Resume: If you'll say that Istanbul is huge sity - you'll say nothing! Becouse Istanbul is HUGE SITY.
It's situated on my lovely hills and from one side to another is look very colorific.
The tight streets is going witn inclination and a lot of washing are drying above it. City is look like town from tales about Nasreddin: gauze and mosque, mosque, tight houses and mosque again...
Peoples: Turkish people are founded very benevolent and helpful. They help you with find the way with plasure or (if they dont't know the way theirself) call to friend who know place what you need.
Lie: We found only 2 attemps of deceive us (I afraided that it'll be bigger). First, ice-cream man said that 1.25X3=5.
Second, in Egiptian Bazar the tae-sailer said that 3+5=9 (becouse he known number "eightnine";)
Food: Ooooooh! You may and must eat in Istanbul not in big restorants but on the streets and in a little cafes, where you may taste a mostly tasty bread what we ever eaten unrestrictedly. The bread are always new and crisp.
Of cource you need to taste a miracle brynza, taste green olive...
We wanted to cook at home of our host, but after trip to food-shop we changed our opinion: food products are very expensive. So it was cheaper to eat in cafes then in home.
I thought that guide-books are lies when it said: always and any plases turkish peoples drinks tea. But not! Really, sailers in shops, cookers in cafess, peoples who sail by ferry on Bosphorus, peoples in hamames, simple peoples in the streets - they all drinks tea!
I tasted apple-tea in day of arriving and... after it I couldn't drink kivi-, peach-, black or green tea - only apple:)
If you coming in cafe in first time usually tha cup of tea is free. If you don't see the tea in menu - usually it's free:) And you need to drink some tea on ferry if you sailing to Asian side of Istanbul or to Princess islands - it's very "turkish sence":)
Smell of fried sweet chestnut suceeded us all our trip.
Of cource your trip never been full if you didn't taste the baklava! Sweet as honey, and there are so many kinds...
About Hamam (turkish sauna): Hm... I can say thet I feel freeze in it:( Our russian "banya" or finish sauna is wormer.
After bathing I known that man's part was more interesting then woman's: they have a little room for changing dress (we had a safes), douche (but may be I didn't find in our part?), 2 rooms (we had only one), they could drink tea (we couldn't) and their masseuses were diligenter than ours:(
About place and prises: we were in old hamam Chemberlitazh in a city-center. This is a price: if you wash yourself and mass yourself - is about 8-9 euro; washing and massage with foam (15 min.) - 21-22 euro; and as in p.2 + massage with oil - 22-34 euro.
Transport: Transport is expensive: one run - 1 euro, and the way of metro/bus/ferry/funicular is very strang - you couldn't get place you need without change one or two kind of transport. So, 2 euro one way, 4 euro two way - easy mathematic.
Bad: It's hard to find an exchange of curency in a city-center. Strange, but it is. And orderly bin are rare on the streets, but this are they 2 kind: weeeeeery small and look like ash tray with M-letter; and veeeeery big white and blue look like... I Don't know how it's look like but it's size about 1,5X1,5 meters!!!
Good(it's part of my humour:): Free toilet rooms are near every mosque;)
Nargile (Kalian): Only smoke, play in backgammon, drink tea or smth, watch TV and tolk. Not eat.
Turkish peoples are play in backgammon very emotionally: we only smoked and sow:)
One kalian cost about 10$. And a lot of Nargile-cafes are situated in one street near the Taksim, so you'll find it easily.
What to see? You could read about it in all guide-books;)
Good luck!
