For me, compared with Paris, London and New York, I love the rich and diverse Istanbul, where you can not only look up and admire the Hagia Sophia Museum with different religions, but also walk in the Baroque New Palace of Dolmabah by the sea, and feel the piety and quiet in the Blue Mosque of the Ottomans...

Ballat block

Rich in color and buildings and streets, like straying into the dopamine world, there are some coffee shops and craft shops, not many tourists, very suitable for walking around to kill time, Instagram super hot Internet celebrity rainbow steps are also here, rainbow buildings are the characteristics of the block, walk along the slope to merdivenli yokus can see the Golden Horn Bay to the new town panorama
If you want to exchange currency, it is better to bring your own dollars or euros or pounds to change, and find a good exchange rate on the street, the experience is that the closer to the local residential area, the further away from the tourist area, the exchange rate is the best.

The cost of eating and drinking is rmb100-200 a day, frugality by people. Eating is the most expensive in the old city, 300-400 lira for each meal, but out of the old city, to the European and Asian areas where local residents live, the price can be 100-200 lira to eat a completely good meal. The best meal I've ever had so far was at a street shop called Kubra Bufe in Fatih, Europe. The price was impressive, and the chicken rice was just over 60 lira, and the Turkish black tea was 10 lira.

Hagia Sophia
In order to protect the ground, the church hall has a green carpet, and the first floor is restricted to Muslims and local residents, and visitors need slippers to enter; For visitors, arrange a tour on the second floor. Dome frescoes, mosaics and other decorations, dazzling, but also designed 40 window holes, from time to time there are light through, a kind of dreamlike, suspended colors, but also just the tip of the iceberg of church architecture ~
Even if you charge expensive tickets, the queue is still hot! When we arrived around 8:40 in the morning, the line was at the bottom of the road... After 1 hour, enter the second floor of the church, you can overlook the frescoes on the first floor of the church and the walls, and there are free explanations (this is good for no extra money).
Personally, 25 euros is acceptable! Because the second floor offers a closer look at the frescoed portraits, which are the essence of Hagia Sophia! More than the grandeur of the Blue Mosque, you can feel Turkey's religious history here



The security of the old city is lower than that of the European and Asian areas, and the Asian area is the best. There are few street lights in some places in the old city at night, so you have to pay attention to safety when you go back late, and try to keep company.
We often meet people who greet us on the road in the old city and tourist attractions, and the opening is Annihasah yo, konijiwa, you say in turn, you can meet more than four or five times a day, really exaggerated, very annoying to tell the truth.

The night view is beautiful, especially some churches with their lights on at night. But many tourist prices are too serious, such as Topkapi Palace even 1,500 lira? To put it bluntly, it's a lot of tourist money. But the nightlife is really rich, the streets are busy, and it feels like a second to return home.
Many of the restaurants and photo spots with high amounts of likes in the little Red book, after you arrive, you will find that the premium is serious, it is not worth going to, and the money is more than I said.

The Asian region is very suitable for shopping vintage and buying some small accessories, silk scarves and other things, are not expensive, although it is also suspected that it may be imported from Yiwu, but if the price is not expensive (a few dollars to more than ten dollars), you can also buy and buy depending on the situation, the price bargaining, after all, you will find that some goods are really many stores are very similar, and the purchase is exactly the same.
The sea in Istanbul is very clear, and if the weather is good, you can also see dolphins diving to play, with a bunch of seagulls overhead, and the picture is beautiful with the sunset.



Blue Mosque
It's a free mosque, closed on Fridays.
The mosque's 260 small Windows, more than 2W blue tiles, hundreds of carpets and numerous works of Arabic calligraphy art are its important attractions; The temple has a total of eight entrances, distributed in three directions of the courtyard, and all can be entered.
There is a free explanation at the door, and also help take photos. You need to take off your shoes at the gate, pay attention to your dress, provide blue robes and headscarves for girls, and Klein blue robes for boys to wear shorts. If you want to borrow robes, wear shorts.


It's best to go in the morning, there are fewer people and the staff is very friendly. There will be a guide in English to explain the whole journey, and the guide is a Muslim, who will tell the history and customs of the Blue Mosque, and also demonstrate the daily routines of Muslims and how to pray. There will be a fixed prayer time in the temple, and waves of prayer songs will be spread far and wide, which can calm the heart. Whether it is taking photos or feeling the daily routines of Muslims, it is worth logging in.

The Topkapi Palace
Tickets have been raised to 1,500 lira (350rmb), and the Harem area is no longer allowed to sell tickets independently, and is now probably the most expensive attraction in Istanbul.
It used to be the palace where the Sultan huang lived in the 15th century, and now it has become the most famous museum in Turkey, which has more than 1W pieces of domestic celadon, blue and white porcelain, colored porcelain, etc., which is of historical significance; The interior is also intricate, like a maze, I have to marvel at the wonderful design of this building.
First Courtyard, free admission, ticket office + electronic interpreter. I use the electronic ticket machine to buy tickets, UnionPay or other currency credit cards can be used, very convenient. With your passport or ID card, you can redeem the electronic interpreter for free, and the staff will directly set up the Chinese voice. The interpreter is really important ️ because Turkey's cultural and religious background is too different, if I don't listen to the introduction, I really can't understand why the ticket price here is so high.

The second courtyard would have a ticket gate, flanked mainly by the royal pantry and servant eunuch areas, and some of the buildings were parliament halls.
The Imperial kitchen area displays a large number of 🇨🇳 Chinese porcelain Yuan blue and white, which is one of the museums with the largest collection of 14th century Longquan celadon.
The servant area + stables display is rough and can be passed quickly, it will lead directly to the Harem area.
Harem area is no longer a separate ticket, all included in the ticket price. Historical records show that the number of people in the harem is very large, there are more than 100 rooms for concubines, the interior design is exquisite, and there are also bath halls/courtyards/palace ladies' rooms.

The third courtyard is the core area of the whole palace and displays a large number of imperial collections. I have to say, the Turkish royal exhibits are really too luxurious, it is blind my eyes, the pride of the face! The courtyard also has the audience hall, the mosque (where the scriptures will be chanted on arrival), the library and other temples.
The fourth courtyard belongs to the royal family's private palace + Imperial Medicine library. You can enjoy the Golden Horn Bay from the Kaitai Pavilion, and many of the palaces have views of the Bosphorus.

Istanbul, Turkey is also known as the city of cat lovers, which makes sense, after all, in Istanbul citywalk, there is a Hakimi about every 100 meters! Cute kids are all over the street receiving some crazy affection from cat fanatics, with one budget traveler in Turkey even pulling three catnip balls out of his meagre backpack......


As a tourist, I met a very friendly and enthusiastic local people, learned a lot of local culture and stories, and also met a creepy man who followed us two girls on the street in broad daylight, followed us for a long time, strange and scary. It's best to be accompanied by a male for safety reasons.