{"id":2771,"date":"2015-11-27T21:24:24","date_gmt":"2015-11-27T15:54:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/?p=2771"},"modified":"2016-02-04T23:29:16","modified_gmt":"2016-02-04T17:59:16","slug":"sultanahmet-old-city-istanbul-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/sultanahmet-old-city-istanbul-turkey\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 1: The old city around Sultanahmet, Istanbul"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We landed at Istanbul SAW around midnight and were at our hotel in Yenikapi by 230a. After a good night&#8217;s sleep and a not so good breakfast (only to realize after a\u00a0week that\u00a0this was the best), we set out to explore Istanbul.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/EXSkQZRUSWo_ig2kMwRU09OyjUeWt0neX4pVnxvTuyEThP4uC7UNr2PYZCCHzVKvTMSmjU280bw5txKOpZVzcsJARkxhD8syU6vihrAZsC_iQUqAPLrD2wka7w2A82YWl3ksyc-sVXsM0pQERHNqNWLdTsFfrGMmnrf4wwRhY9496584ygUUdis7TQQuI6foDBiAc91PT-eNGWmqwoHPtOV6YPXULUvifc6VqMkMuAYlvwOmuq2wavcD79AeMHZA96PAphafzXYQF0PJCRfiqqz8FpJG3ixyDDFtpCSxjMhWIyNH54HuoWDLjA9VGaG-AmTUhUiXszyAaBi-dmVECpzk_TS63C94ojWAPAHTy8MX_nQntUqrzVHDIgXgRUtMV-WN0RUKWErlC58zb1VpQg5n3lz2FBYnM-FxrycrdTNMrPaNIYXf9vUV9Rzezmos6PV0eN8iRYPq8WQ-LENcIp8smWssJtj4MsQW4ma92Pe1eOmz7sQU81AQiWFNxw_bb_BpvkJXvdhBEhaClK_G87XJ6dGPrLHXCOZ0oDmAv-ZDQK7dK2zroT1YkOeCnAmqZdAbgw=w800-no\" alt=\"Hagia Sofia, Sultanahmet\" width=\"800\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hagia Sofia, Sultanahmet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">First up, we purchased a Turkcell SIM Card that cost us around 55TL and for another 10TL gave us 1GB data for a week. Data, together with the <a href=\"http:\/\/trafi app\" target=\"_blank\">Trafi app<\/a>, was a life saver when wandering the streets. We also topped up the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.turkeytravelplanner.com\/go\/Istanbul\/Transport\/istanbulkart.html\" target=\"_blank\">Istanbulkart<\/a>\u00a0for discounted trips on public transport at 2.15TL per trip, irrespective of the distance. It works with bus, tram, metro, ferry &amp; cable car .<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"embedly-card\" data-card-controls=\"0\" data-card-theme=\"light\" data-card-key=\"4ef5b418599648a481342c3011d5309f\">\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Cojw8ZQPYhI\">Topkapi Palace, Istanbul<\/a><\/h4>\n<p>Pictures taken at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/cdn.embedly.com\/widgets\/platform.js\" charset=\"UTF-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We started in the Sultanahmet area covering the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia and Topkapi Palace &#8211; all of which I highly recommend. We purchased the using the Museumkart at 85TL, but didn&#8217;t end up using it<!--more--> to the fullest.\u00a0So if you don&#8217;t plan to visit every museum, just pay at each entrance.