So you want to vist me in Istanbul?

My sister is coming to visit and this blog started (in my mind anyway) as a list of helpful information for someone visiting Istanbul for the first time, begining, in a very practical way with how to get out of the airport and onto the bus.  I have been brainstorming ideas that I should include and have come to realize how many things I know now that I didn't know 9 months ago and that what they tell you in the guidebook might be correct, but it isn't necessarily the most important first information you get.  I am not trying to write my own guidebook and I don't think I am trying to show off (but I have been accused of it) but I hope that this will be helpful to those of you who do come for a visit, but most of it wont be interesting if you don't.

Airport:

- It takes a long time to get here and if you are coming east you will be traveling against the sun, which means even more time has passed on the clock than in your body.  The time difference from California is 10 hours, so if it is noon at home, it is 10pm here. 
- You will need a visa to go through passport control, but you can buy a tourist visa in the airport for $20US.  I didn't have to do this, but I remember seeing the booths.  Dont forget to do it because you dont want to stand in passport control twice.
- As far as I know there is no rule against bringing in reasonable amounts of food items.  People I know have brought in several bottles of wine and pounds of pork.  Even when they were searched at customs, there was no problem. 
- When you get out of passport control, have your bags and are through customs, you get to the reception lounge.  Since I can't come any closer than there, hopefully I will be waiting for you.  If I am late (see traffic below) turn to your right and sit down at Starbucks and I will find you there.
- If I can't meet you, you will need to get some Turkish Lira (see money below).  You will need 10TL for the Havatas and 2 more for the city bus.  There are some ATMs inside the airport and you can even get change from a guy at a table in baggage claim so you can use the carts (which cost 1TL).
- To get the Havatas, go out the doors directly in front of where you came out from customs.  Cross the first street where people are being picked up and go to the island/median and look for:

The buses go only two places from the airport, Taxim or Karakoy.  If you go up to a guy with this logo on his jacket and say "Taxim?"  he'll say yes or point to the other bus.  When you find the bus, give the guy your luggage.  If it is a busy time, they will give you a claim ticket, if not, they wont, then get on the bus.  The buses are supposed to leave every half hour, which in my experience they do very puntually, but occasionally they seem to run extra buses inbetween.  When they are going, or just before they leave a guy will come selling tickets.  They are 10TL and I dont know if they take any other currency.  The bus will take about 40 minutes - 1 hour to get to Taxim.  Where there will be lots of cabs offering to help you continue your journey.  If you are adventurous, take the bus.

The Bus

- The hardest thing about the buses, well, if you are new, it is hard, is that they dont take cash, you need a bus card, an akbil or a jeton. 

Often, if you are stuck, you can get on and look helpless, speak in English and have someone offer to 'click' you in.  It is customary to pay them 2TL, which is more than they paid for you, but it is what you would have paid to get a jeton.
- At metro stations and at the end of the tramvay you can recharge your Istanbulkart or akbil at machines.  All around town there are kiosks, often selling sandwiches, water, candy etc that will also recharge them.  They will say Akbil somewhere around them.  If you hand them the card and the money you want added they will add it and hand you a recipt that shows the full amount has been added.  When Alex came to visit he was able to buy a 3 trip disposable bus card at one of these kiosks, but I haven't tried that and I dont know if his was rechargable or not. 
- Once you have mastered paying, the buses are really easy.  They have signs on them that says their numbers (no system I can follow) and where they end in big letters.  On the side of the bus by the door it also lists the major stops it goes through.  If you are trying to find me, you will want one that says Bebek or Sariyer.  The numbers that reliably go by my house are 22, 25 and 42.  More on this later.

