ATTRACTIONS FOR A FUN-FILLED FAMILY WEEKEND WITH KIDS IN ISTANBUL

ATTRACTIONS FOR A FUN-FILLED FAMILY WEEKEND WITH KIDS

You’ve promised the kids for a fun-filled weekend and don’t know where to take them. No shopping malls, no new kid’s movies and you may even be bored with taking them to the park.

So take a look at our list: we’ve compiled all the attractions that every children must go at least once to have a fun-filled (and maybe even an educational) weekend in Istanbul!

7- MINIATURK

As difficult vacationing with the kids is, you don’t need to take them all around the Anatolia to give them some historic and geographical knowledge. If you simply take them to Miniaturk, you can show them all the important landmarks of Istanbul, Anatolia and beyond, in just one day. The best part? The kids are the same height with all the buildings inside!

6- TURQUAZOO

Turquazoo, an aquarium with a Tripadvisor 2013 Certificate of Perfection, is home to more than 10.000 sea creatures. There’s all sorts of activities with diver shows, temporary exhibitions and diving with sharks (if you don’t get afraid!)

5- ISTANBUL AQUARIUM

World’s largest thematic aquarium awaits for a fun-filled educational weekend. They have all sorts of activities such as regular fish feeding sessions, shark diving, 5D cinema and more.

4- AQUA CLUB DOLPHIN

A huge pool, slides, foam parties… where else to go on a hot summer’s day for this much fun!

3- ISTANBUL TOY MUSEUM

You may visit this toy museum with your children, grandchildren or three generations all together. You can even brag about whose childhood toys were the best!

2- KIDZANIA

Kids under the age of 8 are not allowed to spend time in Kidzania without a parent. But if your kid is above 8, you may go shopping or chill in one of the cafes in Akasya mall after checking your kid in. Isn’t spending time with kids, spending time alone sometimes while the kids have fun safely nearby? 

1- VIALAND

Whether you come to the shopping mall or the theme park, you will not get bored for a whole day at the recently-opened Vialand. And you’ll want to come back for more.

YAZAR: DENIZ GÖZLER ÖZENÇ

BEST OUTDOOR POOLS ON THE EUROPEAN SIDE OF ISTANBUL

BEST OUTDOOR POOLS ON THE EUROPEAN SIDE

Though Istanbulites prefer to go out of town for a seaside vacation, it’s rather tempting to be chilling by the pool if one’s stuck in the city on a hot summer day.

Unless you’re insisting on going to the beach to get a tan (in which case you should take a look at our list of beaches in Istanbul), enjoy view to the one and only Bosphorus with our list of outdoor pools on the European side.

6- THE MARMARA PERA HOTEL

This one is not by the sea, but as a rooftop pool it definitely deserves to be in this list. Please order a cocktail, get in that pool and enjoy the view!

5- THE GRAND TARABYA HOTEL

As you lounge in the pool of this hotel, a popular filming location for many Turkish movies back in the 60s, you’ll gaze around and think what it would be like to actually live in one of those houses.

4- LES OTTOMANS

A seaside mansion decorated elaborately and a pool with the view to the sea. Except they close the pool a little early (around 18:00 or so) and it’s rather small compared to the other pools.

3- SUADA CLUB

You are swimming in the Bosphorus but not really swimming in the waters of the Bosphorus (which is really a good call, if you know what I mean). Hip and young, Suada Club is the place to go.

2- FOUR SEASONS HOTEL ISTANBUL AT THE BOSPHORUS

Now slowly close your eyes: You’re in the garden of a beautiful seaside mansion, few meters away from the sea. Under the summer sun, you immerse yourself in the water and let go completely. As you watch the ships go by, you forget about everything else. How does that sound?

1- ÇIRAĞAN PALACE KEMPINSKI

A pool surrounded by palm trees, next to the Sultan’s personal palace and the Bosphorus just a few steps away. If anyone knows of a better spot to swim in this city, we should get together and have a conversation.

YAZAR: DENIZ GÖZLER ÖZENÇ

ISTANBUL’S UNIVERSITIES ON THE ASIAN SIDE

ISTANBUL’S UNIVERSITIES ON THE ASIAN SIDE

“Istanbul” is a beautiful city as well it is frightening. If you live in Istanbul you’ll have many opportunities for everything but also you’ll face with many challenges. Studying in Istanbul would be a really great life-time experience for everyone which is priceless! We decided to contribute a guide about Istanbul’s universities to help students. Started from the universities located in Istanbul’s Asian Side – this list will be continued with alphabetic order – here is the initial five universities;

5- ISTANBUL MEDENIYET UNIVERSITY

Introduced itself as “the new generation public university in Istanbul” is quite ambitious!

After opening many a foundation universities in Istanbul, a new state university makes people curious and excited.

