Things to Do in Istanbul

For many Australians and New Zealanders visitors, Gallipoli is the focus of their trip to Turkey.

During World War I, the tiny cove on the Dardanelles was the site of a long and entrenched skirmish between Turkish and Allied troops. Horrendous casualties resulted on both sides, and for the Allies the operation was a failure.

These days Gallipoli is synonymous with the incompetence of Britain’s leaders and the sacrifice of the empire’s Commonwealth soldiers. The leader of the Turkish troops was none other than Ataturk, who went on to lead Turkey into the modern era.

The Gallipoli Peninsula is now a national park, with moving memorials to those who died here almost a century ago. Antipodean visitors come here in their thousands to commemorate ANZAC Day on 25 April.

Hagia Sophia (or Aya Sofya) is one of the world’s most beautiful buildings, built to be the world’s largest place of worship by Emperor Justinian in 532 AD. 

The church became a Mosque under the Ottomans, and its mosaics and decoration were plastered over. They have been successively revealed since the 1930s, when the building was declared a museum by Turkey’s legendary ruler, Atatürk.

The Hagia Sophia’s golden mosaics are rivaled only by Ravenna’s, and its design was the inspiration for the basilica of San Marco in Venice.

The huge complex is a riot of domes and minarets, focusing on the huge central dome which for centuries was unrivaled as an architectural masterpiece.

Inside, the lofty interior is a soaring sequence of domed and arched spaces, centering on the shell-like apse and the massive dome, which seems to float unsupported and gives the church its amazing sense of space.

The legendary city of Istanbul straddles Europe and Asia, washed by the Bosphorus on the Sea of Marmara. Sail past the minarets and domes to dock near the medieval Galata Tower, then make a date to bargain hunt in the markets, soak up Ottoman history in the palaces and mosques, or visit the Turkish islands for the day.

How to Get to Istanbul
Cruise liners dock at the Yolcu Salonu passenger terminal, on the Bosphorus waterfront at Karakoy. Trams run from Karakoy across the Galata Bridge to the Spice Bazaar, Sultanahmet, the Blue Mosque and Topkapi. It’s a 10-minute stroll if you’d like to walk to the Galata Bridge. Or you can catch a taxi to Taksim Square and pedestrianized Istiklal Caddesi to stroll past bustling shops and restaurants.

One Day in Istanbul
There’s so much history crammed into Istanbul, historically known as Constantinople. Visit Byzantine churches turned Ottoman mosques, the most famous being Hagia Sophia, and tour the sultans’ exotic Topkapi Palace. Get ready to haggle at the Great Bazaar, or sail off for a car-free day on the idyllic Princes Islands.

For the best overview of this seductive city, an Istanbul in One Day sightseeing tour includes all the highlights, plus a visit to the tiled Blue Mosque. And if your visit extends into evening, dine on Turkish cuisine accompanied by the glitter and glamour of belly dancers with an Istanbul by Night dinner and show.

Port Information
Istanbul is one of Turkey’s most important cruise ports, visited by liners operated by Princess, Celebrity, Oceania, Costa, Cunard, Hapag-Lloyd and MSC Italian. The currency is Turkish Lira, best sourced from banks and ATMs. Turkish is the official language while Arabic and Kurdish are also spoken. But English is widely understood at the major tourist sites, shops and bazaars so you should not encounter many problems when communicating with the locals.

The Grand Bazaar, or Kapali Carsi, is the mother of all markets, a treasure trove of gifts, souvenirs, essentials and fripperies. Heading into the cavernous bazaar from the daylight, it takes a minute for your eyes to adjust to this Arabian Nights visual feast of glimmering Turkish lights, brightly colored rugs and flickering candles.

Crammed into more than 60 domed alleys or streets, around 5,000 stallholders hold court in the labyrinthine covered market, parts of which date back to Byzantine days.

Calligraphy, carpets, beaded bracelets, gold and silver jewelry, curly-toed slippers, multicolored lanterns, flower-bedecked ceramics and belly-dancing outfits are just the tip of the iceberg in this shoppers’ cornucopia.

One of the largest public parks in Istanbul, Emirgan Park covers 117 acres on a hillside along the shores of the Bosphorus Strait. In Byzantine times, the area was covered with cypress trees and by the mid-16th century became known as Feridun Bey Park. By the 1860s, the park was owned by Khediva Ismail Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Egypt and Sudan, who built three wooden pavilions that remain standing today.

The Yellow, Pink and White Pavilions within the park were restored in the late 1970s and then opened to the public.  The Yellow Pavilion stands in the center of the park, overlooking the Bosphorus, and features traditional Ottoman architecture and rich interior decorations.  The Pink Pavilion is also a typical Ottoman house and is often used for weddings or other events. Not far from the Yellow Pavilion, the White Pavilion was built in a neo-classical style and is now a cafeteria and restaurant. Together with the jogging trails and picnic areas, the pavilions make the park a popular weekend destination for Istanbul residents.

Home to a special tulip garden since the 1960s, Emirgan Park is a great place to visit in April, when it hosts an annual international tulip festival.

The medieval Galata Tower adds a fairytale element to the hilly Beyoğlu district, on the north side of the Golden Horn.

Capped with a conical tiled steeple and gold finial, the 67 meter (220 foot) stone tower was built by the Genoese in 1348.

Visit the outdoor observation area at the top for a stunning panorama across to Sultanahmet, have dinner or a snack at the tower-top restaurant, or watch a Turkish belly-dancing show at the nightclub.

One of Cappadocia’s most famous sites is the Göreme Open Air Museum, a ring shaped collection of churches cut into the soft volcanic cliffs.
 
In the 4th century the area became known as the Land of the Three Saints after the theologians St. Basil the Great, his brother St. Gregory of Nyssa, and St. Gregory of Nazianzus. In the Middle Ages the importance of this area again soared and many monasteries, churches and chapels were dug out of the rock. The best of these still have vivid Byzantine frescoes of religious scenes.
 
Churches include Basil Kilise (St Basil’s Church), Elmali Kilise (Apple Church), and the richly decorated Tokali Kilise (Buckle Church), which is the oldest and lies just outside the gates of the museum. The best-preserved frescoes are in the Karanlık Kilise (Dark Church) which has been restored after being used as a pigeon house until the 1950s. The Göreme Open Air Museum is just a 15-minute walk (1 mile/1.5km) from Göreme or a short drive from Ürgüp.

The Eminonu Pier is located along the southern end of the Galata Bridge and consists of multiple docks for ferries cruising along or crossing the Bosphorus.

Eminonu Halec Iskelesi (dock) is the furthest west of the docks and is the departure point for Sehir Hatlari Golden Horn ferries.  The other dock west of the Galata Bridge, the TurYol Eminonu dock, is where you will find TurYol ferries to Uskudar, Haydarpasa and Kadikoy, as well as Bosphorus cruises. Follow the pedestrian way under the Galata Bridge and you will come to remaining five docks, with ferries heading to Uskudar and Kadikoy, as well as a car ferry heading to the Harem Otogar on the Asian side of Istanbul and multiple ferries cruising across the Bosphorus.

Before or after your ferry journey, try a fish sandwich from a boat at the pier, peruse the goods being hawked by merchants along the pier and sample some of the bites offered by other vendors.