Istanbul - Turkey with Your Family: From Bustling Bazaars to Historic Sites - page 58

when visiting the main sights of
the city.

to spend just a few days in the
city before heading to another
destination in Turkey, you can
identify which area to make a
beeline for to see the key sights
in the shortest time. From
Istanbul it is relatively straight-
forward to travel to other parts of
Turkey by air from Sabiha
Gokcen airport or for shorter
journeys by bus from Taksim
Square.

Atatürk Havalimani
International Airport
Arrivals Hall, b [phone]
Beyazit
Hurriyet Meydani, Beyazit
Square, b [phone]
Elmadag
Cumhuriyet Cassesi, b + 90 212
511 58 88

Getting Around
To see the main sights of the city
it's a good idea to hop on a
sightseeing bus. Painted bright
red with colourful cartoon-style
images of identifiable buildings,
the City Sightseeing Istanbul
(see p. 76) buses are by far the
most popular. The commentary
is available in English. They are
fun for the children, but actually
rather entertaining for mums
and dads too.
For everyday travels there are
two bus networks run by IETT
and Halk Otobus . Bus stops have
timetables and destination infor-
mation. Tourist information
offices (see p. 57) have some
good leaflets on the bus routes
with current times and fares.
Istanbul also has an underground
metro system, Tunel , and a tram
network that largely serves the
museums and main attractions
radiating from Taksim Square.
Prices for buses, metro and trams
are inexpensive, starting from
around 2 YTL per journey.
Ta x i s operate in large numbers
around the city. They can be
hailed on the street, called from

Karakoy
International Maritime
Passenger Terminal, b + 90 212
249 57 76

Sultanahmet
Divan Yolu Caddesi (near the
Hippodrome), b [phone]
Useful websites for tourists:

www.gototurkey.co.uk

www.tourismturkey.org

www.istanbulcityguide.com

http://english.istanbul.com

Orientation
Istanbul is roughly divided into
districts such as the Bazaar
Quarter, the Asiatic Quarter and
the Sultanahmet, which makes it
easier to get to grips with the lay-
out of the city and to plan a day
of chosen activities. For example,
if you plan to spend the day visit-
ing the great mosques and build-
ings of the city, then head for the
Sultanahmet where most of them
are located conveniently within a
short walk of each other. The
bonus is that if you are planning

58