Istanbul First Day

Day1

We landed in Istanbul past midnight.   We hop on the shuttle bus operated by Havatas, which runs between IST airport and Taksim square for 10 lira(~$5) per person.   We planned our first night to spend near Taksim Square as we do not want to travel farther into the older town for the hotel after 10 hours flight and 30 mins bus ride.  So, as soon as we got out of Havatas bus, we walked across Taksim Square, down the famous Istiklal Street (Istiklal Caddesi) and to our hostel, which is a block off from the Istikal street.  

Taksim Square and Istiklal Street are similar to NYC's times square; they are very crowded with tourists, locals, street performers and shops.  When we arrived to Taksim, it was past midnight, yet Istiklal street was very busy.  Loud music are blasted from all the clubs and lounges from the floors above the ground in the buildings.  I read about the noise intensity of staying near Taksim, and even though our hostel was a little bit further outside from the main street, you can still hear the musics and the beats.    

Day2 

Since we only 3 full days in Istanbul, I wanted to cover as much sightseeing as possible for the first day.  So, for the first Day in Istanbul, we visited Old Town.  We also had a very nice Turkish breakfast at Van Kahvalti Evi in Chihanger, which is close to Taskim square.   (For a list of other recommended breakfast places in Istanbul, I recommend the following post).

Traditional Turkish Breakfast - honey and cotted cream (on the right side) were to die for.

Traditional Turkish breakfast normally includes some spread, a variety of cheeses and some boiled egg with tea.  We also ordered Menemen, Turkish omelet, which was extremely delicious.  

All the main tourist attractions are in the old town, within the walking distance of each other.  The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia are situated across from each other and the Basilica Cistern is nearby as well, within 5 minutes walking distance.

Blue Mosque

Entrance to Basilica Cistern

Hagia Sophia 

We spent the night at the airport hotel in SAW airport as we were visiting Cappadocia region the next day.  To get to SAW airport, we again take the bus from Taksim Square to SAW which costs about 13 lira per person.  I am so pleased with this airport shuttle service.  SAW airport is located on the Asian side of Istanbul, and it took about 45 minutes even without traffic!  So, can you imagine what the fare will be if we took a cab there?

Tips:  This is my first time staying at airport hotel and using the airport as the base.  Turkey is a big country and flying to other parts is relatively cheap.   But most of the local budget airlines fly out of SAW airport, which is located farther away from the Istanbul.   There is no direct flight between Cappadocia and Denizli, so the airlines make a transit stop at Istanbul.  So, instead of spending the night at Cappadocia, we came back to Istanbul and spend the night at the airport hotel.   This definitely saves us some time in our already jam-packed schedule.  

Next Stop: Cappadocia >>