A comfort and charming design hotel, located in Sultanahmet, the old city centre of Istanbul.

In the historical peninsula, old city center called Sirkeci, just in walking distance to St.Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Hippodrome etc.

This former fisherman's house, which was converted in a modern hotel in 2005, offers comfortable amenities together with a cosy ambience and a very friendly and helpful staff.

A beautiful garden, providing a relaxing atmosphere lies within the hotel grounds, furthermore the roof terrace offers a magnificient view over the Blue Mosque, the Marmara Sea and its islands.

The Sari Konak Hotel ('Yellow Mansion') is a fine, comfortable, moderately-priced small Ottoman-style inn on a relatively quiet street less than five minutes' walk from the Blue Mosque.

Yesil Ev was Istanbul's first restored Ottoman mansion inn, and is still the best.

The Dersaadet Oteli is a recreated Ottoman mansion inn on a quiet neighborhood street less than five minutes' walk from the Blue Mosque.

Charming restored Ottoman townhouses and mansions with all the modern conveniences.

Turkey is a pretty good place to shop for old books, old maps and old prints.

Healthful steam baths have been popular in Turkey for thousands of years.

Yerebatan Saray Sarniçi, called the Basilica (or Sunken Palace) Cistern because of its size (70 x 140 meters, or 2.4 acres), its capacity (80,000 cubic meters—over 21 million US gallons) and its 336 marble columns.

Beneath Istanbul lie hundreds of gloomy Byzantine cisterns. They're left from the days when Istanbul was Constantinople.

Monuments decorating the Hippodrome include the 3500-year-old Egyptian Obelisk of Theodosius, brought to Constantinople by Emperor Theodosius in 390 AD.

With its six minarets and a great cascade of domes, the mosque is a worthy sibling to Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia) just a few minutes' stroll to the north.

The mosque (built 1603-17) is the masterwork of Ottoman architect Sedefkâr Mehmet Aga.

The Church of the Divine Wisdom (Hagia Sophia in Greek) is one of the most impressive and important buildings ever constructed.

Called Hagia Sophia in Greek, Sancta Sophia in Latin, Ayasofya in Turkish, it was built on the site of Byzantium's acropolis by Emperor Justinian (527-65 AD) in 537 AD.

Home of the Ottoman sultans for nearly 400 years, Topkapi ("Palace of the Cannon Gate") was the seraglio, the heart of the vast Ottoman Empire.

Because Topkapi is No. 1 on everyone's list of Istanbul sights, get there when it opens (usually 9 am; closed Tuesday) and go straight to the Harem.

Beyoglu has fewer major sights than Sultanahmet in Old Istanbul south of the Golden Horn; but Beyoglu has more upscale boutiques, fine restaurants and trendy cafes and bars.

Istanbul's Grand Bazaar (Kapali Çarsi, or Covered Market) is Turkey's largest covered market. Closed on Sundays.

Excellent online reference to traveling in Turkey, written by a local (and author of the Lonely Planet book).

It's about a 12-hour ride between Istanbul and Thessaloniki, with a stop at Alexandroupolis along the way.

It runs nightly between Istanbul and Thessaloniki (Selanik), Greece, departing each city at 20:00 (8 pm) and arriving in the other city just before 08:00 am the next morning, a 12-hour trip.