Just because its summer doesn’t mean you have to drench yourself in salty waters of beaches, under
the heat of the sun or make a towering sand castle, there are alternatives activities beside swimming
and places to go that you can still enjoy. These places can be reached by motorway, and since mobility is
highly essential, it is best to rent a car.

One alternative outing location is a tiny island on North Aegean Sea called Bozcaada. With its wonderful
food, wine, beaches and a bohemian atmosphere, a relaxing summer is expected. There’s something
that makes you feel peaceful and happy on this island as soon as you get off the ferry. There are many
pensions and guest houses to stay in the center which are owned by local, friendly people. The sea is
crystal clear and it’s usually cool even at the hottest time of the year.

On contrary, Gokceada is an island that is not very touristic which make a perfect getaway for people
who seek peaceful and unique place, dubbed as the greatest island (more than 40 km from one to the
other end) in the city, being on the furthest west of the country. The sea is clean and beautiful, and it’s
also a suitable place for windsurfers. If you want to see natural beaches, old villages and eat good food
as fish or the famous puding with mastic, Gokceada is the place.

Another alternative place to visit is Assos. It is a place with historic memory. With its historical value, any
tourist would be easily intrigued by the place. Assos is a tiny town on the shore in the North Aegean Sea
where Aristotle lived before. The town not only offers historic sites such as old stone houses, temples,
castl, but it also has beautiful beaches in the surrounding areas. The restaurants in the center serve
delightful fish with a wonderful seaview.

And finally, there’s Kıyıkoy. A small village on the shore of Black Sea with a beautiful beach is what this
place has to offer. It’s a wonderful spot where nature is still untouched and having the features of Black
Sea and Meditarenean climate together. You can enjoy the sea, food, nature all at once.

The Tünel is actually an initiative of the French engineer Eugene Henri Gavand. Back then, he observed
people shuttling between Galata (today Karaköy) and Pera (today Beyoğlu). In those days, people used
to work in the low Galata (the center of trade, stock exchange and customs) and live in the uphill Pera
with its hotels, embassies and dwellings. So out of this observation, the French engineer therefore
thought of an alternative way of connecting those two districts of then Constantinople, hence saving
people the difficult walk of climbing 60 meters.

He was accepted by Sultan Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire to present his elevating railway project to
connect both districts. He could convince the sultan, who granted Eugene Henri Gavand permission for
his Tünel project on 10 June 1869.

The actual construction of Tünel started on 30 June 1871, and was completed on 5 December 1874.

The tunnel consists of two trains running simultaneously on the same track, with only a short duplex
part of the track in the middle, where two trains pass side by side and continue their ways to opposite
directions. The installation was powered by two steam engines of 150 HP. The original wooden wagons
used to have both sides open and were illuminated by gas lamps as no electricity was available in those
years.

To convince the public of the railway’s safety, the initial runs were carried out with animals on board
only. Only after a magnificent inauguration ceremony with the participation of distinguished native and
foreign guests on 17 January 1875 the normal runs to serve people started.

Currently, the two steel cars, each 16 meters long and on pneumatic tires, run simultaneously in
opposite directions, carrying a total of 170 people in 90 seconds over a distance of 573 meters. At
cruising speed, the train goes approximately 25 km/h. The underground system is no longer powered by
steam machines, but with a 350 HP electrical engine.

Today, the tiny Tünel is still useful for most of Istanbul’s population. It is part of the municipal transport
network and integrated tickets are valid. At the same time tourists are attracted by this combination of
century-old history and modernity. Look for on the Map with Tourist Attractions in the Modern Part of
Istanbul.

But before you rush out to hit the streets, go over these few pedestrian safety tips. Who knows, this
might even save your life!

Car-free zones are rather scarce – the Princes’ Islands being a huge exception to the rule. In recent years efforts have been made to create semi-pedestrian zones in the city center as well. The most famous
ones are undoubtedly Sultanahmet Square and the area surrounding the Spice Bazaar in the historical
part of Istanbul; and Istiklal Caddesi, Taksim Square and Ortaköy in the modern part of Istanbul.
Nevertheless, keep in mind that the car still rules in Istanbul.

Now that we’ve known cars rule the streets of Istanbul, it is now time to familiarize the ins and outs, and the rights of pedestrian.

