Question- Istanbul tourist sites

[pdz]

Is it possible to take a taxi to The Blue Mosque and Topaki Palace and do it on your own? I understand they are close together. How much does a taxi cost to get there? What are the entrance fees to these sites? Do you have to bring Turkish Lira's? Any info. would be helpful. Thanks. pdz

[kitty9]

For Topkapi Palace, it's 10 Turkish Lira to enter, an additonal 10 Lira for entrance to the Harem, and another 10 to rent the audio guide. I'm not sure you realize that to do the Palace can take a minimum of three hours. The place is huge and the grounds very vast and lots of buildings to tour. We didn't pay to enter the Blue Mosque, but you cannot wear shoes, you cannot wear shorts or sleeveless tops and you must wash your feet before entering. If it's during prayer time, you cannot get inside. You can also tour the Hagia Sophia, and the Grand Bazaar.

[john2003]

The Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia are close together. From the port where we docked in November it was 10- 12 euros to the Blue Mosque. However, getting back was a different matter as they wanted 20 - 30 euros. We walked away from the major sites and got a taxi for the same but it wasn't the easiest thing we have done. You can also walk to the Grand Bazaar. For the spice market the tram worked well.

 

Another option maybe the trams if you are a bit more adventurous. We used them a few times after we acclimatized and they were great. Quite inexpensive.

[jbh7]

The Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia are all within close walking distance of each other once you get to that area of town. I was staying in a hotel so I don't know how you get there from the dock. I think you must have Turkish Lira - I don't remember seeing that they took any other currency.

 

I didn't have to wash my feet before entering the Blue Mosque, but it has been almost 2 years since I've been there, so things could have changed. I did have to remove my shoes, and had to leave before prayer time started. I also had a pashima shawl on my trip and took it w/me to the mosque to cover my hair, but I did see others w/o their hair covered. It is a beautiful building, and there is a box for you to drop donations in, but there was no entrance fee.

 

There are fees for Hagia Sophia and the Palace. Hagia Sophia was being restored when I toured it. It is quite interesting - it had been a Christian church originally, and then was turned into a Muslim mosque. But all of the original mosaics and paintings remain and have been cared for. So it is an interesting mix of faiths and quite beautiful to tour.

 

Do be prepared as you walk around the area - the people who work in the stores will call to you and try to get you to come into their shops. If you are not interested, just say no and keep walking. When I was in the Grand Bazaar, you could bargain w/the shop owners, and the Grand Bazaar is very large with many shops.

 

Also check out tripadvisor.com and search the Istanbul forums. There is a lot of great information on that sight.

 

I did find in that area of town many people spoke English, as that part of town is definitely full of tourists. But not all of the cab drivers did. Also - the currency of Turkey changed several years ago due to the inflation of the currency from the old Turkish Lira to the new Turkish Lira. Do watch for cab drivers who may try and quote you the old currency and get you to pay more. I only had this happen once in my week there, and once I told him no he backed down. They may take your currency and try and give you change in the old. I had no other problems w/the other taxis.

 

Have a great trip!

[Caroldoll]

I bought them in advance through Centurion. The exchange rate is very favorable for us and the merchandise is great. I felt comfortable in Istanbul and there are a lot of people who speak English, but you must take your shoes off to go in a mosque or where the Sultan is buried. You must NOT have your knees showing and that goes for men too. They will give you long green robes if you are not dressed properly. You arms must be covered and nothing revealing on the top. My daughter-in-law and I covered our heads as well and we were touched with some old women who were on a religious outing kissed us for respecting them. We used a Guide from Seasong and it was very reasonable. He was perfect and he kept the people in the bazaar from preying on us. He also carried all our packages. The Sultans palace is HUGE and it was interesting as their jewels are there, but it sapped all my energy. I was very sorry I did not spend more time in Turkey--I loved it.

[Napi's Mom]

Is it possible to take a taxi to The Blue Mosque and Topaki Palace and do it on your own? I understand they are close together. How much does a taxi cost to get there? What are the entrance fees to these sites? Do you have to bring Turkish Lira's? Any info. would be helpful. Thanks. pdz

I'm sure you could do it by taxi, and we paid (in 06) 25us dollars for a taxi from very near the Blue Mosque to the airport,for 2, we'd stayed overnight. They took the US money, no questions. I think everywhere we went we paid US...BUT we had a guide which might have made the way easier for us. We advised others about using a guide for Ephesus, now I'll say the same to you...get a private guide...we paid 65$pp for a full day private tour of Istanbul We were 10 people, but price is the same for 2)...entry fees included to Topkapi Palace Museum, the Blue Mosque (proper name is the Sultanamet Mosque) Trip to the Grand Bazaar (An unbelievable place...miles of streets and corridors under one roof. People working the stalls are freindly, but naturally try to sell to you...feel free to bargin...you'd better in fact or pay WAY too much. If you aren't interested....walk away.

Our guide was to be Nejat Incedogan, but he had another commitment, so referred us to Levent Solmez, both of whom are considered to be the best guides in Turkey. The tour goes where YOU want to go. You can walk from The Blue Mosque to both Aya (Hagia)-or St. Sofia Church, Mosque (now museum) or Topkapi Palace, but it is very tiring if you have walking problems. You can also tour the Underground Cistern (made famous in the Bond movie "From Russia With Love") The Bazaar is not open on Sun. and the Aya Sophia (choose your spelling) isn't open on Mon. They will find a place to have an authentic Turkish dinner.

