A CONNOISSEUR'S GUIDE TO CIHANGIR - 3

Courtesy of Cornucopia, The Magazine for Connoisseurs of Turkey

Cihangir’s most famous resident, novelist and Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk made the neighbourhood his home after spending his childhood in Nisantasi. 

His Museum of Innocence, which he established in 2012, displays the real-life artefacts collected by the protagonist and narrator of his 2008 novel of the same name and, in this way, traces the love story of the novel's central characters. 

The eventual aim of the collection is to grow into an exhibit of everyday life in Istanbul in the second half of the 20th century.

The Orhan Kemal Museum celebrates another famous literary figure Orhan Kemal, at No 30 Akarsu Caddesi.

He was most known for his realist novels telling the stories of the poor and disadvantaged in early 20th-century Turkey.

A CONNOISSEUR'S GUIDE TO CIHANGIR - 2

Courtesy of Cornucopia, The Magazine for Connoisseurs of Turkey

The name, Cihangir, comes from Suleiman the Magnificent’s son, Cihangir, who favoured the area when it was still a forested hunting ground. 

After Cihangir’s death, Suleiman commissioned Mimar Sinan to build a wooden mosque that commemorates his son.

Rebuilt since, Cihangir Mosque has one of the best views of the Bosphorus. 

As the influx of Europeans into Istanbul in the late 19th century drove up real estate prices in Pera where the Europeans originally settled, the new arrivals made their base in surrounding areas such as Cihangir.

The tradition continues in this residential neighbourhood, and there are just as many expats as artists in newly-renovated apartment blocks with pink, yellow and pale green façades. 

Apart from galleries, there are also many restaurants, bars and cafés serving great coffee, international cuisines and of course, cocktails.

ISTANBUL KADIKOY, NOT KARIKOY

DOs and DO NOTs

DO

Go to Kadikoy -- the best port to visit on the Asian side.

Walk less than a kilometer, to the blocks and blocks of open air markets. 

Get meze (tapas) or Lahmacun, a very flat crispy dough with minced meat on it.

You roll it up with fresh basil and salad….kinda like folding over a slice pizza in NYC. 

While in Kadikoy, find the nostalgic tram and take it to MODA. 

Moda is upper middle class families – like Park Slope and hipsters – like Williamsburg….expect everything is 1/4 the cost of NYC.  

Shop for vintage clothes, go to the tea gardens overlooking the point where the Bosphorus Straits spill into the Sea of Marmara.

DO NOT

Confuse Karikoy -- the waterfront part of Galata, which has both touristy restaurants on the water, then some of the best young chef-driven restaurants toward the former industrial port -- with Kadikoy on the Asian side.

Though both are top 12 spots to visit via ferry.

ISTANBUL FERRIES AND FAR-FLUNG THINGS

DOs and  DO NOTs

DO

Go to the Eminonu docks.

Your transportation smart card works at every ferry station.

Ferries are still a major source of transportation.

It’s like 50 Staten Island ferries all in use at the same time, honking, ringing bells, belching smoke - -what cities are about. 

The destination and time of departure is clearly listed.

You really don’t need English speaking assistance.

DO NOT

Get conned into going to the modern malls in the suburbs.

Unless your shoes break beyond repair and you really need to get a new pair at a familiar chain, there is no reason to go to the rich kid, European-leaning mega malls that start in Nisantasi, Sisli and continue halfway up through condo canyons to the Black Sea.

ISTANBUL CUISINE

DOs and DO NOTs

DO

Expect a lot more from Turkish cuisine that pita, doner kebap, hummus and similar Mediterranean/Middle East fare.

Fish, caught in the nearby Black Sea and Sea of Marmara, is divine.

Go for Turbot.

It’s not like Mediterranean Turbot.

It has sharp disks on its outer skin -- and is served whole.

But it is superior because the black sea is less salty, so the meat is more succulent.

DO NOT

Go home without going up to a (city licensed) street vendor selling street food.

Best bets:

Simits -- wider, flatter sesame seed bagels without cream cheese.

Misir -- corn on the cob, roasted or boiled.

