Istanbul?

dominic

Beast of Burden
go to nublu

it's next door to the british consulate in pera istanbul

tell them i sent you

Nublu East
Muallim Naci Cad. No:103, Ortaköy
(212-265 69 12)

OR RATHER, the above might be the old location. i'll update this thread after i've investigated. in meantime, here's another location =

Ghetto

İlhan Erşahin tarafından Taksim, Beyoğlu'nda açılan Ghetto, çekim merkezinin yine canlı müzik olduğu ancak konser mantığından bağımsız bir program sunacak. Nublu'nun deneyimi, vizyonu ve uluslararası sanatçı ağıyla Ghetto, İstanbul'un ilk gerçek müzik lounge'ı olacak.Dünya çapındaki müzisyen ve dj'lere ev sahipliği yapacak mekanda kaliteli müzik, yüksek sahnelerle ve disiplinli konser saatleriyle izleyiciden soyutlamayacak.

Ghetto 500m2 zemin ve asma katları ile 800 kişi kapasiteli bir mekan. Ayrıca 3. katında 250m2'lik özel bir etkinlik odası var.

Tel: (0212) 251 75 01
Adres: A. Kalyoncuk Kulluk Caddesi #10 Taksim İstanbul
 
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dominic

Beast of Burden
in fact, give me a few days and i'll have a list of places for you to go

i know all kinds of turkish people, and intend to go there myself, hopefully in the summer, so no time better than the present to get a list of spots to visit . . . .
 

wonk_vitesse

radio eros
excellent city , make sure you do the Basilica Cistern (nr Hagia Sofia), very strange underground water tank. A ferry up the bosphorous to the black sea is good too. To be honest just sitting on the Galata bridge at sunset with a beer allows you to take it all in.
 

benjybars

village elder.
in fact, give me a few days and i'll have a list of places for you to go

i know all kinds of turkish people, and intend to go there myself, hopefully in the summer, so no time better than the present to get a list of spots to visit . . . .

safe dominic.. a list would be great:D
 

benjybars

village elder.
excellent city , make sure you do the Basilica Cistern (nr Hagia Sofia), very strange underground water tank. A ferry up the bosphorous to the black sea is good too. To be honest just sitting on the Galata bridge at sunset with a beer allows you to take it all in.

i did the ferry trip up to the black sea... fucking hell!! the best view i've EVER seen! unbelievable...:)
 

run_time

Well-known member
off in October to Istanbul so further recommendations gratefully received

these are recommendations from a friend although def not on a musical tip

1) Explore some of the back streets just off Istiklal Caddesi after 9pm, but
lots of nice funky little bars and restaurants. Cheap and GOOD Turkish food.
Try to avoid the restaurants on the more commercial Istiklal Caddesi itself.

2) Istiklal Caddesi is fascinating if you like 'behind' the shops so to
speak. It was the part of Istanbul where visitors from all over the world
used to stay and there is a "church" for almost every faith on the same
street. I think it is very interesting, but then being completely atheist,
religion is one of those things I'd like to understand…

3) Modern Istanbul, as the name may suggest, is the museam of modern art. I
think its open late on Thursday night. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get
down in time (I got my late nights mixed up) to tell you much about it but I
did smoke some Hookah (locally called Shisha) in the bars outside – really
very local (I mean NO tourists)

4) Palace Cistern or Yerebatan Saray IS a tourist attraction but one worth
seeing. Its one of those things that they don't seem to have an explaination
for and I find it very interesting. I travelled around mainland Turkey with
my Japenesse friend Maya in 1998, we visited the underground cities of
Kapadokia, Yerebatab Saray reminded me of them. It is a must!

5) Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque – I didn't actually go in these, by this
stage I was a bit "mosqued out" but I did sit in the gardens between Hagia
Sophia and the Blue Mosque at dusk eating sardine sandwiches and listening
to the call to prayer - very atmospheric.

