ISTAMBUL SECRET MINI GUIDE-by Pedro Sánchez de Diego

ISTAMBUL SECRET MINI GUIDE

Istanbul (Turkey) is one of the most exciting cities all over the world and it is the only city that is placed in two continents: Europe and Asia.

There are a lot of monuments to visit like Santa Sofia, consecrated as a church in 537 by the emperor Justiniano and, converted to a mosque in 1453 or the Blue Mosque.

Another monument visited by tourist is the Topkapi Palace, where Ottoman sultans lived.

And, of course, everybody goes shopping to Grand Bazar.

But Istanbul has a lot of places and activities that people some times don't know. Here you can find some recommendations to do in Istanbul that people don't usually do.

-       Explore the Spice Bazaar. You can find exotic spice and granade Candy.

-       Take a ferry to Uskudar,  Asia. When you arrive at the pier, you will find stairs covered with turkish carpets. People wait there to see the sunset over Leandro Tower. 

-       Visit Ortakoy on Sunday. You can go by ferry and just before arriving, you will see one of the nicest mosques of Istanbul, the Ortakoy Mosque, built on the wáter. There is also a small market and you can eat the famous Ortakoy Potatos there.

-       Galata Tower. One of the most famous monuments of Istambul but, instead of visiting it, it is better to go to Konak Café. It is a small cafe placed in a Antique turkish house very near Galata Tower. The idea is to go up to the terrace, there you will find a nice restaurant with the same views as from Galata Tower.

-       Cafe de Pierre Loti. You can go by ferry to Eyup, here is one of the biggest cemeteries of Turkey. Turks use this cemetery as a park and it's very usual to see people spend their Sundays there.