Kestane -- chestnuts, roasted, best at night when the cool breezes drift in off the Bosphorus.

ISTANBUL HAMAMS

DOs and DO NOTs

DO 

Go to a hamam.

You will do no better than Kılıç Ali Paşa. 

For about 50 bucks, you will get a full treatment. 

An ill-advised road widening demolished the women’s bath.

So now it’s females sun up till 4 p.m., males 4:30 p.m. till an hour before midnight.

It is clean, comfortable, authentic and designed by Sinan, the greatest Islamic architect of all time.

It’s next to a fabulous mosque and footsteps from the Tophane station of the T1 tram line.

Some very artsy, creative restaurants are between Ali Pasa Hamami and the nearby Bosphorus -- for that limonata and tost after the pampering Turkish Bath experience.

DO NOT

Go to the Turkish Bath on Sultanahmet plaza.

It caters only to tourists.

The cheapest treatment is about 100 USD and it’s over before you know it.

The well-located bath is beautiful inside and out, but skip it.

Also avoid the Galatasaray Hamam.

It is convenient on the Beyoglu side of town, but is a tourist trap.

Staff will rush you, then nail you for a 30 USD tip when a Turk is giving them a less than 30 Turkish Lira tip.

ISTANBUL EXPLORATION

DOs and DO NOTs

DO

Ride the T1 tram across the Galata Bridge to Beyoglu.

Beyoglu is the “new” city across the Golden Horn.

New as in a tower there is hundreds of years old.

But it’s older than the Old City.

Get off at the Karikoy stop, use the underpass and get on the world’s 2^nd oldest subway – a one-stop funicular up the hill.

When you get out, if you walk a tiny bit back down the hill past the souvenir shops you will be in one of the youngest hippest areas – Tunel. 

If head north after exiting the funicular, you are on the pedestrian Istiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue).

It’s about a kilometer long and is the old Parisian style area of the old upper middle class.

It has chain stores, street vendors, pastry shops, great architecture, state run cheap book stores and historic sites all over.

The midpoint of the avenue, where Galatasaray Lycee sits, is a great place to head off on a side alley and walk the back streets of Beyoglu.

It ends at Taksim Square.

DO NOT

Stay in Taksim Square.

Though it is well-located for transit and a public park away from a smattering of chain-flagged hotels, the fringe of Taksim after dark is getting seedy.

ISTANBUL DISCOUNTS AND TIPS

DOs and DO NOTs

DO

Buy a museum card.

It’s good for five days and costs 85 Turkish Lira -- about $25 USD.

Go to two museums and it pays for itself.

It also lets you cut the line.

The pass includes Topkapi, Ayasofya and many other top-drawer cultural treasures.

DO NOT

Engage in a conversation with a man speaking English around the famous museums and Blue Mosque.

He will tell you the mosque is closed (you cannot visit during the 5 prayer times, but he will fib about it being closed all day).

He is a carpet tout.

He will offer you tea (far superior to Turkish coffee).

He will try to sell you a pricey Turkish carpet – even if you tell him you are allergic to the fabric.

For a “free” 1 TL tea, you will get a sales pitch for half an hour.

ISTANBUL SHOPPING

DOs and DO NOTs

DO

Explore the informal markets that pop up on streets, alleys in car parks and all over.

The Sunday market in Ferikoy is legendary and can be reached via subway and 1 KM walk.

Ortakoy’s fashion-oriented Thursday evening market takes you to a famous waterside mosque.

DO NOT

Expect to buy anything but souvenirs at the Grand Bazaar.

The only exception is silver, which is sold by weight no matter how much craftsmanship has gone into forging the final bracelet, necklace, etc.

If you pay more than 50 percent of the initial offer, you have likely made a fool of yourself and given the shopkeeper his day’s profit margin.

ISTANBUL IMMERSIVE TRAVEL

DOs and DO NOTs

DO

Explore the narrow alleys around Sirkeci.

Sirkeci’s restaurants are half the price and three times the quality of Sultanahment (the area with Ayasofya, Topkapi, Blue Mosque, Hippodrome and Basilica Cistern).