6) the Whirling Dervishes at Galata Mevlevihanesi (end of the Istiklal St.)
I think they perform on Sundays. You need to go along and book a ticket to
see them.

7)I was there for a week so I managed to go to The Chora church mosaics.
Whats nice about going to somewhere like The Chora is it is set in a
peaceful surburban feeling little place. You need to go by taxi, its about
20 mins ride from Sultanahmet. By the way Istambul is very hilly!

8) I suppose I lived the expat life and got a yaght up the Bosphorus river,
but if I were you I'd use the boat ferries as these give fantastic views of
the city.

9) The Pera Palace Hotel Bar for cocktails for a slice of 1920's Istanbul
(this is where Agatha Christie stayed). Try to steal the bar menu card as
it lists all the famous people who stayed or drank there! The
lift is fun to go up in too. Gus, there is another hotel which is part of a
posh Russian chain that you must walk past… remind me I said this, it will
come to me when I am not so tired

10) the Saturday morning market in Ortakoy (take a Bosphorus ferry); nice
coffee shops and restaurants there too; cheap silver/jewellery market and
knick-knacks.

11) nice little back street restaurants in Arnavutkoy (further up the
Bosphorous so go by ferry, but don't carry on further up the Bosphorous as
the little towns there become a tourist trap

12) The Grand Bazaar is fab!!!! but then i am a girl. its great to get
lost, drink mint tea (well I would but you don't like tea) and smoke a
hookah (or maybe not for you!), Still, the place is amazing

13) The original home of Turkish Delight - a little cute shop sort of near
(not in) the Spice Bazaar called Haci Bekir is worth visiting, I'm sure I
would point it out to you if you get a map. Nicely wrapped boxes of it too.
Sold by the weight. Bring me some back I love Turkish Delight. Either way
take a strole through the Spice Bazaar

Places to eat/drink:
1) Try the top floor outdoor café of the Goethe Institute for amazing views
across the Bosphorus and the mosque skyline. Down a little hill off of the
main Istiklal street. The stairwell is great, i alsmost got virtigo!!!

2) Another really fab view is a restaurant called 360. The food is a bit of
a Euro/Turk fusion and probably overpriced so I'd just pop up there for a
drink – very trendy! (well typical time out readers - if you know what i
mean?)

3) Ortakoy (you'll need a boat trip - so that's good!) has lots of eateries,
and Banyan Ortakoy is a good choice. Lots of restaurants that have
char-grilled seabass (for fish lovers like me) and fresh mezes round there.
It is a nice way to spend your evening

4) Go to one of the rice-pudding shops and try one - lots of weird
flavourings. It's called 'Sutlac'.

5) There is a lovely little lunch spot café in one of the side streets off
Istiklal called something like 'Limon Bahlu or Bahce'. It has a lovely
garden setting, very nice on a Sunday, and has wildlife hopping around and
tortoises wander about and all sorts – its so charming. You could consult
Time Out for the address.
 

run_time

Well-known member
places to hang out...

off tomorrow to Istanbul so any further suggestions gratefully received. particularly interested in interesting haunts were locals of a similar type to dissensians can be found
 

adruu

This Is It
after buenos aires, i think istanbul is the city i want to go to the most...everything posted here sounds amazing.
 
the fish kebabs by the riverside are fantastic. especially mostafa's and tolgahan's - very nice guys. i spent a night watching them trade as part of a project - the fish they sell is mackerel from norway.

for shisha galata bridge is nice but not very traditional, theres plenty of dingy little backrooms with people smoking - the best one i found was a hall adjacent to a mosque with aout 3-400 old men sat down smoking playing backgammon and rummykub watching turkish soaps on the biggest screen i think ive ever seen indoors - i think its open literally all night - it was in some back street by the river's side across galata from the hagia sofia bit and then south i think. im sure there are plenty more amazing places

i would also recommend going for a mega walk - we were staying near the blue mosque and the walk we did (architecture students) was north for fucking ages following the river, checking out the bridges, old an new, the castle walls - the slums, up to the cemetary on the hillside, up to the cafe of that famous writer who used to sit there overlooking istanbul, then across eastwards, checking out some of the shanty's, the mosques - theres over 2000 of them, coming down passed the ex-industrial area across the golden horn, near the massive museum of transport or whatever, the shipbuilding/dockside, ending up at the fish market across galata, and then back home. well over 12 hours amble but well worth it for a feel of the place.

