Our itinerary roaming around the city of Istanbul and its suburbs.

For so many years, I never thought I would end up in Istanbul so soon in my life. This was always somewhere I wanted to go to, but thought that I would need more money slash would be in my forties before I finally got the chance to experience it. Then my family started planning a vacation, and somehow we landed on Istanbul.

My sister originally pitched the idea that my father should pick our vacation, as he never really actually got to pick where we went throughout our lifetime. He just kind of joins our trips and never offers any input, and she wanted to give him the chance to pick.

Originally he chose Sweden. His reasoning was that he had a friend there—dear reader, he did not have a friend there. He apparently thought his friend lived there, but to this day no one is entirely sure whether he actually lives in Denmark or Norway. My father is an unreliable narrator most of the time.

I was kind of the one who pitched the idea of Turkey. Part of it was because I was interested in going there, but the other reason was that I knew my father would like it better. He always talks about how things are like his home country, Iran, so going to Turkey seemed like the logical conclusion if we couldn’t go to Iran.

He was really into that idea, and so we began planning for ten days in Istanbul. We live close enough to Washington DC that if we wanted to fly out of Dulles, we could, so we picked IAD airport to fly out because they had nonstop flights to Istanbul. Going was only about 8.5 hours and at night, so it was an easy flight, and coming home was just short of ten hours. That, too, was an easy flight.

We booked an AirBnB in Sultanahmet because it was our first time. We had a quiet street a few blocks over from the Blue Mosque, and we were facing the water so we could have a cute view when we woke up in the morning. It was nice being near the tram and historical district, but we agreed next time we would stay somewhere else.

The harassment around here was a bit intense, and we were forcibly scammed (e.g. a guy ripped out Istanbul card out of our hands as we were buying it and topping it off, then charged 800 lira to my sister’s credit card and made it look like it was on our transportation card. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and got really aggressive) at several points. When I was walking alone in front of my family, too, I was getting catcalled by shop owners (although I would point out I felt really safe in Turkey beyond these moments as a young woman).

So next time we would pick somewhere else to stay, but we didn’t regret it! With that said, let’s get into the main part of this blog post, as I sense this is going to be a long one.

Day 1: Washington D.C. to Istanbul, Türkiye

Our first day began back home in Maryland, where we prepared for our evening flight. From Dulles/IAD you can pick several options for Turkish Airlines flights, and we went with the 9:40 PM flight because it seemed easier logistically with our AirBnB check-in and just getting into Istanbul proper in general.

So we left home around 4 PM and ended up at Dulles at 6 PM. We made our way to the Turkish Airlines desk, dropped off our baggage, then we went through security. Every time I go through Dulles in the international terminal, the security line is always empty. It took us less than five minutes to clear the line, then we grabbed food at our gate.

Our flight only ended up delayed by twenty minutes, then I got comfortable with my window seat. Overall, I really liked the service Turkish Airlines gave, even though I thought their food was incredibly mediocre. It was better than what United served me on a flight to Korea at the vegetarian special order option, but it was still something I would not willingly eat on my own unless I had no choice.

When we arrived in Istanbul we deplaned, ran to the bathroom, and then got into the hour long passport check line. We didn’t need visas with our US passports, so it was a smooth process through there, then we picked up our bags and found our taxi arranged by the AirBnB.

I was fascinated by the landscapes of Turkey as we drove through the north part of the city further south, then, before we knew it, we were in Sultanahmet and our AirBnB. We rested for a bit, then decided to walk to dinner around 6 PM. That’s when we saw the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque for the first time, and I’ll never forget how in awe we were of them.

I had made a dinner reservation at Ararat Terrace Restaurant & Rooftop, which I anticipated as being our most expensive meal (it was). We paid around $120 USD for the four of us, but I think it was worth having the experience of an aesthetic rooftop terrace restaurant during our first night. And, to be honest, they had my favorite shish kabob I ate out of the entire trip, which is ironic to me.

After that, we walked back and passed out for the night, as we had such a long travel day at this point.

