Short Break to Istanbul
Having some Turkish Airlines air miles to use up, we decided to take a 3 day break in Istanbul at the beginning of July – both to escape the Bodrum heat and see the Bosphorous area of Istanbul. We also wanted to find out if such a trip was viable in a few days.
We wanted to be in a green area near the Bosphorous and Ortakoy village but not somewhere expensive. We booked two nights at the Çırağan hotel (http://www.ciraganhotel.com), not to be confused with the ludicrously expensive Çırağan Palace Kepinkski Hotel right opposite. Is it really worth paying 10 times more for the room, £16 per minute for phone calls or £25 for afternoon tea!? A double room was 95TL per night for 2 people with Turkish breakfast 10TL each.
We took the Havaş bus to Bodrum airport (now 17TL each). Curious how inflation is now at record lows and yet price increases are still frequent and always well over 10%. At Istanbul airport we also took the Havaş bus into the city centre (10TL) as far as Taksim Square. The taxi drivers there tried to convince us that because of the traffic, a taxi ride to the hotel would be 30TL. Having been in Turkey long enough to have got wise to such con tricks, we walked a 100 yards, flagged down a taxi and got charged 10TL!
The hotel was only 50m from the sea, the 5th floor room was fine and included an en-suite bathroom, fridge and TV. Air-con would have been nice but night-time temperatures were cool enough that heat was only a problem in the afternoons. The breakfast was served in the top floor restaurant with panoramic views of the Bosphorous. Besiktaş was a 10 min walk one way and Ortaköy 20 mins the other way. Rush hour traffic is awful between 5 and 8pm so walking is much easier.
At Besiktaş we took a Bosphorous tour boat (7.5TL each) and you can also catch a very regular ferry to the other side. Ortaköy is renowned for its seaside cafes, restaurants and little shopping lanes. We had excellent coffee and cakes in air conditioned Gloria Jeans and a good meal in one of the little restaurants there. As long as you avoid those closest to the sea (like most places), prices are very reasonable. In fact everything was cheaper than Bodrum, especially the taxis.
The second evening we took a taxi (10TL) to the famous Cevahir shopping centre – the largest in Europe. There you can find all the main brands including Debenhams and Body Shop as well as numerous eating places. All in air-conditioned comfort. We decided to take a taxi from the hotel back to the airport as it was only 40TL i.e 10TL more than taxi + Havaş bus. The journey takes around 30 mins in good traffic but could be double this.
All in all, a good break and well worth it.
Steve & Sally