Istanbul and Gallipoli

I'm off to Istanbul for a few days this month. First visit to Turkey and
basically a spur-of-the-moment idea while my wife is visiting her mother.

I'm flying BLR-IST with GF (two four-hour hops with a two hour layover in
BAH and, being GF, will no doubt be late), which cost INR40,000 - about
USD1000 - and staying at the Turing Ayasofya Konaklari in Sogukçesme sokagi
in the Sultanahmet district at EUR120 per night. (No doubt those diacritics
won't come out).

In the middle of the stay I'm planning for an overnight trip to Gallipoli
via Canakkale. The hotel says it does group tours, which I don't especially
mind in an unfamiliar country (and especially if there are knowledgable
veterans on the tour ... not from the original 1915 conflict of course), but
if anyone knows a more interesting way to see the battlefield sites and
memorials I'm listening. I'm OK with bus, train or car options.

I have the LP guide to Istanbul and I'm basically interested in the city's
history, architecture, art, museums, walking, and eating and drinking
(restaurant and raki bar recommendations welcome; I'm completely
omnivorous). I'm not a shopper. I take photos but not well. My brief
research into Canakkale gives the general impression it's a swinging
university town but I may have to adjust that for local sentiments.

Cheers,

George W Russell

Bangalore

On 4 Jun, 11:22, "grusl" wrote:
I'm off to Istanbul for a few days this month. First visit to Turkey and
basically a spur-of-the-moment idea while my wife is visiting her mother.

I'm flying BLR-IST with GF (two four-hour hops with a two hour layover in
BAH and, being GF, will no doubt be late), which cost INR40,000 - about
USD1000 - and staying at the Turing Ayasofya Konaklari in Sogukçesme sokagi
in the Sultanahmet district at EUR120 per night. (No doubt those diacritics
won't come out).

In the middle of the stay I'm planning for an overnight trip to Gallipoli
via Canakkale. The hotel says it does group tours, which I don't especially
mind in an unfamiliar country (and especially if there are knowledgable
veterans on the tour ... not from the original 1915 conflict of course), but
if anyone knows a more interesting way to see the battlefield sites and
memorials I'm listening. I'm OK with bus, train or car options.

I have the LP guide to Istanbul and I'm basically interested in the city's
history, architecture, art, museums, walking, and eating and drinking
(restaurant and raki bar recommendations welcome; I'm completely
omnivorous). I'm not a shopper. I take photos but not well. My brief
research into Canakkale gives the general impression it's a swinging
university town but I may have to adjust that for local sentiments.

Cheers,

George W Russell

Bangalore

all that time and expense just to see some graves ?!

On Wed, 4 Jun 2008 14:52:10 +0530, "grusl"
wrote:

I'm off to Istanbul for a few days this month. First visit to Turkey and
basically a spur-of-the-moment idea while my wife is visiting her mother.

I'm flying BLR-IST with GF (two four-hour hops with a two hour layover in
BAH and, being GF, will no doubt be late), which cost INR40,000 - about
USD1000 - and staying at the Turing Ayasofya Konaklari in Sogukçesme sokagi
in the Sultanahmet district at EUR120 per night. (No doubt those diacritics
won't come out).

In the middle of the stay I'm planning for an overnight trip to Gallipoli
via Canakkale. The hotel says it does group tours, which I don't especially
mind in an unfamiliar country (and especially if there are knowledgable
veterans on the tour ... not from the original 1915 conflict of course), but
if anyone knows a more interesting way to see the battlefield sites and
memorials I'm listening. I'm OK with bus, train or car options.

I have the LP guide to Istanbul and I'm basically interested in the city's
history, architecture, art, museums, walking, and eating and drinking
(restaurant and raki bar recommendations welcome; I'm completely
omnivorous). I'm not a shopper. I take photos but not well. My brief
research into Canakkale gives the general impression it's a swinging
university town but I may have to adjust that for local sentiments.

Cheers,

George W Russell

Bangalore

Hi George

My mum just got back from Gallipoli, but she was on a group
tour so that may not be a lot of help. I'll see what I can
find out. She's not really into the swinging scene:-)

In the meantime, I visited Istanbul back in 2006. Maybe
these will offer some ideas:
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/2006...re-turkey.html


Cheers, Alan, Australia
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alan_s/
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com
Latest: Hong Kong

"Alan S" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 4 Jun 2008 14:52:10 +0530, "grusl"
wrote:

I'm off to Istanbul for a few days this month. First visit to Turkey and
basically a spur-of-the-moment idea while my wife is visiting her mother.

I'm flying BLR-IST with GF (two four-hour hops with a two hour layover in
BAH and, being GF, will no doubt be late), which cost INR40,000 - about
USD1000 - and staying at the Turing Ayasofya Konaklari in Sogukçesme
sokagi
in the Sultanahmet district at EUR120 per night. (No doubt those
diacritics
won't come out).

