Actually, when anyone wants to write about Istanbul, he might get confused only for one reason, because there is a lot to write about.
Istanbul is like the whole world in one city, you can find many things you want to see or desire
I will write about my favorite memories and days here, for example, my first day I came to Istanbul I stayed with a friend of mine he is an artist like me, he invited me to stay with him in his apartment in Beyoğlu which is an avenue inside the european side of Istanbul and inside it the famous Taksim square with the Istaklal Street the most crowded busy and at the same time very beautiful street ( at least for me for these reasons Busy and crowded ) .
In this street you can find a lot of good restaurant with different type of them , let me talk about this more , because i like good food , there is what its called here ( lokanta ) its the type of restaurants that serve food with home cooking style, like rice , the famous lentil soup (Mercimek çorbası) and another type of soup, meat with different
cooking style, especially Turkish food dishes.
you will never get confused about what to tell the chef of the workers there what to ask if you don’t know the language, simply because you can hold the tray the door at the beginning of the food line, and you simply tell the man this or that , you will pour it in a plate , then you continue to the second section which is the desserts section also there are a long story about it and then drinks (I will talk about drinks later ) , and you reach the cash you pay and then you get to the table and enjoy your meal .
the Turkish food, in general, is healthy food, meaning its different than the fast food style.
also, another type of restaurant here, the one they serve Kebab and Kofte, these are for meat eaters will be the best paradise.
There is also lahmacun, which can be described as a similar to pizza but with meat and bread, then you will add some parsley and some drop of squeezed lemon juice, and to be eaten with Ayran ( buttermilk ) is a liquid yogurt.
also, there is another type of dishes called Börek, its a dough with one of the filling like cheese, meat, spinach, potatoes, even plain one available , its usually eaten for the day period like breakfast or lunch , with most famous Turkish drink the holy tea ( called in Turkish a tshay with a light T at the beginning of shay)
Great History …
another part of this amazing lively city is the great history, you can smell the old heritage of ottoman empire history in the street, especially when you visit Sultanahmet cami ( Sultanahmet mosque or The Blue Mosque), and Eminönü, Grand Bazaar where you can find souvenirs, but take in consideration that the sellers know the clients came are not aware of the prices , so you might make a bargain if you want to buy it with good price.
Two continents One city
The city of Istanbul is divided by the Bosporus you can move between the two side by the ferry boat or by the Marmaray ( under sea metro ) or the bus , i have to mention the Asian side is close to European side , even you can see europe by your eyes when you are setting in any of the cafes on the asian side of USKUDAR the avenue that considered the most old of the anatolian side of istanbul .
Don’t worry about transportatıon
as soon as you get inside Istanbul all you have to do is to buy Istanbul card, and you load it with some money, and then you can use most of the public transportation in Istanbul, including the ferry boat, metro, tram, and buses.