Istanbul Advice

[mumsiedarlingrevolta]

Am going to Istanbul for long weekend-

Have been reading a lot on line but would be grateful for advice from anyone with experience-

Do taxis, shops etc take credit cards or do you need a lot of cash? Can you get the cash out from cash points with your UK bankcard?

And advice re clothing-so much conflicting info re what is appropriate. Going to be in Central Istanbul and travelling to all the big sight seeing places.

And any suggestions to do or to avoid!

Many thanks!!

Turkey is in the main a moderate Muslim country that’s becoming less moderate under Erdogan & as such you’ll see Turkish women dressed very differently depending on how conservative they are. We were last in Istanbul 5 years ago & unless things have changed jeans, t-shirts, all the kind of clothes you’d wear on a less warm summers day here are absolutely fine. Probably wouldn’t wear shorts & skimpy tops in Istanbul although fine on any Turkish resort.

You'll need to cover your head and shoulders if you visit the mosque; I would take your own large scarf/pashmina for this. I'd also avoid wearing vest tops as this gets tricky when trying to cover up not that I know that from personal experience... I also found that quite often in shops or market stalls they deferred to my DH. Wonderful place to visit though, amazing food and drink!

Thanks so much @margotsdevil @SJane48S.

Any experience with cash/cards?

Very excited!!!!!

It's a bustling, metropolitan city. I always just use the cash machine to withdraw money. Cards are accepted in loads of places. Tea gardens and if you want to haggle cash is best.

I dress in Istanbul like I do in London, i.e. I wouldn't wear hot pants and a vest top here either. I'd wear all the dresses I wear here, there too. Mosques are different as mentioned, and I would always personally wear a long skirt or trousers and cover my shoulders and hair.

Topkapi Palace is my favourite place to visit as a tourist, quite nice to visit Dolmabahce too in order to contrast the move from more Ottoman architecture etc to a more European style.

If you get a chance to visit the Asian side (quick ferry very cheaply from Besiktas harbour to Kadikoy) go and have lunch at this restaurant www.fehmilokantasi.com/en/ It's right next to the Armenian church and then you can have tea by the water. In fact you could do Dolmabahce, walk to the port, have lunch in Kadikoy, drink tea and come back over.

I'll stop now.

Taxi's and shops accept credit cards but you get a better rate of exchange with cash than on your card.
As others have said carry a pashmina when visiting mosques.you may also want to wear socks as you'll need to remove your shoes.
You can dress however you want.Taksim, Kadikoy and Beskitas you will see people dressed as in Europe.Fatih and Eyup are very conservative areas.
Have a great time and remember to haggle in the Grand Bazaar :))

Can I ask what airport you're flying into please op lots if conflicting advice on google

@DollyPlastic I think that there is just one now-the new one replaced the old one. hope that's right!!!

There's two I'm being offered, one is the new old Istanbul and the other is SAW?

It's very confusing

SAW is the airport on the Asian side. The new airport is still on the European but very far out.