In the middle of the stay I'm planning for an overnight trip to Gallipoli
via Canakkale. The hotel says it does group tours, which I don't
especially
mind in an unfamiliar country (and especially if there are knowledgable
veterans on the tour ... not from the original 1915 conflict of course),
but
if anyone knows a more interesting way to see the battlefield sites and
memorials I'm listening. I'm OK with bus, train or car options.

I have the LP guide to Istanbul and I'm basically interested in the city's
history, architecture, art, museums, walking, and eating and drinking
(restaurant and raki bar recommendations welcome; I'm completely
omnivorous). I'm not a shopper. I take photos but not well. My brief
research into Canakkale gives the general impression it's a swinging
university town but I may have to adjust that for local sentiments.

Cheers,

George W Russell

Bangalore

Hi George

My mum just got back from Gallipoli, but she was on a group
tour so that may not be a lot of help. I'll see what I can
find out. She's not really into the swinging scene:-)

In the meantime, I visited Istanbul back in 2006. Maybe
these will offer some ideas:
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/2006...re-turkey.html


Thanks.

I could caption most of your HK photos if you like. I hope you pointed out
the koalas climbing the Lippo Centre (formerly Bond Centre).

Cheers,
George W Russell
Bangalore

On Jun 4, 2:37*pm, Norman Spiney wrote:
On 4 Jun, 11:22, "grusl" wrote:





I'm off to Istanbul for a few days this month. First visit to Turkey and
basically a spur-of-the-moment idea while my wife is visiting her mother..

I'm flying BLR-IST with GF (two four-hour hops with a two hour layover in
BAH and, being GF, will no doubt be late), which cost INR40,000 - about
USD1000 - and staying at the Turing Ayasofya Konaklari in Sogukçesme sokagi
in the Sultanahmet district at EUR120 per night. (No doubt those diacritics
won't come out).

In the middle of the stay I'm planning for an overnight trip to Gallipoli
via Canakkale. The hotel says it does group tours, which I don't especially
mind in an unfamiliar country (and especially if there are knowledgable
veterans on the tour ... not from the original 1915 conflict of course), but
if anyone knows a more interesting way to see the battlefield sites and
memorials I'm listening. I'm OK with bus, train or car options.

I have the LP guide to Istanbul and I'm basically interested in the city's
history, architecture, art, museums, walking, and eating and drinking
(restaurant and raki bar recommendations welcome; I'm completely
omnivorous). I'm not a shopper. I take photos but not well. My brief
research into Canakkale gives the general impression it's a swinging
university town but I may have to adjust that for local sentiments.

Cheers,

George W Russell

Bangalore

all that time and expense just to see some graves ?!- Hide quoted text -


Yes, I suppose Westminster Abbey falls into the same category.

The time is negligible - overnight - and I don't know about the cost
yet.

Cheers,
George W Russell
Bangalore

On 4 Jun, 12:05, grusl wrote:
On Jun 4, 2:37 pm, Norman Spiney wrote:



On 4 Jun, 11:22, "grusl" wrote:

I'm off to Istanbul for a few days this month. First visit to Turkey and
basically a spur-of-the-moment idea while my wife is visiting her mother.

I'm flying BLR-IST with GF (two four-hour hops with a two hour layover in
BAH and, being GF, will no doubt be late), which cost INR40,000 - about
USD1000 - and staying at the Turing Ayasofya Konaklari in Sogukçesme sokagi
in the Sultanahmet district at EUR120 per night. (No doubt those diacritics
won't come out).

In the middle of the stay I'm planning for an overnight trip to Gallipoli
via Canakkale. The hotel says it does group tours, which I don't especially
mind in an unfamiliar country (and especially if there are knowledgable
veterans on the tour ... not from the original 1915 conflict of course), but
if anyone knows a more interesting way to see the battlefield sites and
memorials I'm listening. I'm OK with bus, train or car options.

I have the LP guide to Istanbul and I'm basically interested in the city's
history, architecture, art, museums, walking, and eating and drinking
(restaurant and raki bar recommendations welcome; I'm completely
omnivorous). I'm not a shopper. I take photos but not well. My brief
research into Canakkale gives the general impression it's a swinging
university town but I may have to adjust that for local sentiments.

Cheers,

George W Russell

Bangalore

all that time and expense just to see some graves ?!- Hide quoted text -

Yes, I suppose Westminster Abbey falls into the same category.

The time is negligible - overnight - and I don't know about the cost
yet.

Cheers,
George W Russell
Bangalore

Westminster Abbey is a large historic building in the centre of
London....
Gallipoli is overrated, Pergammon / Goreme / Pamukkale are much more
interesting

I'm off to Istanbul for a few days this month. First visit to Turkey and
basically a spur-of-the-moment idea while my wife is visiting her mother.