- Lots of people take the bus here and there aren't enough of them at peak times, so they are often very crowded (also some of them are very old).  You will be lucky to get a seat, even if you are waiting at the origin of the line. 
- Turks are not good at standing in line or getting on the bus in an orderly manner, a westerner without pushy tendancies can find themselves two steps from the bus watching it fill up with people while they cant seem to get any closer.  Of course if you push like the Turks you will get looks for beign rude, so you just have to know how pushy to be and who to let cut in front of you. 
- I usually dont sit if I think the bus will be full, but instead find a premium standing spot by the window at a corner where I can lean against the bars because I dont like to share a seat.  Some busses have random single seats, which I will always take if available. 
- It is important to offer your seat to an older person, especially women if they get on the bus after you.  I have found that they only take my offer about half the time, but they are always very grateful for the consideration.  When a young (boy usually) is not hopping up to give his seat to an older woman, you can see/hear the condemnation in his neighbors until he gets the hint. 
- On sunny weekend afternoons or during typical rushhour times on workday afternoons the buses will be very crowded, to the point where they might not even stop if they can't let more people on.  One nice but odd thing that happens when a bus is super full, is that a person might get on at the back or middle door if the front is full, and then pass their bus card forward.  if someone passes you thier bus card, just keep passing it forward.  The person at the front can be trusted to 'click' it and then pass it back and somehow people always get their bus cards back and as far as I know, no one sneaks onto busses without paying.
- The buses may be crowded, but the streets can be worse.  Especially on sunny weekend afternoons and during the afternoon rushhour it might not be worth getting on the bus at all.  The traffic is so bad along the shore road, I have gotten out and caught up to the bus ahead of the one I got off of.  The shore road used to be one narrow lane in each direction, but they widened it by building out over the bosporus.  Unfortunately there are still places where, due to historical buildings there are still signifigant bottlenecks. 

Getting to campus

- You will know if you are on the right bus if you are going along the Bosphorus, with water to your right and land to your left.  Some of the major land marks are a soccer stadium before Besiktas, then a big square and overpass in Besiktas, major traffic in Ortakoy, before you go under the bridge.  Then there will be parks along the water and just after you go around a bend you will see the stop called Kolej.  This is where you want to get off. 


Yali is the ivy covered building on the bottom right of this picture.  The gate is just to the right of that.  Campus is the green area going up the hill and you can see several of the school buildings with red roofs in the middle of the green.

- The red 'stop' buttons on the bus signal the driver not only that you want to get off, but which door you are close to.  The last stop before Kolej is Kurucesme and it is directly across from a Migros (grocery store), push the button after you pass that and make your way to the door.  From the bus stop, you will need to cross the street, which is easier here than almost anywhere else on the shore road since there is a very responsive pedestrian signal.  Just make sure the cars actually stop before you start crossing.  Turn left after you cross and you will pass a school with a cobble stone drive way, then another school with a green gate and orange cones blocking off half of the driveway. 
- Appear at the gate and a guard will open it.  If they dont know you, you will have to get them to call someone inside to let you in.  The guards dont speak English, but if you tell them my name or my apartment number: Yali (pronounced yal-uh) dort, they will call me.  I wont know what they say, but I always agree to what ever they ask and they will let you in. 
- Don't dispair, you are almost here!  In fact if you are talking to the guards you are standing meters from my apartment.  Go around the corner of the building to the left and in the double glass doors to the lobby, up one flight of stairs and find the apartment labeled 4.  Ring the doorbell, you made it.


Campus from above.  Yali and the Bosphorus are in the bottom right.

Language

- Turkish is in the Turkic family of languages and isn't related to anything you probably already speak, but there are lots of borrowed words and once you get the idea of how to read the letters (which are, thankfully, almost all the same as in English) you will recognize many words either from English or French.
- I was trying to think of the 10 most important Turkish words you should learn right away and this is what I came up with:
1) hello - merhaba
2) thank you - teşekkürler
3) please - lutfen
4) yes - evet
5) no - hayır
6) water - su
7) where - nerede
8) how much - ne kadar
9) is/exists - var
10) isn't/doesn't exist - yok

Bathroom didn't make this list because it is WC, which is known the world over. 
The numbers up to 5 are also helpful
1) bir (not to be confused with beer which is bira)
2) iki
3) üç (like uch)
4) dört
5) beş (like besh)
10) on (confusing to anyone who studied a latin language and thinks this should be one)
- A lot of people do speak some English, especially in the touristy areas, and there are plenty of yabancı (foreigners) who are likely to help (if they can) and of course there is always pantomime.  Turks are very helpful and want to understand and help.  In fact, if you are asking directions, you should probably ask a couple of people since sometimes, in the desire to be helpful incorrect directions will be given...
- I wrote another blog on language that you could check out if you want more of my thoughts on language, but I wrote it a while ago, and I have learned at least 10 new words since then.

