My Dear Roberto

I hope you and Bruno arrived safely and are already enjoying beautiful Istanbul. I wish i were there with you and show you and Bruno around.

Firstly i am so sorry that i send this guide first now, i hade a submission deadline for my PhD papers, so i worked till yesterday.

I assume that you are staying in the Crowne Plaza in Aksaray, where we stayed together. The location is great, under you see the map, the route i prepared for you. I would recommend walking the whole blue line, but not in one day. Better in two days. The good thing is, anytime you guys are tired, you can take the tram to go back to the hotel.

If you click the map, you can make it bigger to see it better. Also on the left side, you will see the layers:

Here I would do:

1) Walk from Hotel to Taksim (2 days, blue line)

Day 1
Day 2

If you get the point A (Taksim) you can take the Finiculer from Taksim, up to Kabatas, where you can take the Tramway (red line) and go back to Hotel again.

2: Change continents with Ferry

I would recommend using public transportation (with an Istanbul card) to travel between continents. The weather is great, it is going to be epic!

And some must see things:

Hagia Sophia

brown and white concrete building under blue sky during daytime
HAGIA SOPHIA - Photo by Raimond Klavins / Unsplash

BLUE MOSQUE

a picture of a building that looks like a mosque
BLUE MOSQUE Photo by Paul Bill / Unsplash

ISTIKLAL STREET

A crowd of people walking down a street next to tall buildings
Istiklal Strasse Photo by Tolga deniz Aran / Unsplash

GRAND BASAAR

Aerial view of a complex brick building with a central white dome structure.
GRAND BASAAR Photo by Aleksandr Galichkin / Unsplash

GALATA TOWER

a very tall tower with a clock on it's side
GALATA TOWER - Photo by ERDi UĞURLU / Unsplash

To eat

I would recommend to have a dinner in Peymane Restraurant in Pera, with nice GoldenHorn view. You can book or just go:
https://www.peymane.com/en/index.html

Türkish Classic - White Bean stew with rice at Kurufasülyeci ALI BABA:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/2p662AjEtRS5m7jL8 (Area is also nice to see)

Eat türkish köfte here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/GHhPjarBznstwFDx5 (during blue Linie walk... )

Dont leave istanbul without eating baklava here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/36eZk8P9rVeE3MfV6

If you can go asia side, try BEYRAN Soup: https://maps.app.goo.gl/s1RyEhCg9PpQzziL6

I am sure you guys have breakfast at hotel, but if you want to have breakfast with all the students (speciall on weekend), go to Breakfast Street in Besiktas, whole street is full with Breakfast Restraurants: https://maps.app.goo.gl/iwnDdkPdo9LFGbBv7

a bowl filled with different types of food on a table
Turkish Breakfast Photo by Igor Sporynin / Unsplash

Try Menemen, Bal-Kaymak, Turkish Cheeses, Kavurmali Yumurta etc..

And last but not least: EAT Kebat at 4ten 4e Ocakbasi: https://maps.app.goo.gl/MYB38PYZ3nGUQRvt8

grilled meat and vegetable on the table
Photo by Victoria Shes / Unsplash