I'm flying BLR-IST with GF (two four-hour hops with a two hour layover in
BAH and, being GF, will no doubt be late), which cost INR40,000 - about
USD1000 - and staying at the Turing Ayasofya Konaklari in Sogukçesme sokagi
in the Sultanahmet district at EUR120 per night.

Sheesh, you have expensive tastes. I met the planner responsible for that
project when it was just getting built/restored. She obviously knew exactly
what she was doing, and it looked like it was going to be great, but no way
could I afford to stay there.


In the middle of the stay I'm planning for an overnight trip to Gallipoli
via Canakkale. The hotel says it does group tours, which I don't especially
mind in an unfamiliar country (and especially if there are knowledgable
veterans on the tour ... not from the original 1915 conflict of course), but
if anyone knows a more interesting way to see the battlefield sites and
memorials I'm listening. I'm OK with bus, train or car options.

Unless you've researched it well enough to be your own guide I'd go with
a tour. I've never been there myself; I have only limited interest in
watching Aussies trying to persuade themselves they're having a deeply
meaningful experience.


I have the LP guide to Istanbul and I'm basically interested in the city's
history, architecture, art, museums, walking, and eating and drinking
(restaurant and raki bar recommendations welcome; I'm completely
omnivorous).

The most interesting collections of restaurants I know of are the Kurdish
ones near the Aqueduct of Valens (very cheap) and the assortment in
Kadikoy (Ciya, which does historical and regional food, seems to have
started the development of this area into foodie-central, but there are
several others now, and the Edwardian-timewarp Haci Bekir sweetie shop
is a must).

The municipal bookshop in Beyoglu (Istanbul Kitapcisi) is a great
resource for books on history and art, and for finding out what's on.
There is also a monthly Time Out guide - it's in Turkish but you should
be able to figure out enough for it to be worth having.

For musical events (my thing) look at the posters outside the Ataturk
Cultural Centre at Taksim and the flyers in the Mephisto bookshop/cafes
(in Beyoglu and Kadikoy). But a lot of concerts are only advertised on
flyposted posters, which get overpasted very fast. Turkish music is
pretty cheap, Westernized rock costs more, jazz is very expensive (but
Turkish jazz is attractive and original so if you have an interest in
the genre it's worth it).


My brief research into Canakkale gives the general impression it's
a swinging university town but I may have to adjust that for local
sentiments.

Report back. I've never been tempted to go there, and I've been over
most of the country.

If you're into military stuff you ought to see the military museum in
Harbiye (just north of Taksim).

==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === http://www.campin.me.uk ====
Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557
CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts

"Jack Campin - bogus address" wrote in message
...
I'm off to Istanbul for a few days this month. First visit to Turkey and
basically a spur-of-the-moment idea while my wife is visiting her mother.

I'm flying BLR-IST with GF (two four-hour hops with a two hour layover in
BAH and, being GF, will no doubt be late), which cost INR40,000 - about
USD1000 - and staying at the Turing Ayasofya Konaklari in Sogukçesme
sokagi
in the Sultanahmet district at EUR120 per night.

Sheesh, you have expensive tastes.


Yeah, I'm all for cheap-ish flights especially for short hops but one of my
weaknesses is a bit of hotel comfort. The utter niceness (in print, anyway)
of the staff sealed it for me. (It could be a form letter, of course).

In the middle of the stay I'm planning for an overnight trip to Gallipoli
via Canakkale.


Unless you've researched it well enough to be your own guide I'd go with
a tour. I've never been there myself; I have only limited interest in
watching Aussies trying to persuade themselves they're having a deeply
meaningful experience.


I suppose it's part of my culture - no veterans in the family but I'm
slightly interested in military history. I'll let you know how meaningful it
was.



The most interesting collections of restaurants I know of are the Kurdish
ones near the Aqueduct of Valens (very cheap) and the assortment in
Kadikoy (Ciya, which does historical and regional food, seems to have
started the development of this area into foodie-central, but there are
several others now, and the Edwardian-timewarp Haci Bekir sweetie shop
is a must).


All sounds good. Thanks.

The municipal bookshop in Beyoglu (Istanbul Kitapcisi) is a great
resource for books on history and art, and for finding out what's on.
There is also a monthly Time Out guide - it's in Turkish but you should
be able to figure out enough for it to be worth having.

For musical events (my thing) look at the posters outside the Ataturk
Cultural Centre at Taksim and the flyers in the Mephisto bookshop/cafes
(in Beyoglu and Kadikoy). But a lot of concerts are only advertised on
flyposted posters, which get overpasted very fast. Turkish music is
pretty cheap, Westernized rock costs more, jazz is very expensive (but
Turkish jazz is attractive and original so if you have an interest in
the genre it's worth it).