Bathrooms

- Most modern buildings have western toilets with seats and flushes.  Often they will ask that you dont put the paper in the toilet but in a trash can near by, but in general they are clean and normal.
- When you are out on the street there are lots of 'public' toilets advertised by large WC signs.  The man/woman symbols are easy to recognize, but in case there is no picture, bay is men, bayan is women. 
- There will often be an attendant just outside the toilets who you need to pay.  It has never been more than 1TL and sometimes you get change from that.  If you pay, you should get paper, either from the attendant, or in the stall, but it is always a good idea to have a packet of tissue with you.
- The public toilets on the street are more likely to be squat toilets.  They have foot places and then a porcelin hole in the ground.  Somehow I find these easier to use then the ones I encoutered in China 15 years ago.  I dont know why as I am certainly less agile than I was then and I cant imagine they are all that different in design. 

- For squat toilets there will likely be a faucet in the stall with a small pitcher under it.  When you are finished, you fill up the pitcher and rinse the bowl since there isn't usually a flush on squat toilets (although I have seen it).
- The floors are usually wet in public toilets, I'd like to believe it is because they are frequently cleaned and I'd like to continue thinking that.

Money

- The monetary unit is the Turkish Lira (TL) or even the Yeni Turkish Lira (YTL).  Yeni means new.  Several years ago the inflation had gotten so bad that there were six zeros at the end of all prices, so they just lopped them off.  Most people have forgotten that the money is new and just call it TL.
- TL is pronounced 'tay lay'.  Even though Turkish uses the Latin alphabet, they pronounce the letters differently.  Where most of the letters in English rhyme with ee, (bee, cee, dee, etc) in Turkish they mostly rhyme with ay (ay, bay, jay, day, etc).
- The exchange fluctuates, but since I have been here, the exchange rate has been about 1.75TL = 1 US.  This is close enough to 2 that I usually divide the price I see by two to estimate what it would cost in dollars, which of course isn't quite true, but its close. 
- There are coins for 5, 10, 25, 50 krus (hundreths of a lira) and 1 TL.  I have never seen a 1krus coin and grocery stores will round up or down to the nearest 5TL when they give you change.

- There are bills for 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200TL.  Bank machines will often give you big bills if you don't outsmart them.  I routinely ask for 30TL twice to avoid getting a 50TL note, which is very hard to break.  (Coincidentally, the Turkish word for break (as in money) is litterally break, as in destroy, dismantle).  Grocery stores (especially the big ones) will always have change, but dont count on small shops or taxis to have change.

- It is my opinion that 5TL notes are like gold.  They are very useful and very hard to find.  ATMs wont give them in general but they are perfect for taxis and street food.

On the street

- Istanbul feels like a very safe city as far as the other humans are concerned, although drivers are crazy and you should always be careful on the street.  I have never felt unsafe walking alone, even at night, but of course it is a big city and one should always be aware.
- there is a lot of food for sale on the street.  My favorite is simit, which is a ring of dough with sesame seeds on it.  It is crustier than a bagle, less salty than a pretzle and in Istanbul they cost 1TL.  There are guys with carts all over the popular walking areas of town.  You can also get roasted chestnuts, which I have tried, but dont particularly like.  I have been told that the corn is not sweet corn like we are used in in the states but much tougher stuff.  Sometimes, especially if there is some event happening, there will also be sandwhich guys out with their grills.  All the street food I have had as been good, fairly cheap and has given me no ill effects. 


A simit.  To get one, go up to a red cart and say "Bir tane simit lutfen." And hand the guy a 1TL coin.  If he asks something, it is probably if want a bag or a paper, just say 'hayir' and or look lost and he will do what he wants anyway.

- There are also lots of dogs and cats on the streets.  People feed them with scraps and even pet food.  The cats keep the rodent population down, which is good and most of them look pretty healthy.  It is not common practice to spay or neuter the cats, so sometimes there are too many and people will dump them in other neighborhoods. 

A well fed street cat who turned into quite a pester while we were outside eating at a fish resturant in Kadakoy.

- The dogs dont seem to do much of anything.  I wouldn't want to bother them, but they seem very docile.  I have heard stories of people getting attacked by the street dogs, but I think this is pretty rare.  Most of them have tags in their ears meaning they have been catalogued by the city. You are supposed to get the number from the tag if one of them bites you, but how you do that, I dont understand.  Excuse me, crazy dog, while you are biting me, would you stay still long enough so I can read your tag?  I dont think so.

