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I'm thinking about going to Istanbul. If you've been there please tell me how you liked it.
I assume a lot of locals would speak at least some english? I'd be going alone so I would be at the mercy of the language barrier. Currently, I speak no Turkish.
I loved istanbul, one of the best cities i have being to, so much history, very pretty and surprisingly not that hard to get around the tourist areas.
If you have never being to the middle east, you might find the city and its culture very different to what you used to and a bit daunting sometimes. The calls to prayer, the in your face carpet sellers, bargining for everything etc, takes a bit of getting used to,
However I arrived their after 8 weeks travel through egypt Syria Jordon and Finally Turkey and found instanbul the most weternised and easiest place to get around on the whole trip.
You wont have too many worries finding an englsih speaker in the tourist ares, finding one however who will give you good advice and not try to sell you something as part of the process however could be the hard part.
Last edited by danielsa1775; 09-27-2010 at 11:34 PM..
Istanbul is the only capital city to be located between two continents - Asia and Europe with the Bosporus strait separating the two sides. Most of Istanbul is on the European side... the history of Istanbul encompasses many eras - from an early period around 700 BC to the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) and Ottoman empires (upto the early 1900s).
It is also the location for the birthplace of the Christian church (council of Nicea etc.) look it all up on Wikipedia and Wikitravel, sure you will find all the information you are looking for
Probably one of the most interesting cities on the planet.
I enjoyed Istanbul as well....the temples, the history, the architecture, the culture, incredibly exotic city.
Yes, there were many who spoke English, but there were many who did not. Just like any other country. I speak Russian and that actually helped me there, but you won't have a problem, if the shop keepers dont speak english, they know someone to grab around the corner who does. More so than Americans, Europeans travel there from our experiences.
You can spend days at the Grand Bazaar or at the mosques....take a little trip on the Bosphorus....lots of fun to be had
Nice. It's a place I've always wanted to visit. Sadly my two friends that are prone to travel won't go there. One for political reasons (he's Greek) and the other won't go because of Midnight Express...sigh.
It would be a solo trip. Not as fun but I deserve to treat myself to a nice adventure. However, I have to look more into the logisical aspects of cash and time.
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