Istanbul

Hi there

My girlfriend and I are lucky enough to be travelling to Istanbul this
weekend to stay a week or so. We would really appreciate any info on great
or unusal nightclubs or bars that we should visit whilst we are there, plus
traditional & cultural night bars with a relaxing atmosphere.

Any information on great local restaurants would also be appreciated.

Also, has anyone had experience of relaxing cafes where you can smoke
hookers & drink raki?

And would be fab to visit a Turkish Baths / Sauna so if anyone has some
recommendation please do tell.


Much Thanks
David & Seniz

David for Fun <davidffun@> wrote in message
news:bmkmtj$7nk$1@hercules....
> Hi there
>
> My girlfriend and I are lucky enough to be travelling to Istanbul this
> weekend to stay a week or so. We would really appreciate any info on
great
> or unusal nightclubs or bars that we should visit whilst we are there,
plus
> traditional & cultural night bars with a relaxing atmosphere.
>
> Any information on great local restaurants would also be appreciated.
>

Istanbul is one of those places that has lots of middle of the road
restaurants, all of which are good, and reasonably priced. The usual advice
seems to be to aim for the ones that are filled with locals, and avoid empty
one where someone is trying to coerce you into dining.

Taksim Square is close-ish to Sultanahmet (where you may end up staying),
and is much more of a locals area. It is relatively modern, and buzzing
24/7.

> Also, has anyone had experience of relaxing cafes where you can smoke
> hookers & drink raki?
>

Yeah, you can do this all over Istanbul. You wont see any women in them
though, and your girlfriend may feel a little intimidated by this. It is
perfectly acceptable for her to be there though.

> And would be fab to visit a Turkish Baths / Sauna so if anyone has some
> recommendation please do tell.
>

If you can find one centrally that isn't a tourist trap, please report back!
---
DFM

In article <bmkmtj$7nk$1@hercules.>, "David for Fun"
<davidffun@> writes:

>My girlfriend and I are lucky enough to be travelling to Istanbul this
>weekend to stay a week or so. We would really appreciate any info on great
>or unusal nightclubs or bars that we should visit whilst we are there, plus
>traditional & cultural night bars with a relaxing atmosphere.

Time Out do an Istanbul edition in English, I suggest you buy that as soon as
you arrive.

>Any information on great local restaurants would also be appreciated.

Istanbul is full of reasonably priced restaurants and little snack places. I
don't have any experience of expensive places but the average street cafes are
nearly always good.

>Also, has anyone had experience of relaxing cafes where you can smoke
>hookers & drink raki?

Lots of cafes have nargiles (hookahs). And I have certainly seen women in them
smoking (although another poster said that they don't). Again, I think that
probably Time Out would be worth checking out.

>And would be fab to visit a Turkish Baths / Sauna so if anyone has some
>recommendation please do tell.

There is a Turkish Bath at Çemberlitaþ (right beside the tram stop of the same
name, quite near the Blue Mosque), and another at Çalaloðlu (not sure about
this spelling!) which is often used in films. Both are nice. Some hotels have
their own Turkish baths but of course you don't get the same atmosphere in
them.

--
Louisa
Essex, England, Europe

On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 23:57:39 +0000 (UTC), "David for Fun"
<davidffun@> wrote:

>Hi there
>
>My girlfriend and I are lucky enough to be travelling to Istanbul this
>weekend to stay a week or so. We would really appreciate any info on great
>or unusal nightclubs or bars that we should visit whilst we are there, plus
>traditional & cultural night bars with a relaxing atmosphere.
>
>Any information on great local restaurants would also be appreciated.
>
>Also, has anyone had experience of relaxing cafes where you can smoke
>hookers & drink raki?
>
>And would be fab to visit a Turkish Baths / Sauna so if anyone has some
>recommendation please do tell.
>
>
>Much Thanks
>David & Seniz
>
>
>
I spent six weeks in Istanbul this year and found that just about
anywhere you go the food will be delicious. Taksim square is good, but
you may also want to try the Beyoglu area. It's a little more upscale
and trendy. Try Pano's wine bar it was pretty cool a few months ago.
You should also try Hamdi's in the Sultanhamet area. It's a really
inexpensive kebap house that over looks the golden horn. Also try
Ortakoy, there are plenty of little bistros there and if you feel like
it you can go to Angelique which is a restaurant/night club on the
Bosphorus and next door there is a place called Dada. The food at both
is expensive but the party is fun. Some other restaurant/night clubs
worth mentioning are Leila (and outdoor restaurant on the Bosphorus)
Zigni, which is across the street, and 29 (but find out how to say it
in Turkish) and cab drive can get you to these places.