[CoralReef]

The tram is very simple and inexpensive, 1.30 lira per ride. We exited the port and turned right on the first street, hitting an ATM on the way (there is one just outside the taxi stand). You can see the tram line running down the middle of the street.

After about a block, we came to the Findiklı tram stop. (I believe you could also turn left from the port and hit a tram stop pretty soon, but I don't know that one's name.) There is a stall marked "Jeton" where you buy the tokens. The Findiklı stall is in the middle of the street, but some stops have them on either side of the street. Then enter the turnstile by putting the token in the slot.

 

Trams heading from port into town are marked "Zeytinburnu". Ones from town to port are marked "Kabataş". For the Blue Mosque, we got off at Sultanahmet, because the tram sign indicated it was the right stop. Later experience with the trams showed us that Çemberlitaş (Burnt Column) would have been just as good or better. The Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Aya Sofya, Basilica Cistern, Grand Bazaar, and Spice Bazaar are all within easy walking distance. For Topkapı Palace, the Gulhanë stop is closest (even though the tram sign recommends Sultanahmet).

[Lvteks]

It may come to time vs. money. We had a guide (sorry not in business now) whose driver picked us up from site to site. No schedule, the guide called just as we were done. All fees were included and we had ample time to shop both the grand and spice bazaar. I would never have experienced so much trying to get around on our own. It is such a fascinating place to be that the "splurge" is worth it. For us, it was like visiting with a friend.

 

Blessings,

 

Gail

[woodofpine]

There are numerous ATMS and the Blue Mosques, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi are all close together. With a local guide we did those (less Hagia Sophia which was still closed for restorations) plus both the Grand Bazaar and Egyption or Spice Bazaar as well as the cisterns with a local restaurant lunch.

 

This time economy was due to using a local guide. Istanbul can be handled independently, but the Turkish government does a great job in licensing and regulating independent guides. If you do some googling you can find a lot of well educated multilingual guides for independent hire.

[woodofpine]

There are numerous ATMS and the Blue Mosques, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi are all close together. With a local guide we did those (less Hagia Sophia which was still closed for restorations) plus both the Grand Bazaar and Egyption or Spice Bazaar as well as the cisterns with a local restaurant lunch.

 

This time economy was due to using a local guide. Istanbul can be handled independently, but the Turkish government does a great job in licensing and regulating independent guides. If you do some googling you can find a lot of well educated multilingual guides for independent hire.

[smeyer418]

The tram is faster than the taxi. Also be aware that the cab drivers may try to rip you off by making you pay the price in new lira when the meter is in old lira's. We only had one cab driver try to rip us off and I knew better...

 

we went into the Blue Mosque no feet washing(and they take your shoes so wear socks) but your knees and shoulders need to be covered...

[Napi's Mom]

The tram is faster than the taxi. Also be aware that the cab drivers may try to rip you off by making you pay the price in new lira when the meter is in old lira's. We only had one cab driver try to rip us off and I knew better...

 

we went into the Blue Mosque no feet washing(and they take your shoes so wear socks) but your knees and shoulders need to be covered...

Your post reminds me of one of our co-tour people, who remains a dear friend, who made the mistake of doing the tour of the Blue mosque . and when we needed to remove shoes (they provide "footlets , one size fits all) anyway...had a huge hole in his socks (Bachelor) and was very embarrassed...so wear good socks!! In 06 the Aya Sofia was under repair but not closed, it will remain under repair for years...as they are painstakingly removing thick layers (6" or more)of plaster (more like cement) that was covering all those mosaics, which were NOT "cared for"...but plastered over when it became a Mosque, but thankfully not destroyed. These go right to the dome (the 2nd largest in the world, after ST Peters) and those are now being uncovered. They are fantastically beautiful!

I again suggest that you do it with a guide...it is too much to do a good , well explained tour on your own, so much you don't understand, and they can provide help when shopping etc.!(Not thinking about carrying PKG,they aren't servants, but dealing with salespeople who are friendly but don't speak wonderful English!)

[bububr]

at the ATMS.....do you choose your country or currency?

 

from what I have seen the Lira has a LOT of zeros....wouldn't want to completely drain my account by mistake.

 

So if I wanted for example $100.00 US.....how many Lira would that be?

 

Dave:eek:

[CoralReef]

at the ATMS.....do you choose your country or currency?

 

from what I have seen the Lira has a LOT of zeros....wouldn't want to completely drain my account by mistake.

 

So if I wanted for example $100.00 US.....how many Lira would that be?

 

Dave:eek:

 

You choose language, but the currency is all in lira.

 

Fortunately, the new lira has dropped the zeroes, so one lira is worth a little less than a US dollar. I took out 300 YTL and was charged US $242.39. The ATM had preset amounts such as 100 YTL, 200 YTL, etc., which I used in order to avoid making a costly error.

 

Those 300 YTL covered admission to all the sites I mentioned (including the Harem at Topkapı), plus a nice dinner at Hamdi (59 YTL), one taxi ride for 22 YTL, about 30 YTL worth of shopping in the bazaars, trams, some Turkish coffees and waters and simit, a Sufi concert with whirling dervishes, postcards at Aya Sofya and Topkapı, and a phone card in Kuşadası.