For those of you that have been to Istanbul...

Is the port on the European or Asian side? How about the airport? The Blue Mosque? The bazaar?

thanks,

Marc

Marc, I'm quite certain those sites are all on the European side. To get to the Asian side you need to cross the Bosphorus. Geez, hope I'm giving you correct information. It is such a fabulous city. I'd recommend staying in the Sultanahmet area of the city. It is so close to the major sites and convenient to jump on and off the city tram.

We didn't board the ship in Istanbul but did a 4 night trip prior to flying to Athens and boarding the Voyager.

Marc & Marcie, Yes, all those places are on the European side.

Thanks! Is there an easy way to get to the Asian side for a quick spin?

It's a bit confusing because there's the Asian side and the European side of the *Bosphorus*, then there's the sides of the Golden Horn, the old side and the new side (roughly north and south.) The old side of the Golden Horn is where the Sultanahmet is, with the Blue Mosque, Topkapi, etc.

Here's a little map that kind of lays it out:
http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/go/Istanbul/index.html (great site, by the way.)

As noted, all are on the European side. All but the port are south of the Golden Horn (which isn't that wide at the entrance and is crossed by a couple of bridges).

Depending on what you want to do on the Asian side, you can take a ferry (easy, cheap, but limited destinations), day tour (more expensive but more focused on what a tourist might want to see), or taxi (most expensive, but you call the shots). Eventually, you'll be able to take the subway as has been described on the National Geographic or Discovery channel (deep, long tunnel under the Bosporus).

Pretty much everything you read about WRT Istanbul is on the European side. Unless you have more than 2-3 days, you won't exhaust the places you ought to visit on the Eurpoean side.

If I'm not mistaken, the port is on the north side of the Golden Horn, around Karakoy.

We've been twice now and have stayed both in the Golden Horn area and at the Ritz Carlton. The port is very close to the Ritz Carlton/Intercontinental area ... about 5-10 minutes. It is a good 20 minutes from the Golden Horn due to traffic. You can see the ships and port from the Golden Horn. The traffic is dreadful in Istanbul and it can take ages to get from the Golden Horn to Taksim or the Port area. We had no problems, but at certain times you can have a dreadful time. We opted to get around from the Golden Horn by public transportation and it worked well (but the BO was dreadful).

Having stayed in both areas, even with the traffic and BO, we really preferred staying in the Golden Horn area due to the fact that just about everything you want to see is in that area and traffic is dreadful going to and from. You can take a ferry and go to the Asian side and walk around as we did if you want.

There are wonderful restaurants in the Golden Horn area too...there are really good restaurants all over Istanbul (I loved Turkish food)...LOL

Totally Off Topic; Andi, your comment about BO reminds me of European tour in 1985, flight from London to Paris, the Air France steward about "knocked me out" with his BO when departing the plane!!! VERY VIVID after all these years!!

Then, #2 son and I went to exhibit of Renoir (one of my favorites) @ (museum I don't remember) and were about knocked out by the BO of mostly German tourists on a dank day, with no AC of course. Wow - memories, olfactory ones, are powerful!!

Sorry for the interruption, Marc!

We took a ferry to the Asian side and had a nice lunch there. I didn't notice BO. Maybe because I work in the county hospital ER and get lots of homeless and drunks. Just don't remember any BO. Loved the city. So pretty and exciting and very crowded. J&J

I am super sensitive...I even travel with aroma therapy stuff...but the only BO was on the subway-think of folks holding onto the straps...lots of raised arms on a very hot day and I am short. LOL....it certainly didn't spoil my enjoyment of this wonderful city. Marc and Arlene, have a great time!

Marc - we took a little drive over to the Asian side last year on a Sunday morning on our day in Istanbul on our Cappapdocia pre-tour. The guide said that early Sunday is the only time to drive it - otherwise the traffic backs up for hours, so I would do a ferry rather than a taxi if you want to go over there. The areas we saw were residential, no sights, so I don't think it is worth taking the time since there are so many interesting things to see in the city.

We took a boat tour down to the opening to the Black Sea when we were there and stopped at a couple ports on the Asian side. It was a great way to see all the "palaces" along the Bosphorus. I think the tour took about 3 or 4 hours.

Thanks to everyone for the information. As we have less than 24 hours in Istanbul, I will stick with the European side.

Marc, if at all possible try to spend more than 24 hours there. There's a lot to see in this exciting fascinating city.

Marcie, we have to catch a plane to join the Voyager in Copenhagen. :D