Day 2: Blue Mosque, Errands, and Topkapi Palace

First thing in the morning on day two we woke up and headed to Show Supermarket. This was our grocery store of choice when we were in the area, as we’d pick up fresh ekmek (bread), eggs, peynir, fruit, and juices for our breakfasts. We didn’t want to eat out every single meal, hence why we got an AirBnB to begin with, so having this market within five minutes was very ideal. It was also where I bought the bulk of my souvenirs if we’re going to be honest.

We made a nice Turkish style breakfast with sunnyside eggs, tomatoes, sliced nectarines, cucumbers, peynir, ekmek, and peach juice I found at the market. We decided to make this day a lot more chill than initially planned because of how we were going to be tired, so we headed to the Blue Mosque first.

All of the women in our family brought hijabs with us, so we headed right in through the visitor’s entrance and were in awe as soon as we stepped into the main room. I had been to mosques in Malaysia before, but I was unprepared for the beauty of what we were going to see throughout our time in Turkey. The Blue Mosque remains my favorite, and I could’ve spent so much time just staring at the ceiling if we weren’t kicked out for noon prayer preparation.

After the Blue Mosque we dedicated the rest of the day to Topkapi Palace. This is one of the most expensive attractions in Istanbul, but, if we’re going to be honest, you could spend all day here. Not only is the architecture of the palace grounds a work of art in itself, but there are so many museums and little corners to explore. We missed the harem even when we were there, which was a highlight, but we were tired and thought the rest of the museum aspects of the palace were good enough.

We finished up at Topkapi a little around 4:30, before it closed for the day, then we walked back through the square and rested at the apartment before heading out to dinner. I picked a local spot called Food Palace 1981 Anatolian Restaurant. I ordered the fried manti and thought it was just okay, especially compared to some other manti I had on the trip, but everyone else’s food was solid.

We ended the day there, which was fine with me as we had another long day ahead of us.

Day 3: Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, Egyptian Bazaar, Emoninu Pier

Day three of our trip we woke up and had the same breakfast as yesterday. This was the staple of our trip, as it was simple, filling, and all we needed in the morning before heading out to conquer whatever tasks we had for the day.

This day was designated as a shopping day, except we had a pit stop at the Hagia Sophia first before going out shopping. We knew we wanted to get there early because of the crowds, and because the QR code and advance tickets were literally twice the price than going up to the stand and buying it. We only waited about thirty minutes before acquiring our ticket, then we headed into the chaos of the line to get in.

The Hagia was strict about hijabs—I was wearing mine the way Iranian women do (a tiny bit of hair peeking out), and a guard yelled at me and told me to properly wear it. I was shocked because there were other women near me showing more hair, and while I was happy to fix it in such a sacred space, he didn’t tell any of the other women who were clearly not Middle Eastern to fix theirs. It felt a bit off.

Being in the Hagia Sophia was so incredible for me though as a history lover, especially since I’d been reading up on its history before I came. If you know nothing about going into your own trip to the city, I highly recommend reading about it.

Once we finished there, we headed out and walked to the Grand Bazaar. We spent about an hour perusing the main bazaar, as there were so many shops. In the end, it was great to see as a historical landmark, but we agreed we didn’t really like the bazaar that much. A lot of the items were clearly overpriced once they named one, and haggling felt like too much effort for items we weren’t passionate about.

Our next stop was the Egyptian Bazaar, which is mainly where you can buy spices. Again: it was mainly a historical site for us, although I did buy some pomegranate tea leaves for a cheaper price in this market. My main objective was to go to a store called SARIÇİÇEK NAZARLIK outside of this market. They’re a wholesale nazar/evil eye store that actually supplies most of the shops in the bazaars.

I bought a big evil eye for 300 lira that I’ve seen on Amazon for $35 back in the US, and a pack of 10 evil eye keychains for 250 lira. I highly recommend this store if you’re buying gifts, as the wholesale nature makes it really affordable compared to other shops. I didn’t find a single store as cheap as these guys, and they were really nice.

After we wrapped up our shopping, we hung around the pier to people watch. My family didn’t feel like walking to a restaurant I picked out, which turned out to be a massive mistake as we all hated the food we ended up getting. It worked out because we walked to Hafiz Mustafa near our apartment. The desserts there are incredibly worth the money—the baklava with ice cream blew our minds. I’m going to be dreaming of that dessert.

