in Turkey including Istanbul. Simply apply for an online travel insurance quote online today.
Related information:
European Health Insurance Card – this will cover you for healthcare within Europe, but is not a substitute for travel insurance
Staying secure abroad – how to avoid crime and theft on holiday
Hidden treasures – find holidays off the beaten track
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