Surprise: the cats of Istanbul. Cats are everywhere (except, evidently, indoors as pets), even in the restaurants. Turks and tourists alike seemed to like them and be caring for them. We even saw a tram driver stop to let a young cat cross the tracks. They seem quite the hardy souls!

Surprise: how many, many ways you could die in Istanbul! Drive a car. Cross the street when a car is barreling down a narrow street about 50mph. Step out in front of a car. Get hit by the tram. Ride in a taxi with no seat belt. Trip and fall on the cobblestones. Fall down the steep (often dark) narrow spiral staircase in your hotel. Have a heart attack from climbing too many stairs. Breathe too much second-hand smoke!

Surprise: that there are not hundreds of traffic accidents and pedestrian deaths per day. We saw at least that many near misses! Turks have good reflexes (and brakes)!

Surprise: how much watermelon is consumed on a daily basis. And tomatoes and cucumbers.

Surprise: workers rebuilding a cobblestone street by hand!

Surprise: the mixture of old and new. An old abandoned mansion next to a restored or new building. A crumbling roof next to the terrace of a nice hotel. The past and the present mingling as they probably have for thousands of years. How very old “old” is! The mixing of old and new with women’s dress as well. Women dressed conservatively in a buttoned up coat and head scarf alongside a woman in a short dress with spaghetti straps. The gorgeous ball gowns in the store windows we saw from the bus.

Reflection: Istanbul is an amazing and magical city. Layers and layers of history, and we only scratched the surface. Always we found the Turkish people to be friendly and helpful, going out of their way to help guide us when we were clearly bewildered. We were also impressed with their work ethic. What some perceive to be pushiness by shopkeepers is their industriousness – going to the customer, inviting him/her in, working hard to earn your business. We met Nuuri – who could have any name – when looking for a hotel near the tram that we’ll return to. He not only found the hotel for us, but invited us back to his restaurant where he served us watermelon and apple tea while we chatted with him in English (he was very fluent) at no charge. We became such fast friends – and we truly did enjoy visiting with him – that he offered to sell us an antique bowl he’d had for some time, perhaps it was his grandmother’s, in the morning. Hmm, well…. But this is part of the magic of Istanbul. Dare to be friendly, and unique opportunities will come your way!

Written by Midgeo and published by his permission.

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You might be trying to decide whether it’s a good idea to visit Istanbul during Ramadan or not. Most probably you are asking some questions to yourself such as shall I find open restaurants during the fasting hours? Will I be able to drink some beer, wine and raki? Should I wear more conservative clothes during Ramadan?

Be assured that Istanbul is a big metropolis that is effected in a positive manner from Ramadan. The restaurants, bars, clubs run as usual, they are as crowded as other times. Dress code doesn’t require any adjustment, so feel free to wear whatever you wear in your own country. Restaurants get very busy during the fast-breaking time though (sunset time and it is called “iftar” in Turkish). If you decide to fast one of the days and join the crowd for fast-breaking, you’ll be surprised to find out that you have such a big appetite and the food can be so delicious! Even if you don’t fast, you can still join the iftar table and have a unique experience.

During Ramadan, there will be some special food available such as “gullac” (a delicious dessert) and pide (round, thinnish bread) that are not available at other times. So do not miss the opportunity to try them. Ramadan drummers are also something interesting. In the middle of the night you might see some guys walking around the streets and drumming to wake up people for their last meal before sun rises. Yes I know this might not sound so sleep-friendly but it is still interesting and makes a scene!

Simply Istanbul during Ramadan is even a more interesting Istanbul… Come and enjoy!

*This year Ramadan will start on 11th of August 2010 and finish on 8th of September 2010. 9th, 10th and 11th of September are the Ramazan Bayrami (Ramadan Fest) where quite a few places might be closed.

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Istanbul is a city not only along the sea but it is a city that lives with the sea. She’s surrounded by Marmara Sea, Black Sea and Bosphorus Strait that connects Marmara and Black Sea.

If you take a dolmus (shared taxi) to Anatolian side, after 40 minutes ride from Taksim, you could swim at the beaches that are along Suadiye, Goztepe, Caddebostan within the city borders! Also Princes Islands offer some beach options. If you would do a bit more effort then you could reach Silivri, Celaliye, Kumburgaz beaches that are around 50-60 kms away from the city center. But transportation is a bit tricky and taxi would be an expensive option.

So, now my top recommendation for Istanbul beach comes. If you’d like to have a superb beach experience with fine natural sand and clean blue water then forget about the places we mentioned above. You should head to Kilyos which is located at the European part of Black Sea. You can sail, windsurf and Kitesurf there as well. It is possible to find rental equipment for these sports. In fact, Turkish legs of the Kiteboard Professional World Tour have been done in Kilyos many times in the past. Also there are quite a few beach clubs in Kilyos if you are after good food, drinks and some music as well as sun and sand.

Kilyos is around 40 kms from Taksim. If you take the underground from Taksim to the last stop (Ataturk Oto Sanayi) and then take a taxi, you can reach there easily within 40-50 minutes time. The journey will cost you around 60 Lira one way. It’s possible to reach there by public transport and this would be much cheaper but it would mean many changes of buses or mini-buses.

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I’ve passed in front of this building so many times and seen this lovely dog so many times sitting in front of the window or strolling the neighbourhood but I’ve never understood how he made his way into his apartment! If you’d like to visit him, here is a tip to help you to find him: His building is just across the open car park that is next to ‘Dogan apartmani’, in Serdari Ekrem street in Galata.

Don’t forget to ask how he gets into the apartment and say hello from me!

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