• Unless you’re on a pavement or pedestrian crossing, you have little to no traffic rights as a pedestrian.
• Unless a pedestrian crossing is controlled by traffic lights, it is considered street decoration and traffic won’t stop for it.
• Even if the pedestrian traffic light shows a green light, don’t cross until you’re sure traffic has come to a complete standstill.
• Don’t start crossing the road when the pedestrian light is about to turn red as drivers often jump lights.
• Always use pedestrian overpasses and underpasses on main roads – no matter what you see the locals doing.
• A one-way street is no guarantee vehicles will only come from one direction – always look for traffic coming from both sides.
• Public transportation (with the exception of metros and trams) doesn’t always halt at special designed stops and sometimes even let people get off in the middle of the street. Double-check for traffic (especially motorcycles) while getting off.
• Although Istanbul is among the safer world cities, ask local advice before exploring streets outside the usual tourist areas.
• Never walk in unfamiliar streets or backstreets after dark – Istanbul taxis come rather cheap after all

Bear these rules in mind, and you’ll be doing just fine, and don’t let this list scare you either. Walking Istanbul’s crowded streets is very pleasant – especially in spring and autumn, when the weather isn’t too
hot.

Secondly, it will also save you money. Not only do you get a 10% discount by using your akbil, the next
five transits you make within a 120 minute period you get a 50% discount.

If you’re traveling with a party of two or more, there is technically no need to get more than one akbil.
However, keep in mind that while everybody will still benefit from the basic 10% fare discount, only one
will get the 50% transit fare discount. If you want to take the full advantage of akbil, it’s better to get
one for every person.

However, with the new Istanbul Kart surfacing, the amount of Akbil Sales Points (Akbil Satış Noktası) has
unfortunately been dramatically reduced. The easiest way to obtain an electronic travel pass is to buy it
at the busy bus stop on Taksim Square. Look for the blue and white kiosk that has the İETT logo and the
text Akbil Satış Gişesi on top of it. You can’t miss really.

The Akbil system is a great way to experience Istanbul’s transportation in a more classic and old way.
In this modern age, akbil is somehow a fresh breath of air. So, if you happen to be in the city, akbil is
definitely something not to miss!

Are you the type of person who prefers sweets more than anything else? Then bargain some Turkish
delight. These sugar-dusted cubes of thickened milk or fruit syrup often made with dry nuts are also
called lokum. The treat has been known since the Ottoman times when it was eaten for digestion after
meals. Of all the Turkish sweets, this one is the easiest to carry and store (keeps up to three months)
– that’s why it has become such a hit among the tourists coming to Istanbul. Everybody seems to
be making and selling it – you will see a wealth of varieties of Turkish delight made of grape syrup
(pekmez), milk, with walnuts or pistachio added, flavored with rose water, mint, fruits or spices.

Once you are in Istanbul it will be a shame to get a pack of mix Turkish delight at a supermarket or at
the airport stores. Make some time to stroll down to a good specialty shop for the freshest lokum made
according to the recipes that have kept Istanbulites happy for decades.

If you have been lucky to have a proper breakfast at your hotel or even more luck has poured on you

and you have got a chance to breakfast at a Turkish home you will know that Turkey has something
to brag about when it comes to cheeses. Besides the white cheese (beyaz peynir) that is a staple for
breakfast and a king of starters served with melon for your dinner with rakı there is a whole bunch of
tastes, shapes, colors and textures – yellow blocks of kaşar peyniri, light-yellow fumed çerkez peyneri,
crumbly lor peyniri (curd cheese) or white fibers of tel peyniri (wire cheese). For better or worse, Turks
do not seem to care as much as French or Italians about marketing their cheeses outside the country.
That’s why if you have fallen for some of Turkish cheeses during your stay in Istanbul you need to get
some cheese shopping done.

Black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love – this way Turks affectionately refer to the coffee they
prepare. Traditional Turkish coffee is distinctive from other types in many ways: thick foam it is served
with keeps it warm so you can enjoy it more, its velvety texture stays on the palate longer bringing a
good rounding to a good meal and the grounds remaining in the cup are very handy when it comes to
fortune telling. Not everyone falls for this traditional Turkish drink but if you do and would love to ship
some home there are a few things you need to know before buying.

Turkish coffee does not refer to a particular type of beans or blend but rather has to do with a particular
roast, way of preparation and serving. Mostly Arabica coffee beans from Central America and Brazil
are used to make the blend; they get roasted and then grounded into very fine powder, much finer
than for espresso. Most popular brand of Turkish coffee is Mehmet Efendi, you can get it even in the
supermarkets yet you may get more adventurous with looking out for more small-scale Turkish coffee
vendors who do their own roasting in the shops scattered around key markets in Istanbul.

The most prudent thing to do is treat food as souvenirs items. Yes, you read it right. This time, edible
items are you going to bring back home.

There is great wisdom in bringing some Istanbul food disguised as edible souvenirs instead random
colorful beauties you will find in the tourist shops, it is because A. your gift will be authentic and locally
produced and B. your gift will be truly enjoyed and used for its purpose. So without much further ado,
here are those food items.