- I think you have to be more careful of the overly helpful folks in the touristy areas than the dogs.  They will start up a conversation with you, 'where are you from?'  'do you want to buy a guide book?' 'are you looking for a carpet?' It can get out of hand very quickly.  I probably err on the side of too little interaction and just pass by.  I am sure I have missed opportunities this way, but I have missed some traps as well. 
- There is some begging on the streets, but not much in comparison to other cities I have visited.  There can be kids or older ladies with packets of tissue for sale on the steps coming out of the metro or underpass.  They are there so they will be in the way and you have to go around them.  They cna be quite useful if you need a packet of tissue. 
- It isn't unusual for the sidewalk to be blocked by someone selling something, or a car parked, or construction.  In these cases it is perfectly acceptable to walk in the street, espeically on smaller streets with less traffic, but even on large streets.  On small streets (and not so small streets) there will often be cars parked in the lane.  If you are driving you either need to wait or go around, but somehow people dont get really upset about it.

Parking is an art but the middle of the street is also available in some cases.

Touristy things

- If you are thinking about when to come, you are very lucky.  I have never gotten to pick when I travel, but not everyone is tied to the school year.  Fall was very nice and spring has been pretty good, getting warmer, but still plenty of rain here and there. The summer is hot and apparently Istanbul clears out a bit when school is out as many people go on vacation out of the city.
- You might want to avoid the bayrams (national or religious holidays).  Lots of things are closed and others are more crowded because everyone has the time off.  Especially to be considered is Ramadan (called Ramazan in Turkish) since many folks are fasting during day light hours and can get quite tired/grouchy in the afternoons.
- Most touristy sites have days off, but they are not necessarily weekends.  Turkey observes the western weekend (Saturday and Sunday).  Of course you should check your touristy site before you venture off.
- Mosques (Cami) are open to anyone most of the time, only during prayer time will they ask visitors to leave.  To visit a cami you should be dressed modestly and take off your shoes.  In the bigger, more visited ones, they might have plastic bags for you to put your shoes in to take them with you.  Women should cover their heads, preferably with a scarf rather than a hood or a hat, although, those seem to work in a pinch.  Some camis have them to borrow as you go in, but you dont know whose head they have been on before.

I dont rememer which mosque this is.

My recommendations
I did a lot of touristy things when I first got here and have really slowed down in the winter and spring.  I have done more distance traveling since then, but there is still plenty to do in the city.  Here are just a few things I have done that I really liked.
- a boat trip on the Bosphorus.  It can just be a ferry across to Uskadar, or it can be all the way up to the black sea.  The bosphorus is beautiful.

From the ferry on the Bosphorus.

- the Prince's Islands.  It is like a different world there, although a lot of people will try to sell you a fish dinner.


View from the top of one of the Prince's Islands.

- the cisterns.  It is cool and dark and there are fish.

In the basilica cistern.

- Galata tower.  On a beautiful day there is a remarkable view, plus, there is an elevator up most of the way!

North view from the Galata tower.

- Istiklal street at night.  Not that I really like the crowds, it is amazing how many people are still out at 11pm or even 3 am on a Saturday night, it is like there is a festival, except it is just a regular weekend.

This is just a side street from Istiklal.  It is crazy busy all the time.  Forget trying to get anywhere quickly. 

While this picture is mostly of the lights, you can see how crowded the street still is late into the evening. 

The big red street is all pedestrian walk way called Istiklal, starting in Taksim and oging to the Galata tower.  Connected at both sides by funicular/tunel to other public transport. 

- the market streets behind the grand bazar. I thought the grand bazar was a bit overwhelming, but I went there very early in my time here.  Maybe now it would be better, but the streets behind it are fascinating.  There are several shops in a row that sell the same things.  This could be pipe fitting street and everyone sells pipe fittings, the next street over is empty jar avenue. 

Inside the Grand (covered) bazar.  Which didn't make my highly recommended list.

Spices from the spice (Egyptian) Bazar, which also didn't make my highly recommended list. 

- Emigran park when the tulips are blooming.  Beautiful. 

We were there just before the peak (early April), but it was still outstanding. 

Anyway as I said before, most of this probably isn't interesting unless you are coming for a visit in a few days, and even then most of it probably wont make sense until you are already here.  It is interesting to me to think about how much I have learned since I came.  I remember back to my first week and how totally overwhelmed I felt.  Everything was new and foreign.  Now I can better pick and choose what I want to do.  Some things have become easy (like getting on the bus) others I avoid (like open markets) so I feel much more comfortable.  I am also amazed, when I do go down to the touristy areas that seemed so strange to me in August, by how easy they seem now with so much English spoken and with so many foreigners.  I am sure after another year many more things will seem easy.  Maybe I will have mastered the bakkal, the dolmus and the local pazar, right now those things still seem hard.  Yavas, yavas.