After being on the move every few days, we headed to Turkey at a much slower pace. The guides all suggested 3-4 days for Istanbul, but being a city of 15 million people, we figured we could fill a good chunk of time exploring the city. We spent 11 days splitting our time between 4 neighborhoods: Cihangir, Sultanahmet, Fener, and Kadikoy. Getting around was remarkably easy with a solid public transit system of timely & frequent buses, metro, and ferries. We wish the Bay Area would copy their example.


Cihangir is our favorite neighborhood. It was cute, had great bars, cafes, and restaurants, and was a frequent transit spot as we traveled around the city. We’d recommend staying in this part of the city. We also had an amazing hotel. The room was small, but the host was incredibly kind, the room was clean and had great ac, and we got delicious breakfast on the rooftop terrace. We spent our days seeking out doner, exploring the winding streets and sipping coffee surrounded by friendly cats. Kyle also enjoyed the plentiful coworking/library spaces that had gorgeous architecture. Kelsey enjoyed the plentiful access to gyms for $3 a day.


For the weekend, we moved to a hostel in Sultanahmet. This is the main tourist area of Istanbul with the Grand Bazaar and the Blue & Hagia Sophia mosques. It was overwhelming with the mass number of people, but we met some cool people in our hostel & ate our best meal in the area.


Following the craziness of the tourist scene, we moved to Fener/Balat, a historical neighborhood known for its colorful buildings & antique shops. The Airbnb was adorable with a great rooftop & two pets in the building. Unfortunately, the listing bold face lied about the ac & all we had was a measly fan. There was the sweetest pup who lay at the bottom of the stairs & demanded pets from Kelsey every time we came & went from the building. There was also a hairless cat we first encountered when she ran into our room behind us. We weren’t expecting her & it quite startled us, but she was sweet & she grew on Kelsey by the end of the stay. We really leaned into the Turkish breakfast experience while staying in this neighborhood & it did not disappoint. It was so much food it turned breakfast into nearly a 3-hour event. The cafe scene was outstanding in this area. 


For the last few days, we moved to Kadikoy to experience the Asian side of Istanbul. We got our final dose of super cheap doner & had our best cup of coffee. We also had our most awkward encounter in the hostel’s cafe. We were trying to socialize to meet up with folks to go out for a drink with, but there was a real party killer of a person in the lobby. No one seemed to last more than 10 minutes & eventually, we even made up a fictitious dinner reservation to escape the miserable conversation. The second night was much better, but we had to cut it early to catch a couple of hours of sleep for our 4 am bus.


We happily, with ac, could have stayed much longer in Istanbul. Outside the main tourist area, it was significantly less overwhelming than we had expected. Kelsey is only a bit disappointed she couldn’t have done more shopping & will likely need to return once we actually have a home again.


Reading:

  • Kyle: Strolling Through Istanbul: The Classic Guide to the City by Hilary Sumner-Boyd
  • Kelsey: The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk

Listening To: