Lunch with a friend and lots of notes

Today I had lunch with a friend of mine who went to Istanbul a couple of months ago. She is also a belly dancer, so she had some really great tips.

Here are the most important things I learned:

1) Get a driver from the hotel to pick you up at the airport. Taxi drivers suck and they will rip you off. They probably won't even know where the hotel is. Taxi rates also double at night. She said that taxi drivers don't know where places are, but they know landmarks and neighborhoods. They will drop you off in the general area.

2) It's expensive. Most people use Euro, which sucks for me because the Turkish Lira has a better exchange rate. Bring a calculator.


3) MUST GO to the Turkish bath, Cemberlitas Bath.

4) Write down the name of where you are going on a card and ask people for help. If they don't speak English, they'll recognize the name and point you in the right direction. You may have to do this several times before you find where you are going. Most importantly, carry around your hotel's card and memorize the closests/biggest landmark.

5) Go to Istiklal Caddessi for modern food, shopping and costume makers. Probably my best bet for vegetarian food.

6) Beware of pick pockets and wear a money belt. The trains and subway are crammed and people will try to scam you. On the plus side, public transportation is clean.

7) Outside of the Grand Bazaar is an area to buy beads and semi-precious stones. Must keep in mind for my jewelry. Also, if I want to buy precious metal I need to know the daily rate and make sure they weigh it.

8) The belly dance shows are good, but expensive and often with mediocre dancing and bad food. She said they all serve the same meal. She also said that the dancers all do raqs sharqi instead of Turkish-style. She suggested getting the hotel to book, so you don't get ripped off. GAR and Caravanserai seem like the best bets.

9) Go to the Aratsu Market. Not very well-known.

10) Of course, the Blue Mosque and some palace that I forgot to write the name of.

Anyway, I'm sure I will find out more from my lovely resource. She's going to send me cards of places to go, as well as help me figure out the public transportation system. She'll go over the map with me and mark the places I need to get off at. :)

I am bummed that things will be more expensive over there. I was hoping that I could use Lira which is less valuable than the dollar. That way I would get everything at about 20 percent off. But if I have to use Euro then that makes everything TWICE as expensive. I really need to brainstorm more ways to come up with money for the trip.

It looks like buying a nice costume is out of the question as they will run $550 and above. Although she also says they are worth it and much better than Egyptian costumes. I just bought a brand-new costume and I can't really justify buying another one.

It also sounds like people are very nice, yet willing to scam you or get their "commission." I must practice my bargaining and my stern look. Being from the south, that might be hard. Oh well, we'll see how it goes. I am still very excited!!!


Photos by Audra Evans. Used with permission.