And that’s how day three ended!

Day 4: Karaköy, Galata Tower, Taksim Square

Our next day started bright and early, as per usual, and we boarded the tram right after we finished eating and headed off to the neighborhood Karaköy. Our objective for the morning was that we were going to check out

Once we headed up a hill and towards the tower, it was time for us to explore. We decided later in the trip this was our favorite area to shop around in, as there were a bunch of boutiques. I bought some records from Mr. Frog’s Record Store, although I felt it was a bit expensive for the price (34 euros a record).

Our favorite stop around here was the Istanbul Cat Museum, which was an initiative began by the clothing brand Aponia. I wanted to go to their store but it was closed on this day, but the Istanbul Cat Museum had some of their shirts for sale. Unfortunately, I did not care for any of those designs, so I didn’t pick them up. My mother did buy one of the cat museum shirts—I was impressed by the quality of the Turkish cotton.

We spent about two hours roaming the streets of Karaköy and around Galata, then we headed down to the seaside for some baklava at Güllüoğlu. I had heard this was a local favorite, but we decided we liked Hafiz Mustafa better despite this being a much more affordable price point.

Day four was a special day for us as well, as it was when we were meeting our aunt and uncle from Iran for the first time. They flew in just so they could meet us, and we went to Istikal and Taksim Square to meet them at their hotel. Before that moment, we had never actually seen our relatives before.

We chatted for a bit in their hotel room, then headed out to dinner. I had picked out Reyhun Iranian Restaurant for us to eat at before knowing they were coming, but I didn’t expect them to get off of a flight from Iran and expect to eat Iranian food. This restaurant was quite nice though, albeit a tad expensive for Turkish standards.

I will admit all of the Iranians in our group agreed it was very good quality. I enjoyed my barg kabob a lot, even though not including rice with the price of the kabob felt like highway robbery. Sofreh in New York City did the same thing with a chicken dish I ordered and I remember being scandalized then too.

We parted ways after this, as we were headed in opposite directions, and I passed out as soon as we got home.

Day 5: Venezia Mega Outlet

Day five got off to an extremely unfortunate start. Two weeks prior to this, our beloved cat died at six years old. I woke up on this morning to a call and message from my sister’s boyfriend, who was catsitting our remaining baby girl, who was the other cat’s sister, and I knew she had died when he gave his condolences. My poor sister started wailing when she got the news, and there was no way she would be capable of getting out of bed.

My mother decided to stay with her, and my father and I ended up going out and getting a taxi to meet my uncle and aunt in Taksim Square. From there, they decided they wanted to go to the Venezia Mega Outlet an hour away, which felt like a wild trip ride to me.

I had been to the actual Venice back in May, and I’m from the United States, so I was shocked to see how much the US brands cost in Turkey in a place like this! Some of the shirts and shoes were almost up to twice the price of what I would pay home back in the United States, and my aunt and uncle were so excited because in Iran they don’t have access to brands like these at all.

We spent all day at this mall. I was interested in the Turkish brands, but wasn’t in the mood to shop because of our dead cat, so I mainly just watched my aunt and uncle buy clothes with my father.

I think this is an interesting place to go, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to shop here unless you’re like my aunt and uncle and live in a heavily sanctioned country where they can’t access any of these stores. A lot of Iranians were going wild in this mall in general—which was interesting to witness even.

Day 6: Dolmabahçe Palace, Büyükada

On this day we actually did what was originally planned for the previous day: Dolmabahçe Palace. We met our relatives out front after buying the tickets at the ticket office, then spent about three hours wandering the grounds of the palace. I preferred Topkapi Palace, as that’s older and more my style, but this palace was the later Ottoman grounds and had a more European influence.

You can’t take pictures inside, but the great halls were definitely inspired by European architecture at the time. You can’t deny that if you know architectural and art history around this period. I liked looking at them a lot, but it wasn’t entirely my favorite of the two. My mom and sister preferred this palace though!

You can also wander the grounds and gardens, which are beautiful look at with the strait in front of the palace. I could literally sit here all day and just read, but alas we had to keep going and I was with people who don’t like to stand in one place for too long without something to do.