Sirkeci has a T1 transit stop.

In two stops, you are at Sultanahmet.

In three, Cemberlitas and its markets.

In four – the Grand Bazaar.

So in a matter of minutes via low cost tram, you can be at all the historic attractions while sleeping and dining in more authentic Sirkeci.

DO NOT

Stay somewhere way up in the business districts of Sisli or Nisantasi.

Unless you are on a business trip and only will be meeting with multinational companies in those areas, don’t book your stay in these districts.

There is no tram service to them, the restaurants are very expensive and you will not be immersed in the daily life of Istanbul.

ISTANBUL TOURISTY VS. A REAL NEIGHBORHOOD

DOs and DO NOTs

DO

Consider staying in Sirkeci vs. Sultanahmet.

Sirkeci is named for the still-standing famous Ottoman train station that used to be the final stopping point of the Orient Express.

The working class area is still tourist-friendly (people will speak baby English to help you figure things out and backup menus in English are available).

DO NOT

Stay or eat, unless starving, in Sultanahmet. 

The 3 star hotels tend to have a flaw in Sultanahmet, be it offering over priced rooms or being too noisy.

Restaurants offer standard Turkish fare, but it’s not the real thing.

Sultanahmet restaurants cater purely to the tourist trade.

A pide will be an airport quality pizza.

A Lokantasi will be a 3^rd rate steam table cafeteria.

The Baklava will be a week old.

ISTANBUL TRANSIT

DOs and DO NOTs

DO

Plan on using public transit.

Loading 50 Turkish Lira of a smart card will give you enough rides to use the subway, tram system, and ferries on the Bosphorus.

The smart card even covers the 1 Turkish Lira entry fee to a clean public restroom.

All mosques have public water closets.

They are spotless clean. 

DO NOT

Pay 40 euros for a car service from Ataturk Airport to your hotel.

Even if you are splitting it 4 ways, you are spending about 13 bucks each, plus driver tip, for a trip that will take twice as long as the train.

The subway is connected to the airport.

You can load up a smart card – with English directions – before entering the train.

You make one easy stop to the subway line that goes into the old city.

It’s about 1 USD for a one way subway ride.

Plus, you get to see neighborhoods, as the trains are above ground about half the ride in.

ISTANBUL HOTELS

DOs and DO NOTs

DO

Stay at a mom and pop hotel.

The old city if flush with 50 room, family-operated 3 to 3.5 star hotels.

The room will be small but super clean and efficient.

Most have a terrace with views of Bosphorus, City, Sultanahmet Square, etc.

Some have very good Turkish breakfast – olives, peppers, cheeses, French bread, jams and my favorite – simits.

Hotel Niles is a favorite. It’s a 10-minute walk to the Grand Bazar and more important – the Beyazit Square T1 tram. 

DO NOT

Stay at a chain hotel.

With the decline in American and Western Tourism, there are plenty of flagged hotels with $100 USD rooms, which is tempting.

But you will have a cookie cutter building, lobby, room, common areas – yuck.

You want to stay like a Turk at a mom and pop place. 

ISTANBUL FLIGHTS

DOs and DO NOTs

DO

Fly Turkish Airlines.

The carrier is consistently voted the best in Europe.

Coach has decent leg room and a video screen with hundreds of movies and more – including subtitled Turkish cinema to get in the spirit of your journey.

DO NOT

Try to save a few hundred bucks roundtrip by doing a connecting flight.

From the Eastern Standard Time zone, you already are in the air 11 hours and losing 7 hours of time zone

Why prolong it another 4-6 hours with a stop, layover and change of planes in Paris, Frankfort, etc.?

DOES SHE KNOW SHE'S BEING WATCHED?

GRAFFITI CHARACTER EYES UP WOMAN ON İSTIKLÂL CADDESI

The elegant, mile-long Independence Avenue takes pedestrians through Beyoglu from Taksim Square to Tunel.



The Nostalgic Tram also runs through the district, known as Pera, in the modern side of Istanbul -- across the Golden Horn.