unless you have money to burn i dont think the food in istanbul is particularly great - the kebabs on the street are worse than london's generally, though obviously a lot cheaper - its a real contrast to the south of turkey - the holiday resorts, where the food is just continuously fantastic.

istanbul is one of the most interesting and varied places ive ever been to - something very magical about that place, sunset across the bosphorus/golden horn with the minarets peppering the skyline is incredible

stay there for a while.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Some brilliant suggestions there....anyone got any more tips for cool hangouts/offbeat attractions? I'm going to be heading there in December...:D
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Can anyone recommend any places to stay in Istanbul? Thinking of hostel-type places - there are some great ones I've stayed at in Berlin in the past, and something similar would be perfect (clean, spacious, open 24 hours, no frills and no fuss).
 

run_time

Well-known member
Istanbul

there's a lot of beautiful sights in Istanbul and i ended up spending a lot of time doing the usual sights (mosques, markets etc).

stuff that i'd recommend include the following

New Mosque (beautiful interior and feels like more of a real working mosque than some of the others i visited)
lentil soup with lemon juice.
Lale Plak - helpful staff and large collection of local music. wish i went in with a better idea of what i wanted
Fish on the waterfront

found the Turks a v friendly people-was kind of expecting this v sombre lot but got lots of smile and cheer

feel in love with the city after watching Uzak and would recommend watching it if you don't mind a less than fast paced plot line
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Great tips here...I'm going Istanbulwards tomorrow, and am going to try to get tickets for Fenerbahce-Galatasaray. Should be one hell of an atmosphere at the very least... :D
 

benjybars

village elder.
Great tips here...I'm going Istanbulwards tomorrow, and am going to try to get tickets for Fenerbahce-Galatasaray. Should be one hell of an atmosphere at the very least... :D

yeah i went to see fenerbache play when i was there.. had to get tickets off a tout but wasn;t too difficult and don;t think i got massively ripped off. yeah, crazy atmosphere for sure.


also, definitely, DEFINITELY do the ferry trip up the bosphorous. seriously.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
yeah i went to see fenerbache play when i was there.. had to get tickets off a tout but wasn;t too difficult and don;t think i got massively ripped off. yeah, crazy atmosphere for sure.

also, definitely, DEFINITELY do the ferry trip up the bosphorous. seriously.

WHo did you see them play? I got the impression that tickets were OK except for games against Galatasaray and Besiktas. Biuzarrely found myself outside a Fenerbahce social club in Dalston yesterday - was tempted to go in, given the friendliness we experienced at a Fenerbahce pub near the stadium in Istanbul.

Didn't do the Bosphorus trip because of lack of time - will go back for that, for sure.

Check out Fatih, Balat etc in the west - that's my recommendation for anyone goiong. Beuatiful, beautiful, ex-Jewish/Greek/Armenian districts that I found quite magical. Would live there in a second.
 

craner

Beast of Burden
I am going in September and would appreciate any recommendations regarding good, reasonably priced places to stay. I am going to a wedding and I am a gentleman, so won't be staying in hostels. However, I have yet to inherit my millions, so will have to budget.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I am going in September and would appreciate any recommendations regarding good, reasonably priced places to stay. I am going to a wedding and I am a gentleman, so won't be staying in hostels. However, I have yet to inherit my millions, so will have to budget.

Ha, snap! Well, my girlfriend and I have talked about it, sounds like September would be a good time (still warm but not scorching, prices will have dropped after the kids go back to school...)

She's got a mate who lives there, which is handy for recommendations about where to go and what to see/do, but I'm also on the lookout for tips on where to stay.
 
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