Blondie's review part one - Istanbul

[blondie]

Well, this year, as I had a "special" birthday in March, we decided to spend a few days in Istanbul first before flying on down to Dalaman and spending the main part of our holiday in Icmeler, then the final three days in Dalyan, just for a wee change of scenery.

So here is the first instalment - Istanbul.

We flew to Istanbul from Edinburgh with Turkish Airlines and all I can say is that we were very impressed with their entire service. Everything was booked with the help of JT at ICR, and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the two return flights plus the two internal flights to Dalaman didn't cost any more than our usual flights to Dalaman with other so-called "budget" airlines. In addition, 23k baggage allowance was included, as were all meals and as many drinks as you wanted! Ample legroom too - choice of films and tv programmes to watch - and great service throughout. We will definitely do this route again!

Our hotel, the Ayasofya, was recommended by JT and proved a great choice. It's a former Ottoman house in the Sultamahmet area of the city, perfectly located for visiting any of the main "must do" sights such as the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and so on. Because it is an old building, it can probably best be described as "quaint", but was a charming place to stay, very clean with good facilities. It has a rooftop terrace where you can enjoy a drink and the views across the city, while breakfast is served downstairs - lovely buffet with everything you could possibly want.

The owners and staff are great and very informative and helpful. They recommended a lovely restaurant just round the corner where we enjoyed some great meals, as well as a good boat tour on the Bosphorus.

We had forgotten that Friday was Holy Day, so the Blue Mosque was closed for prayers until the afternoon, so we visited Topkapi Palace first and wandered around the Hippodrome before visiting it and then Hagia Sophia. They are definitely must do attractions in Istanbul.

Our boat trip on the Saturday was another great experience and allowed us to see more of the city than we would otherwise have done. We were first taken to the Eminonu area in a minibus, where our excellent guide showed us around Rustempasa Mosque - smaller, but very very beautiful, and the nearby Spice Bazaar. During the actual boat trip, we could see smoke in the distance and circling helicopters, but that was the only sign of the troubles at Taksim Square.

Istanbul is well worth a visit and I would love to go back and see more of it next time. I would never consider driving there though - if you think some of the drivers around Icmeler are crazy, they've got nothing on Istanbul! Absolutely mental!

Our few days in Istanbul were over all too soon - and we were boarding our internal flight to Dalaman to spend the main part of our holiday in Icmeler.

Part 2: Icmeler to follow...

(PS: Photos of our whole trip in the Photo Gallery section if anyone is interested)