There are many boutique hotels in Istanbul that, it is not easy to classify them. We tried to sort the best 4 boutique hotels located at the city center as below;

1 – Housez Suites & Apartments

Located at the heart of the city on a very chic district between Nişantaşı and Beşiktaş. 24 very comfortable suites with reasonable prices and delicious organic breakfast. If you would like see the new face of Istanbul there is not any better choice. They aim to provide their guests with a delightful, peaceful and safe environment, and to maximize their satisfaction throughout their stay.

2 – The Sofa Hotel

Another chic boutique hotel located in Nisantası, İstanbul’s most popular shopping, entertainment and gourmet center. The Sofa offers a new generation of luxury accommodation within walking distance to international brands, distinguished restaurants, bars, cafés and the town’s newest and most prestigious shopping mall, City’s. The Sofa has 82 guest rooms, including 17 Executive Suites. While elaborately answering the requirements of a sophisticated city life, the rooms offer a combi-nation of new technology and comfort, peace and exclusive personal services.

3 – Sarı Konak

Hotel Sari Konak, ideally located in Sultanahmet, the center of the old city, is a family run boutique hotel  taking pride in offering its guests a charming “home away from home” in Istanbul ; with many guests returning on a regular basis.

4 – Yeşil Ev

This unique mansion very quickly attained a world-wide reputation and was awarded in 1985 the medal for the year by Europa Nostra. Yesil Ev had, indeed, introduced the concept of true comfort and hygiene to this “derelict” district and opened a new epoch in Turkish tourism by combining modern standards with historical style. It is furnished in the style of a 19th century winter mansion, and has a charming pool in pink porphyry in its Garden full of colorful flowers and high trees. Yesil Ev offers visitors the warm, friendly atmosphere of an old Istanbul home in one of the most breath taking historic sites in the world.

There are many great mosques in Istanbul and we strongly suggest to visit at least two of them before leaving Istanbul to feel the soul of orientalism in this magnificent city.

1 – Proper dress code

As the mosques are the places of worship for Muslims, firstly your dress code needs to fit the place. It is better for ladies to have clean loose shirts, pants or long skirts and a scarf to cover their hair, for gentlemen clean shirts and long pants are required. Actually for summer you may enter some of the mosques with shorts but it is not guaranteed.

2 – Get ready to take off shoes

Wearing shoes are not allowed in all mosques,  you need to leave them in a cabinet at the entrance or you can hold them, it is fine in summer but for winter if you will visit a mosque it is better to have extra socks with you to keep your feet warm.

3 – Be quiet

In mosques women and men have separate sections to pray, loud talking and discussion within the mosques are forbidden, additionally it is believed that it’s disrespectful to walk in front of a Muslim during his pray.

 4 – Cleaning ritual

Before praying all Muslims required to be clean themselves  that all mosques have  a nice section for this ritual, you will see many artistic fountains and marmor samples which  can be interesting as much as the mosque.

Istanbul is a shopping paradise, providing lots of choices: For example, if you are looking for a scarf, you will find it in flea market, from the Armani shop in Tesvikiye or you can have it from Grand Bazaar.  Whereever you go for shopping you will need some tips to keep in mind to get the best bargain at the end of the day. We try to point out some tips for shopping in Istanbul.

1 - Get recommendations:

It is always better to get some recommendations before shopping, especially if you will buy expensive goods like carpet or jewellery, ask advise from your hotel concierge or tour guide that they can help you to find the right shop.

2 – Visit at least 3 shops:

Best shopping places in Istanbul are undoubtfully The Spice Market or Grand Bazaar for an oriental gift . Firstly, be sure that nothing is unique at these places; you can find the same pillow or necklace (exceptions can occur) after two steps in an other shop so it is better to decide on the goods and ask for the price for different shops, you won’t believe the price differentiation.

3 - Make the bargain:

Even when you think you have just found the best price, you can still ask to decrease the price for the shop owner, especially in the old city but do not forget that it is not valid for all the shops .

4 – Pay in TL:

In the old city many shops can accept foreign currency but it is better for you to pay in credit cards or Turkish Liras because their convertion rate can be higher than your expectation.

Istanbul is a shopping paradise, you can find any kind of materials in different qualities and accordingly different prices. We have listed the interesting shopping districts below; not only for shopping but also to feel the spirit of İstanbul.

1 – Grand Bazaar and Spice Market
If you would like to see the oriental face of this marvellous city, you must visit these two bazaars. Grand Bazaar is one the largest covered market with its 4.400 shops and Spice Market was the last point for the legendary silk road where the goods from Asia tranferred to the Europe during 13th century. They are located in the old city very close to the top historical places, but you can get lost very easily while checking the interesting shops, salesmen and beautiful carvings on the ceilings.
Do not hesitate to bargain while shopping – especially for souvenirs, carpets, other oriental materials.