4- IŞIK UNIVERSITY

Işık University’s main campus is outside of the city but is at the seaside with a great campus life. The education’s quality is also great.

3- GEDİK UNIVERSITY

Follow them from social media even if you are from this university or not cause they are good and funny at their social media channels.

2- DOĞUŞ UNIVERSITY

Maybe the university’s campuses are not that big but they have a cool advantage cause the campuses are nearby to the public transportations’ stations.

1- ACIBADEM UNIVERSITY

Acıbadem University’s campus is loved by everyone especially by its students. They say its education is also good!

YAZAR: SEMA KAVASLAR

Heybeliada - Istanbul

This island firmly occupies second spot in my Princes’ Island ranking. It’s home to the Turkish Naval Academy and the Haghia Triada Monastery – a closed-down Greek Orthodox theological school. Just like on Büyükada, you can tour the island by horse-drawn carriage and bicycle. The latter is less popular because of the island’s twin summits. Day-trippers prefer to take a nice stroll and explore the many shops, restaurants and patisseries.

source: wittistanbul.com

Büyükada - Istanbul

Büyükada is Turkish for ‘big island’. Not only is it the largest of the four Istanbul islands (5,36 km²), it’s also the most popular one. It’s sandy beaches, laid-back 19h century atmosphere and cozy town center attract huge crowds of locals and tourists alike from spring to fall. Especially in the weekends, with a peak on Sunday — a day to avoid.

From a tourist point of view, Büyükada must be at the top of your island visit list. Most people start out with a typical full Turkish breakfast on one of the many terraces, followed by one or more of the following activities:

• Take a small or big tour of the island in a horse-drawn carriage or phaeton. You can buy tickets left from the clock tower.
• Rent a bicycle and make a small or big tour of the island. Bicycle rental shops are located in the side streets from the town square (Saat Meydanı).
• Explore the island with its leafy lanes and exquisite wooden Victorian houses on foot. As long as you see phaetons racing by, you’re on the right track.
• Visit the St George’s Monastery after climbing up the steep cobblestone path — on foot or by hiring a donkey to do the legwork for you.
• Relax on one of the many private beaches and take a dip in the sea.
• Enjoy a dinner, drink or ice-cream in one of the many cafes and restaurants in the town center before hopping on the ferry back to Istanbul. Make sure you don’t miss the last one!

source: wittistanbul.com

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3 JULY 2014YAZAR: SEMA KAVASLAR

RENT A BIKE IN ISTANBUL

The Ultimate Bike Renting Guide For Istanbul by Bahadır Efeoğlu

Istanbul is a huge city and you can’t visit everywhere on foot. Traffic is a big problem and probably you wouldn’t prefer spending your time stuck in a bus. There is one option left which is cycling! Believe me you will get a different taste from the city when you are pedalling through it. Ok, Istanbul might not be the safest or most bike friendly city, however there are nice and safe routes for you. You can check the bicycle routes of Istanbul from here.

Most probably you don’t have a bicycle and you need one. It is pretty easy to rent a bike in Istanbul. If you have visited the Prince’s Islands, then you know what I am talking about. However it is not always easy to find a bike shop, and rent bikes in Istanbul. Mostly, every neighborhood has at least one shop, but it is hard to locate.

So here is your magical guide for renting a bike in Istanbul!
How is the pricing ?
Pricing is on a daily or an hourly basis. There are no standards for the pricing, and it may change depending on the type and the condition of the bicycle. In general, you can rent a bike for 5TL/hour and 15 TL/day to 30 TL/day. These are the average prices I know but daily rent should not pass 50 TL unless you want to rent a special setup bike.

Where can I find these bike shops ?
Well as I said, there are many of them scattered around the city but I will share the well known ones.

Also keep in mind that, shop owners may not understand English. Just in case you need, renting = kiralamak in Turkish.

1- ISBIKE

Firstly, you can rent bikes from the bicycle stations located all along the seaside of Asian side. These bikes are like Boris Bikes of London or CitiBikes of NYC.

You can rent up to 4 bikes with your credit card by paying a 50 TL/each deposit.

Hours Price
0-1 Hours 2 TL
1-2 Hours 3 TL
2-3 Hours 5 TL
3-5 Hours 8 TL
5-7 Hours 11 TL
7-10 Hours 14 TL
All Day (24 Hours) 25 TL

There are 10 stations at the seaside. The closest one to Kadıköy is in Caddebostan. You don’t have to return your bike to the station that you rented from, you can return it on any ISBIKE stations. You have to be harsh when you want to pull the bike off the station.

Local Shops
These are the some known bicycle shops where you can rent a bike. Do not forget to ask for a helmet when you rent a bike.