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/1_pvOug4ty2x5yBkb3U1iyTj9f-3NYCJ_tzmOqy_bgw9z7uB8b-7rBBXURmlWDnrPnIPOhSFbokH5WpP4-qr-MfhoMVBTf5yTwR1jruxtswGprUNBfI5Q9Ih36M1jYGMmahIfHxghN0dtE6odew6yiS_yIuhelJ3W2qgt7B_2AlK4kATsr6fWfY9IwhZyqkFzswGIWE7O7ybClmKPby8uXarY4jaPFoX0xeoiVywi2atvo1K9WsEu7-PZkgYn5KZxylZgz9L-VIqca4_I3TQeZr8XUwt6khmO-deHW0KISSo-n9PvBFXHvc3D7gBa0leEZwu9pPeCMITgCZ9oc3RF8NvEPub5wHmcfAd0W1ARl7weUbY2y2xxsLlZFBbb48Bqh33zmZS9gk45fr8uCasameg6naIKit2qe3zsUgFNXpZUmPqrC9H0xa7jb94icqNo6pJRBRvWis8XwvjpBezurSL104OaCtADykZUoVK-POXJgXI66ZHr8Z2BxSIgr7OjrAaGPCq5fxyGQkEyO7Ef_niv-mbLmrNh3fF0ZoGGiqljiyhlFTGxPR1Cl2dsai7UCk76g=w800-no\" alt=\"Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet\" width=\"800\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/prasadgupte\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.cdninstagram.com\/hphotos-xfa1\/t51.2885-15\/sh0.08\/e35\/12292669_1674641262750328_1555611781_n.jpg\" alt=\"Follow @PrasadGupte on Instagram for more photos\" width=\"800\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Follow @PrasadGupte on Instagram for more photos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We\u00a0ended the day enjoying Iskender at a restaurant in the area. Beware of scams where you&#8217;re invited to a good restaurant, only to realize that you hadn&#8217;t checked the menu card.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/QUb_X8f4y01YLXpXcsFaQxqEmEZ3WrJMK9oNL-N1UdL4RzvgVwtC0wAhzVUEHxFhJEEqVBU5P6R1ZLTOBT1IvVC5zQJdSIuMlQmppzdHBD2HmCm7iBjeCljjG4nK9QVxV1_Y6Tv6N__6CyiVy5hUFF1dhAlKOjIBkLcdnXxgZq3R06xlS-yDmSkbXjgcZzJuncWeF1XGQfEFrirsLiRoAs61m0eNd5nN80_dVi07GhrZI5mkgRaN9lJWC86DLouJmcEmoCvUNYw8rkG8EgwtkjVeQAFjxLlNE7RCnxDJv3S_Or-qOUSVLuhL4Umju_PC6P0IyWw7PGZPgBPZoHGwsRzQWhP9KZ-T8Q1nm0PJXHh8IIHk6Oh-Y-L2RCuHEWiSLhmpjzys3TIb-uQcdNfFII5cLZ2kAa_AeAN7inDcQrvmeuTzudp8YzJaSnv1d_TvxIOchyC0IzHRW_dQCjDXjwW026N_QcHD5Esq9KaA4qAYHi4ICi12XTvTE-7yZWH-H5IYM75LeOjjPqzl5prhUhCBDTbNq3Tu5zZ3-714p328pP7LpUuWUIVzQCeoixB3ZACX3A=w800-no\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We planned to go around the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/grand-market-galata-tower-istanbul-turkey\/\">markets, Galata tower and Bosphorus river on Day 2<\/a>\u00a0of our\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/tag\/turkey-roadtrip\/\">Turkey Roadtrip<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We landed at Istanbul SAW around midnight and were at our hotel in Yenikapi by 230a. After a good night&#8217;s sleep and a not so good breakfast (only to realize after a\u00a0week that\u00a0this was the best), we set out to explore Istanbul. First up, we purchased a Turkcell SIM Card that cost us around 55TL &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/sultanahmet-old-city-istanbul-turkey\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Day 1: The old city around Sultanahmet, Istanbul<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1121,1117,1120,1122,213,895,949,1108,1109,934,1110,1107,1116,1106,1115],"class_list":["post-2771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","tag-birds","tag-blue-mosque","tag-bosphorus","tag-cruise","tag-ferry","tag-instagram","tag-istanbul","tag-mosque","tag-palace","tag-river","tag-road-trip","tag-sultanahmet","tag-topkapi-palace","tag-turkey","tag-turkey-roadtrip"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/day-1-istanbul-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prasadgupte.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}