2 – İstiklal Caddesi
Another story starts in İstiklal avenue, you can take the tram from Taksim square to the end but it is always better to walk on this original pedestrian street to see all type of Turkish people walking up and down. Some passageways with small shops (like Atlas, Aznavur, Terkos Passageways) sell very original / hand made or 2nd hand clothes. It is crowded during any time of the day as many night clubs and bars located on this cosmopolite avenue.

3 – Teşvikiye / Nişantaşı
Here we are in Champelysee or 5th avenue of İstanbul. If you are looking for Louis Vuitton, Escada or Armani that is the place but you can also find small boutiques, nice small cafes , hip hotels and many Art Nouveau buildings. Especially on Saturday nights it gets crowded with many people who come to the famous pubs and cafes.

4 – Bağdat Avenue
Located at the Asian side. You can find many cafes and restaurants, besides many international famous brands such as Gap , Mango, Zara and Lacoste. Keep in mind that in summer and mostly at the weekends it is almost impossible to pass the avenue by car because of the heavy traffic.

TIPS ** In İstanbul mostly shops open at 9,00 am and close at 8,00 pm, they are also open on Sunday between 12,00 pm to 6,00 pm.

When we travel, we usually start to think what to bring as a gift for our family and friends on the last day of our journey, but it is always better to get organized before!

1 – Turkish Coffee
It is an original taste, a bit stronger than espresso. It differs from other types of coffee by its cooking style. You cook coffee with sugar in a special pan – so if you buy turkish coffee you will need this pan. Best coffee can be bought from Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi shop which is next to Spice Market, you can also get coffee pan in spice market or  from the shops around it as well as in every shopping mall.

2 – Evil eye
Another original gift from Istanbul, we believe that evil eye protects us from the negative energy, mostly we have one in our house and one in our car. Also we believe that it brings luck to every new born baby. You can get it in every gift shop around the city, also there are bracelets, rings and earings made from the evil eye. Best one is from blue glass with a white, yellow and black point in the middle.

3 – Spices and Turkish Delight
If Turkish cuisine is popular through out the world, one of the reason is the fresh ingredients and spices we have. You will find countless types of spices and we strongly suggest you to buy some not only for your friends but also for yourself. Turkish Delight is another delicious taste that you can bring to home with you. Many flavors can be added to Turkish delight such as nuts, wallnuts, pistacchio, rose essence  and all of them are available at Spice Market. One of the best brand for Turkish delight is Hacıbekir, you can find their shop in the old city.

4 – Peştemal
It is a kind of cotton towel mostly used in hamams to wrap your body. Recently it is very popular in all trendy beaches and pools that it gets dry very easily and it does not make any weight in your bag. You can find in Grand Bazaar in many colors and sizes.

Istanbul was the capital city for many civilizations like Romans, Greeks, Byzantines and Ottomans who competed to construct the best cathedral, mosque, cistern, etc. for more than 2000 years and who left very valuable ancient places which are still standing.

Even you have one day in Istanbul try to see at least one or two of the below attractions.

1 -    Topkapı  Sarayı (Topkapı Palace Museum)

Open between 9.00 am to 05.00 pm except Tuesdays. Topkapı Palace was constructed by the famous conqueror Fatih Sultan Mehmet. It has been the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans for more than three hundred years. The palace is a complex made up of four main courtyards and many smaller buildings and a Harem section where the mother of Sultan lives with his wives. You will need more than 4 hours to visit the whole palace and for Harem section you will need a separate ticket. If you have time we are sure you will be attracted so much by this unique Ottoman constructure.

2 -     Ayasofya (Saint Sophia)

Open between 9.00 am to 04.30 pm except Mondays. Saint Sophia was firstly constructed as a basilica during Byzantine period with arrival of Ottomans it has been changed to a mosque. It was the largest cathedral ever built in the world till the Seville Cathedral was built in 1520 and still it is one of the best samples of Byzantine architecture with its massive dome and 15 meters iconostasis. It was also served as the principle mosque of Istanbul for more than 500 years.

3 – Sultanahmet Cami (Blue Mosque)

Open everyday and no hour limitation. You will need a scarf for women and a long pant for gentlemen, do not forget to take out your shoes before entering the mosque. Its name came from the beautiful blue tiles on the walls and more than 200 stained glass windows let the maximum natural light get in through the mosque.

4 - Yerebatan Sarnıcı  (Basilica Cistern)

Open everyday except Tuesdays. Basilica Cistern is another very interesting Byzantine construction which was used as the water source for the Saint Sophia and Topkapı Palace for years. It has a ceiling supported by 336 massive columns (9 m longed). While you are walking above the cistern you will hear classical music mixed with the sounds of flowing water and at the northwest corner you will see the two-medusa heads, which are also carved into massive columns. It is a magical place where you have to see before leaving İstanbul.

*** All above sights are at the old city and walking distance to each other, for old city arrival please see directions.