After the palace we decided we were going to Büyükada, which was peak unhinged because no one had a plan and it ended up getting dumped on my sister and I, who had no idea how to get there. The ferry was an hour and a half there, and two hours coming back, which made it so we only had about two hours on the island.

This was one of my favorite stops on the entire trip, and I regret the fact we weren’t able to spend more time on the island. I thought it was so pretty with its florals everywhere, people biking, and the little boutique shops that were scattered throughout the pastel buildings. I think if I were rich, I could live in a place like this.

The ferry back was at sunset. These were our first ferry rides of the trip, and certainly not our last, but it was really compelling to see how the ferry system is a legitimate mode of transportation throughout Istanbul. It’s very efficient for a city broken up by waterways.

Day 7: Kadiköy and the Asian side of Istanbul

The objective for day seven: go to the Asian side of Istanbul. When looking at our original plan we realized that there was no way we were going to be able to get everyone from Kadiköy to Uskudar, so we scrapped the plan for the northern side of the island and decided to focus just on wandering this area for a while.

We met our aunt and uncle at Eminonu to catch the ferry to the Asian side, which only takes about twenty minutes on a good day. Then we started walking around, and I discovered that the Asian side, especially Kadiköy, is where you’re going to want to go shopping if you want clothes and more basic items.

I ended up buying a set in an LC Waikiki there, as I thought the Turkish women I kept seeing in them were so cute. I was inspired by their fashion a lot. I personally did not buy more than that as we wandered the streets because I don’t like to collect objets in my life, especially if they don’t having meaning. I become more of a minimalist each day.

There are a lot of cute cafes and places to eat in addition to the shopping too. We spent some time inside of a cafe and just chatted before heading out onto the street again.

We were on the Asian side from 12 PM to 6 PM just shopping and vibing, which worked really well with our schedule. Once we got back to Eminonu on the ferry, we went to the Eminonu branch of Hafiz Mustafa and ordered a lot of desserts to enjoy each other’s company one last night.

I wanted to go back to the Asian side one more time during this trip, but then it didn’t end up happening. If I come back to Istanbul, I think I want to stay on this side and just ferry to the other parts of the city whenever possible.

Day 8: Cevahir Mall, Galataport, Gulhane Park

Day eight of our Istanbul trip our relatives decided they wanted to go to Cehavir Mall, which is about an eight minute drive from Taksim Square. We grabbed a taxi from our area, which was about a twenty minute ride, then we ended up meeting them inside a Gap store in the mall.

This mall is a mix of American, European, and Turkish brands. Our relatives were going to the airport right after this, and we hung out with them as they shopped for about two hours before finally saying goodbye. I don’t know when I am going to see them again, but I am glad to have met them despite being mildly depressed about our cat passing at this point.

My sister and I were kind of burned out from leading everyone around for four days, and figuring out to how to navigate for two sets of families, so we scrapped any plans we had and went to Cihangir Mantıcısı from Taksim Square. My sister’s friend recommended this spot for manti, and the vegetarian manti was so good. A little old woman was sitting in the front and folding them by hand—that’s how you know this spot was legit.

After that we walked around the Galataport promenade, sitting on a stone bench and enjoying the views of Istanbul. This is a more upscale area and where the cruise ships dock, so you can spot more luxury stores and restaurants along this strip. I had us cut through a fancy mall in order to get to the walking path on the water and their bathrooms were really nice.

We ended this day with going to Gulhane Park near our apartment. It reminded me of Central Park in the way that if you wanted to escape from the chaos of a city, it felt like you weren’t in the center of Istanbul. You were just surrounded by green space, flowers, birds, and cats.

We sat there for a little while then headed back to the apartment. This was another early night in, as the next morning we had to be up for a Bosphorus Cruise.

Day 9: Bosphorus Cruise, Anadolu Kavagi

This was our second to last day in Istanbul, and we decided we were going to do the long six-hour Bosphorus Cruise. It was about sixty USD for four people to do this on the public transport system, which has no intercom telling you information. You just sit back, enjoy the views, and wait until you get to the last stop.

