Istanbul is magical place, where East meets West; it has attracted many people over the centuries. The Greeks, Romans and Venetians took turns ruling before the Ottomans stormed into town and decided to stay – physical reminders of their various tenures you can find across the city. The fact that the city straddles two continents wasn’t its only drawcard – it was the final stage on the legendary Silk Road linking Asia with Europe, and many merchants who came here liked it so much that they, too, decided to stay. In so doing, they gave the city a cultural diversity that it retains to this day.
Therefore the city’s cuisine is as diverse as its heritage, and delicious to boot. You can eat aromatic Asian dishes or Italian classics if you so choose, but mostly prefer the succulent kebaps, flavoursome mezes and freshly caught fish that are the city’s signature dishes, washing them down with the national drink, rakı (aniseed brandy), or a glass or two of locally produced wine. Oh, how amazing the sweets here are! Baklavas, delights,kaymakli kayisi, sherbets and many many more!
Some ancient cities are the sum of their monuments, but Istanbul luckily perfectly involved into contemporary life. Thus among the ancient attractions you can easily join to Turkish favourite haunts – çay bahçesis (tea gardens), kahvehans (coffeehouses), meyhanes (Turkish taverns) and kebapçıs (kebap restaurants).
I have been in Istanbul two times and both trips only for weekends. I think it is quite convenient format to meet this beautiful city. But keep in mind the walk paths would be long 
Here is list of attractions, cafe and restaurants in Istanbul for GoogleMaps.
!! Street shoeshiners have several tricks how to force the tourist to engage their services (even if you do not need it) the shoeshiner “suddenly” drops his shoe brush just close to you and keeps moving. You are trying to be polite so raising and returning the brush back. For the gratitude he is starting to polish your shoe but in the end asking the money. I saw dozens of this “sudden drops” just for 2 days, even I was wearing the sneakers! 
PS. My previous posts with GoogleMaps lists: Helsinki, Riga, Tallin.
