Where is Istanbul?

The Blue Mosque

Whilst Ankara is the governing capital of Turkey, Istanbul was and continues to be the Turkish metropolis with it’s highly recognisable sky-line of mosque minarets. Istanbul has a population of more than 13 million which stradle two continents, Europe and Asia being separated by the Bosphorous. The two continents are now connected by the Bosphorous Bridge built during 1973 but prior to that, the only way to go between the European and Asian parts of the city, was by boat.

I travelled Istanbul and other other regions of Turkey on my own and felt completely safe as a solo-female traveller. I found it a fascinating travel destination where east meets west, the Ottoman architecture and hard working, friendly people.

If you intend to spend some time in Istanbul I highly recommend you find a hotel in The Sultanahmet district being the heart of the historic Old Istanbul. There are numerous hotels suiting all budgets. A hotel near the Blue Mosque or a hotel near the Hagia Sophia, where you will have ready access to other grand historic sites such as the Cistern Basilica and Topkapi Palace just to name a few. It really is your best base for sightseeing in Istanbul.

Rick Steves’ Istanbul

Map

TravelTipsPlus Google Map of Istanbul

One Great Reason to Visit Istanbul

One great reason to visit this travel destination is to view the splendid blue mosque and other divine architectural sites from the Ottoman empire.

Istanbul, Turkey

For More Information

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 17th, 2011 at 1:00 am and is filed under Europe. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.