2- Bisikletevim – Bicycle Cafe – Bostancı (Asian Side)

Bisikletevim is my favorite stop for buying equipment and getting my bike fixed. They recently opened this half bike shop – half cafe place. They sell many cool bicycle accessories and if you know the bicycle fashion you may know Brooks. Bisikletevim has one of the largest Brooks collection for sale in Istanbul.

One more interesting fact about this place is they have showers in the downstairs for the use of cyclists.

Location
Adress: prof.dr.ali nihat tarlan cad. no:25/a, Bostancı / Istanbul
Telephone: +90 (216) 445 12 61

3- Bike & Outdoor – Beşiktaş (European Side)

Bike & Outdoor is one of the popular and trusthworty bicycle dealers. They have good quality bikes for rent.

Location
Address: Barbaros Bulvarı, No:63, Beşiktaş / İstanbul
Telephone: +90 (212) 259 74 76-77

4- Bike & Outdoor – Fenerbahçe (Asian Side)

Location
Adress: Fenerbahçe Mahallesi, Lalezar Sokak, No:8/A, Selamiçeşme, Kadıköy / İstanbul
Telephone: +90 (216) 301 14 10-11

5- Delta Bisiklet – Kadıköy (Asian Side)

Delta is also one of the well known bicycle dealers and they have their own cycling team. They organize tours and events for cyclists.

Location
Address: Bağdat Cad. No:9/A, Kızıltoprak, Kadıköy / ISTANBUL
Telephone: +90 (216) 450 66 30

6- Delta Bisiklet – Levent (European Side)

Address: Nispetiye Caddesi No:13-C Levent / ISTANBUL
Telephone: +90 (212) 281 56 40

7- Atilla Bisiklet – Üsküdar (Asian Side)

Atilla Bisiklet has two shops in Istanbul both located on the Asian Side. You will notice many professional cyclist wearing jerseys of Atilla Bisiklet.

Location
Address: Barbaros Mahallesi Nuhkuyusu Caddesi NO:68/A Altunizade, Üsküdar / ISTANBUL
Telephone: +90 (216) 474 76 06

8- Atilla Bisiklet – Bostancı (Asian Side)

This one is close to the Bostancı Ferry Station. If you take the “Deniz Otobüsü” seabus from Bakırköy to Bostancı you can rent bikes from here.

Location
Address: Ali Nihat Tarlan Cad. Kitapçı Mehmet Süleyman Sk. Ada Apt. No:22/A Bostancı / ISTANBUL
Telephone: +90 (850) 226 45 66

Source: atdaa.com

BEST LIVE PERFORMANCE VENUES IN BEYOGLU - ISTANBUL

23 SEPTEMBER 2014

YAZAR: SEMA KAVASLAR

BEST LIVE PERFORMANCE VENUES IN BEYOGLU

Performance halls in Beyoğlu that you can watch cool performances from local to international, amateur to professional musicians.

6- ROXY

The musicians perform at Roxy even international or local ones are really cool and some of them are very well-known musicians. The musicians performing here are more rocker. Like MFÖ and Camouflage were at the stage of Roxy – if you know those names; you can easily imagine Roxy’s music style.

5- BRONX PI SAHNE

Bronx Pi hosts a variety of genres like jazz, rock, alternative and world music and also concept parties. Has a young, dynamic crew and stages groups from around the world such as Jay Jay Johanson, Parov Stelar Band, Kosheen, Die Toten Hosen, Klaus Waldecek, Belleruche, and local musicians including Redd, Model, Athena, Duman, Can Bonomo, Zakkum, Bedük.

4- BABYLON

If you ask me “What’s the style of Babylon?”; I’m not sure that I can answer it! Even they describe their radio channel “Radyo Babylon”s style as “eclectic”. Which means playing all the good music; from Indie to Jazz. Babylon Istanbul’s stage also hosts many kind of musicians like Gusgus, Büyük Ev Ablukada and more.

3- HARD ROCK CAFE ISTANBUL

With its capacity more than 300 people, the place has three bars, a cool terrace and private event party rooms. Hard Rock Cafe is a place where many musicians want to get in the stage – so you have the chance of watching many cool performances at here. Kurtalan Ekspres, Manga, Ogün Sanlısoy andddd Megadeth are just some of them.

2- HAYAL KAHVESİ BEYOĞLU

You can watch live performances of different bands’ perfomances at Beyoğlu Hayal Kahvesi which is an important venue of Istanbul night life since 1992.

They have a weekly schedule but also they add many great musicians to their program like Koray Candemir, Suzan Kardeş, Aylin Aslım, Cey’lan Ertem and many more.

1- GARAJİSTANBUL

With garajistanbul’s 350 square meters of usable space and a ceiling height of 4.5 m, garajistanbul is one of the indispensable place of many events.

This season Hayko Cepkin, Birsen Tezer, Pentagram, Gripin and many more local and international musicians will be at garajistanbul’s stage.