Turkish music sounds worth a look/listen. Thanks again.


My brief research into Canakkale gives the general impression it's
a swinging university town but I may have to adjust that for local
sentiments.

Report back. I've never been tempted to go there, and I've been over
most of the country.


I shall do. It's all terribly exciting.

Cheers,
George W Russell
Bangalore

That's a pretty tasteless comment. Those graves mean a lot to those
visiting Gallipoli, particularly Australians and New Zealanders, who lost
many men there. Tours there are becoming increasingly popular, particularly
in the lead up to the centenary of the battle. The good thing is that it is
kindling an interest in history, even the bad bits.

If you are not from Australia, it is hard to understand the devastation
caused by the first world war. Remember that these were mainly young men
who volunteered to join, purely out of patriotism to help fight a war at the
other end of the world. Back then, it took months by sea to get there.
Many families lost all their men. Many small towns lost many of their young
men. All this from a small growing nation.

I could go on and on.

"Norman Spiney" wrote in message
...
On 4 Jun, 11:22, "grusl" wrote:
I'm off to Istanbul for a few days this month. First visit to Turkey and
basically a spur-of-the-moment idea while my wife is visiting her mother.

I'm flying BLR-IST with GF (two four-hour hops with a two hour layover in
BAH and, being GF, will no doubt be late), which cost INR40,000 - about
USD1000 - and staying at the Turing Ayasofya Konaklari in Sogukçesme
sokagi
in the Sultanahmet district at EUR120 per night. (No doubt those
diacritics
won't come out).

In the middle of the stay I'm planning for an overnight trip to Gallipoli
via Canakkale. The hotel says it does group tours, which I don't
especially
mind in an unfamiliar country (and especially if there are knowledgable
veterans on the tour ... not from the original 1915 conflict of course),
but
if anyone knows a more interesting way to see the battlefield sites and
memorials I'm listening. I'm OK with bus, train or car options.

I have the LP guide to Istanbul and I'm basically interested in the city's
history, architecture, art, museums, walking, and eating and drinking
(restaurant and raki bar recommendations welcome; I'm completely
omnivorous). I'm not a shopper. I take photos but not well. My brief
research into Canakkale gives the general impression it's a swinging
university town but I may have to adjust that for local sentiments.

Cheers,

George W Russell

Bangalore

all that time and expense just to see some graves ?!

On Wed, 4 Jun 2008 15:23:51 +0530, "grusl"
wrote:


"Alan S" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 4 Jun 2008 14:52:10 +0530, "grusl"
wrote:

I'm off to Istanbul for a few days this month. First visit to Turkey and
basically a spur-of-the-moment idea while my wife is visiting her mother.

I'm flying BLR-IST with GF (two four-hour hops with a two hour layover in
BAH and, being GF, will no doubt be late), which cost INR40,000 - about
USD1000 - and staying at the Turing Ayasofya Konaklari in Sogukçesme
sokagi
in the Sultanahmet district at EUR120 per night. (No doubt those
diacritics
won't come out).

In the middle of the stay I'm planning for an overnight trip to Gallipoli
via Canakkale. The hotel says it does group tours, which I don't
especially
mind in an unfamiliar country (and especially if there are knowledgable
veterans on the tour ... not from the original 1915 conflict of course),
but
if anyone knows a more interesting way to see the battlefield sites and
memorials I'm listening. I'm OK with bus, train or car options.

I have the LP guide to Istanbul and I'm basically interested in the city's
history, architecture, art, museums, walking, and eating and drinking
(restaurant and raki bar recommendations welcome; I'm completely
omnivorous). I'm not a shopper. I take photos but not well. My brief
research into Canakkale gives the general impression it's a swinging
university town but I may have to adjust that for local sentiments.

Cheers,

George W Russell

Bangalore

Hi George

My mum just got back from Gallipoli, but she was on a group
tour so that may not be a lot of help. I'll see what I can
find out. She's not really into the swinging scene:-)

In the meantime, I visited Istanbul back in 2006. Maybe
these will offer some ideas:
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/2006...re-turkey.html


Thanks.

I could caption most of your HK photos if you like. I hope you pointed out
the koalas climbing the Lippo Centre (formerly Bond Centre).

Cheers,
George W Russell
Bangalore

Missed them (I'm sure you'll elaborate:-)

I rarely see any 'round here, and I'm supposed to be
surrounded by them. Shy creatures.

Captions would be intersting, thanks.

I'll be commenting on Asian smog later. It was a pity that
almost every place I went in Asia and the Middle East was
covered in haze for most or all of the day.


Cheers, Alan, Australia
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alan_s/
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com
Latest: Hong Kong