Spice up your homecoming with Istanbul’s spices. Spices are the backbone of the Turkish cooking:
their variety may be not as mind-blowing as in the South Asia or Middle East yet no single Turkish dish
is made without throwing in a flavorful pinch in it. Many spices you will find at the local markets of
Istanbul are grown in the country – black pepper (karabiber), red flake pepper (pul biber) among others.

Turkish saffron (safran) grown in the Northern Anatolia is not as valuable as the Moroccan one but will
suffice for daily purposes.

If you are going to do some spice shopping in Istanbul but not sure about what to buy you may want
to educate yourself little bit: as you dine during your trip to Istanbul ask what spices give the flavor to
the dishes you are eating. By the time you get down to the shopping you will have a list. Spices are best
bought from the specialty shops that sell them loose. Just be careful on buying pre-packaged stripes
featuring up to a dozen of spices, because they may look like a good present but doubtful about their
freshness.

Istanbul is a city that belongs to a nation world’s largest producer of hazelnut (or “the miracle nut”, as it
is labeled in the trade promotion of this Turkish crop) and among the world’s leaders in the production
of dried figs, apricots and raisins. So you might want to take advantage with this feat. The quantity
definitely translates into quality here. Many people can indifferently pass a shop with the sacks of dried
fruits and nuts to the cries of the salesmen encouraging sampling them. Golden raisins and sun-dried
black apricots, dried mulberry and hazelnuts, dried plums and çerez, a snack of mixed nuts served with
apéritifs. You really can get nuts while choosing between the shelled (kabuklu) or peeled, salted (tuzlu)
or plain, roasted (kavrulmuş) or fresh, grounded (toz), flaked (file) or whole.

When you buy nuts in Istanbul you need to pay attention to their smell and taste: in time the oil in nuts
gets rancid and you want to make sure that they do not smell oil that has gone off or taste bitter. You
want to be particularly careful when you buy peeled walnuts or any roasted or ground nuts as those
tend to go rancid faster. Trust your taste buds rather than a pushy salesman – you don’t need to have a
very sensitive palate to tell the rancid taste.

A social enterprise is offering individuals the opportunity to immerse themselves in Islam, without
having to convert, through a trip to Istanbul that takes in the regular sights and sounds but also includes
prayers at dawn and midnight and lessons on Islam and its basic practices.

It draws heavily on the country’s Sufi traditions with a particular emphasis on the poet and mystic Rumi.
Ben Bowler, from the Blood Foundation which runs the project, wanted to focus on Rumi because he is a
unifying figure. Turkey has a relatively open brand of Islam and Istanbul is an existing tourist destination.

The foundation has called the initiative Muslim for a Month, despite it lasting nine days, and wants to
offer a 21-day programme in the future. Most people would find it difficult to take a month off and
admitted even the nine-day programme, which offers bed, board, instruction and sightseeing for £600,
could have limited appeal.

In addition to praying and fasting, participants will forsake alcohol and pork. Smoking is, however,

permitted. They will also be expected to carry out pre-prayer ablutions, mastering the art of hoiking
their feet into a washbasin as part of the process.

The clash between Muslims and the rest of the world is one of the most contentious issues around, and
being Muslim for a Month will appeal to “open-minded” individuals who want something educational
and cultural.

Muslim hosts don’t want to make the prayers obligatory but if you’re going to do something you should
dive in. They might work up to five prayers a day – including the early morning one. In mid-May, when
the programme is due to start, the dawn prayer in Istanbul is around 3.30am.

There is no illusion that bowing down to Mecca five times a day makes you a Muslim. It’s what the
rituals and practices represent – a constant consciousness of the divine.

An inaugural programme involving participants connected to Monk for a Month attracted Catholics, an
agnostic, some Jews and a Hindu from around the world. Although nobody converted (and there is no
obligation to do so) the most important thing is the changed attitudes and a deeper understanding of
Islam.

We begin this street food journey with Citir Simit Bakery or simply simit. With only a few ingredients to
its name, the simit, a sesame-encrusted bread ring has gone on to become the most ubiquitous snack
in Istanbul, and has even made its way to New York. Despite its crisp exterior, the simit is actually a
softie, and starts to fade as soon as it leaves the oven. By the time many simits reach the streets, they
are already past their prime and heading towards a state where they make better hockey pucks or
paperweights than snacks. That’s why it’s best to get simits straight from the source. There are small
simit bakeries hidden all over town, but one of the favorites is Çitir in the Karakoy neighborhood, where
the somewhat gruff Emir Ozdemir has been manning the brick oven for 20 years.

