Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
city's red-light district), the Grand Bazaar (pickpocket central), and the streets off İstiklal
Caddesi in Beyoğlu.
›
Be careful when crossing the roads - cars are loathe to slow for pedestrians.
Museum Pass İstanbul
Valid for 72 hours from your first museum entrance, the
Museum Pass İstanbul
(
www.muze.gov.tr/mu-
seum_pass
)
costs 72 and gives entrance to Topkapı Palace and Harem, Aya Sofya, the Kariye Museum (Chora
Church), the İstanbul Archaeology Museums, the Museum of Turkish & Islamic Arts and the Great Palace Mosa-
ics Museum. Purchased individually, admission fees to these sights will cost 108, so the pass represents a sav-
ing of 36. It also allows you to bypass ticket queues. The pass can be purchased from some hotels and also
from the ticket offices at Topkapı Palace, Aya Sofya, the Kariye Museum and the İstanbul Archaeology Mu-
seums.
Telephone
Mobile Phones
›
All visitors need to register for a SIM card, and registrations can take days to process. If
you're only here for a short time, it's easiest to use international roaming.
›
Turkey uses the standard GSM network operating on 900Mhz or 1800Mhz, so not all US
and Canadian phones work here. Check with your provider before leaving home.
Phone Codes
If you're in European İstanbul and wish to call a number in Asian İstanbul, first dial
0,
followed by 216. If you're in Asian İstanbul and wish to call European İstanbul, use
0 followed by
212. If you're calling a number on the same shore, there's no need to
include a prefix.
Local mobile phone numbers begin with a four-digit code starting with 05.
Country code
90