That last stop happens to be Anadolu Kavagi, which is a small fishing village near the Black Sea. There’s a castle you can hike up to, but because my parents are older and my sister wasn’t feeling well, we ended up just hanging around the town. We got lunch at a well rated place by the pier. I ordered the shish kabob, which was mid, but my sister really enjoyed the fresh balik ekmek.

No one around here really knew English, so I busted out my one semester of Turkish skills with the help of a little Google Translate. The people here were really friendly, but we got the sense they really relied on tourist money, domestic and international, because of how hard they pushed for people to come to their businesses. It was through speaking to people I learned there were no doctors or pharmacies, so the opportunities and access to basic necessities were limited.

Besides the castle though and eating, there’s not much to do in this little town. It was cute to see, but we were admitting we wished we could see more of the Prince Islands instead. The cruise itself was very nice and had a lot of sites you could spot along the water and the coast, but I think if you’re not bent on going farther up the shorter one works just as fine (or the public ferry).

We got back around 5 PM, then headed to the apartment to rest. Our goal for the evening was shopping, and we wandered around the Cemberlitas area to do so. There were more locals around this section of Istanbul, although you had to go a bit further down the road in order to find those pockets that felt less touristy.

On this night we stopped at a pizza and pasta spot at the end of our street, and that meal was fantastic. We were kind of sick of Turkish food at this point. I enjoyed Turkish food, but as someone used to eating lots of different cuisines, eating

We headed back into the apartment after this point and passed out before out last day.

Days 10+ 11: Istanbul Archeology Museum, last minute shopping

This was our last day in Istanbul (besides the day flying out—but I’m calling that a travel day), so I planned for us to get a traditional Turkish breakfast. We went to a breakfast spot on a terrace called Mesopotamia, and we could get excellent views of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi, and the Asian side from up there. It was run by a nice man and a younger boy, and we enjoyed their food a lot.

I would get Turkish breakfast again, even though I was stuffed by the time I finished eating. We couldn’t eat everything put in front of us too! Once we wrapped up there, we decided to walk to Gulhane Park and the Istanbul Archeology Museum.

I picked this over the Islamic Arts museum because I saw people on Reddit recommending it, but I think I would have preferred the arts museum. They have a lot of Greek/Byzantine/Turkish archeological finds scattered throughout the museum, which was pretty cool to see the shared history, but I don’t know if my family was as into it was I was. I also just prefer seeing different forms of material culture.

We did spend about two hours in there, which implies to me we did get our money’s worth. Our goal afterwards was to go shopping, so we went to a bazaar we spotted the first night, Arasta Bazaar, and it turned out to be a good stop. I bought some art, my mother a table runner, and my sister some evil eyes.

After Arasta we then went to Hafiz Mustafa one last time to pick up baklava and Turkish delights for family and friends, then headed back to the apartment. It’s ironic because our last night in Istanbul we just really wanted Asian food, so I found Jing Yan on Google. I knew it was legit because it was a little Chinese grandma in the back with her wok, and the other clientele were all Chinese tourists.

And man that food was good. It was truly what I needed after a week of kabobs and manti. I love Turkish food. I really do! But I just can’t eat it every single day. Same with Iranian food.

We walked through the square one last time, looking up at the lit up Blue Mosque, then went home to show and prep our suitcases for leaving.

The next day we woke up, packed up our stuff early to prepare for our flight, and then got the surprise of our life. Someone had knocked at our door and said something in Turkish, but we thought nothing of it. We had no idea they were actually telling us to evacuate because of the lack of urgency and understanding—the basement of the apartment building had caught on fire.

Our AirBnb had no fire escape and apparently everyone evacuated but us. I only figured it out when I started smelling the smoke and my sister went to investigate. We were thankfully safe, but that could have been an incredibly dangerous situation if it were a serious fire. It was our sign that it was time to leave, so we hauled our luggage downstairs and waited for our taxi.

And it was a good thing that we left a bit early—it took over an hour for passport checks, dropping luggage off, and the security measures at the airport. We had enough time to eat and get ourselves situated at our gate before boarding started.

That was the end of our Istanbul trip! We had a great time despite all of the emotional setbacks, and I think I will go back again in the future. There’s too much I want to do in Turkey in general, so I know I’ll be back.

Follow me below on Instagram, Goodreads, and Letterboxd for more.