Next up is known in the Arab world as kibbeh, icli kofte is a savory snack consisting of a bulgur wheat
shell that holds a filling of ground meat, onions, parsley and spices. These little torpedoes are handmade
by cooks who spend most of the day at a table working the stuffing into the casing before passing them

on for final preparation. Unlike many of this city’s icli kofte, which often look and taste like a fried mini
football, Sabirtasi’s are a refined delicacy. It’s as if each grain of bulgur and every bit of filling were
specifically designed to rise into a spicy, steamy, heavenly waltz across the palette as the fortunate
snacker breaks the crunchy seal of the outer crust.

And last but definitely not the least is Fish Sandwiches or Balık ekmek in local tongue. Balık ekmek
is another typical Istanbul snack, and pretty tasteful and safe when prepared fresh. It’s pretty
straightforward – a grilled or fried fresh fish inside a large piece of bread. The best way to explore this
snack is in Eminönü, left from the Galata Bridge. You’ll see them prepare the sandwiches on the nicely
lined up boats, after which they hand them to customers on the shore.

First on the list of street food in Istanbul includes only the food itself but the person who sells it as well.
The vendor is known for many as The Galata Cucumber Man or simply known as the “cucumber man of
Galata”, a chubby fellow with Coke bottle glasses who sells what may be the city’s simplest, yet most
satisfying street food: peeled and salted cukes, a fresh green rebuke to all those starchy and fried snacks
out there.

His method is simple: take a chilled cucumber, peel it, slice it twice down the middle so that it splays out
like a flower, and salt it generously. It may sound basic, but on a hot summer’s day, the cucumber man
usually has a good crowd that gathers around his cart clamoring for this refreshing bite

Another simple yet appetizing street food is Maya Kumpi, it is in Istanbul’s Bosphorus-side village of
Ortakoy. And this time the potato takes center stage as locals and tourists alike agreed this to be one
of the city’s most beloved street foods, and the most popular stand amongst the locals, too! Known in
Turkish as “kumpir”, think of this Istanbul street food icon as the baked potato on steroids – a motley

mix of flavors piled high into an inexpensive meal roughly the size of a small child’s head.

The mind-boggling myriad of available toppings under the glass-enclosed case is unbelievable. Toppings
include corn, peas, yogurt among others. The potato was perfectly cooked, soft and moist throughout,
and the variety of flavors piled on top made for an interesting combination of tastes and textures.

But for meat lovers, particularly meat in-between two buns, there’s Kizilkayalar’s Wet Burger. The sign
may read “Wet Burger” (“Islak Burger” in Turkish), but there’s a lot more to say about Kizilkayalar’s
moist mini patties than that.

The Kizilkayalar experience starts from a distance, most vividly late at night. It begins with a whiff of
garlic detected well across Taksim Square, then, through the bustling crowd, eyes lock onto the bright
lights of the steam box holding the burger bounty. Hungry customers are finally tugged in, like a tanker
on the Bosphorus, by the steady foghorn voice of the Kizilkayalar hamburger man bellowing “buyurun,
buyurun, buyurun!” (roughly: “come and get it!”). Make no mistake, the burger is wet, having been
doused by an oily, tomato-based sauce before incubating in a glass-lined burger hamam.

Customarily, tips are very modest in the city. It is only a few percent of the price paid (5 – 10%). Turkish
tourism industry workers are used to getting big tips from Americans that they can’t help but wonder
why there are others that give them less.

Generally, Turkish prefers that they be given in their currency which is Turkish liras. Nonetheless, you
can still give them any currency as long as it is paper money. Be reminded to never give them non-
Turkish coins because these cannot be exchanged for Turkish liras.

In places where service is not included, it is custom to tip for the table services you received. And even
in the handful of places where service is included (look for the words servis dahil), just as on mainland
Europe the waiters will expect you to tip on top of that.

The rule of thumb is to leave a tip worth 10% of the bill in restaurants, cafés and bars. Bills are always
brought to your table on a plate, in a box or in some kind of booklet. Although you can pay the bill with
your credit card in 99% of the places, adding an amount to the original bill before paying with your
credit card is not (yet) possible. Be prepared to have some cash money on you for tipping.

But restaurants, cafés and bars are not the only places where tips are expected. It has also been their
custom to tip hotel staff, porters, hairdressers and musicians. The amount is at your discretion, but the
norm is TL 2 per person. Hamam attendants however expect 25% of the bill. Tipping taxi drivers is not
custom, unless he helped you load the luggage.

For porters, they are already satisfied with 2 to 3 Turkish Liras for each bag that they carry. This is the
same with the guides who give personal tours of the city. As for taxi drivers, you do not have to give
them tips. Just round the fare upwards. For example, your fare amounted to TL9.70. Then you can just
hand him TL10. If the amount is TL10.30, your cab driver can accept just TL10.

But if you are happy with the service they lend and meet your standards then there is no harm giving
them additional money. This will surely make their day. They know that giving you the time of your life
in their country is partly their responsibility and a tip for this service is appreciation of a job well done.