sandycrane wrote:
Overcrowding in European destinations is very much a seasonal thing. Visits in December (outside of xmas) , and January can be quite pleasant and significantly cheaper. I am booked for nine nights in Istanbul in January for $874. including r/t from Boise, Idaho AND the hotel!
Lieutenant Z wrote:
fyi Istanbul is not in Europe….. -)
I was under the impression that the center of Istanbul to the west of the Bosporus IS part of Europe, while the part to the east is in Asia. Am I missing something Philippe?
sandycrane wrote:
Overcrowding in European destinations is very much a seasonal thing. Visits in December (outside of xmas) , and January can be quite pleasant and significantly cheaper. I am booked for nine nights in Istanbul in January for $874. including r/t from Boise AND the hotel!
Awesome price which surely comes with winter rains... but then sometimes that is the only opportunity for travel. It will be interesting to hear what your experience is in Istanbul. Rinie and I visited in 2015 with eight days in Istanbul and four along the Aegean. It was an amazing visit with lovely, warm people. That, of course, was before the political turmoil of the last few years brought on by Erdoğan's policies. I'm not certain I'd want to visit again, despite the fact Istanbul is one of the most fascinating places I've ever visited. Good luck Sandy.
CGrindahl wrote:
I was under the impression that the center of Istanbul to the west of the Bosporus IS part of Europe, while the part to the east is in Asia. Am I missing something Philippe?
Constantinople was in Europe, without a doubt. Regarding Istanbul, it's a tricky debate that has no place here… -)
Curtis,
I remember your trip to Istanbul. I have honestly lost count on the number of times I've been there since 1970. Eight or ten, I think.
One of my nicest trips to Rome was in December, and one of the worst was in June. Just pack enough to keep your head dry and your feet warm.
I can't see how Erdogan can impact my trip, unless he is willing to pick me up at the airport. I'll know there's a problem if I have to take my shoes off to enter Hagia Sophia. Istanbul has always been one of the safest cities I've known outside of the occasional terrorist incident that we now know can happen anywhere, anytime.
Anyways, as far as I know, at least half of it is still in Europe..... -)
We visited Venice in the days following Carnival (14th Feb). Weather was lovely - sunny, cool, very few tourists but that was in 2007. It was our last European city break before emigrating to Australia.
Ray, thanks! I am sure any of those films can be replaced by Photoshop presets, but then there's no fiddling around with film cartridges, or forgetting to set the right ISO, or having to wait a week or more before seeing any results, on and on
Istanbul was a very nice tourist town, I was there just about 2 years ago. Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the underground cisterns, the grand bazaar, and a rainy cruise up the Bosphorus, those were sights I got to see in my limited time (a bit less than 2 whole days) there. Would have liked a bit more time. Indeed, it was not crowded at all in early December, but cold and rainy. Sandy, 9 nights sounds about the right amount of time.
Lieutenant Z wrote:
fyi Istanbul is not in Europe….. -)
About 15 million Turks who live on the European side of the Bosphorus would disagree, Phillippe! While Turkey may not be part of the EU, Istanbul is rated as the largest city on the European continent.
As usual the impact of political news as dished up by US television is hugely over stressed. We had a number of conversations with locals.
Having spent two days there, walking for miles in Sultanahmet, crossing the golden horn by ferry and on foot across the Galata Bridge there was never a moment where we felt unsafe or unwelcome. People everywhere were friendly and helpful. At one stage we were trying to buy ferry tickets at a window where no-one spoke English and a very helpful man gestured to us to follow him, swiped his pass twice to let us on and refused any payment.The previous time I was there was in 1969 and the people were far less helpful then.
The grand bazaar and spice bazaar were very busy but there was no jostling at all. A great experience. The lines at Hagia Sophia were very long (Topkapi is closed on Tuesdays). At prayer times the faithful (ordinary people wearing ordinary clothes ) went to the mosques to worship but businesses remained open and life went on.
Unfortunately, apart from "Lutfen" - "Thank you" , the smattering of Farsi that I picked during 3 years in Iran, was useless as the languages have very little in common.
I would go back to this amazing city in a heartbeat.
Peter, good to hear perspective from someone that was just there! It's interesting that the US Sate Dept still has a Level 3 and Level 4 advisory for Turkey. Maybe just for US citizens given the current climate and state of official relations.
Sandy, that's quite a price for the entire trip, looks like you're totally comfortable with Istanbul. Enjoy the trip.
Martin, I truly enjoyed what you did with the macro. Almost looks like a mountain range. (I just read your post again with the Swakopmund dunes, a 300 second exposure? Nice work visualizing what you would get out of that!)
A quick post, something I call "Watercolor Fall". D700, 75-150 Ser E.
Yeah, he was Samy. This is a crop. I was standing well back, and the M50 is a very small camera, so I was surprised he even saw me, but yes, he was not happy.
really Philippe?? A Benz pic?? It's a portrait of an old man in B&W, well, more black than white, and we know Ben doesn't do much B&W and he stalk old men unless he's filling in for you when you're on holiday.
Yeah, he was Samy. This is a crop. I was standing well back, and the M50 is a very small camera, so I was surprised he even saw me, but yes, he was not happy.
really Philippe?? A Benz pic?? It's a portrait of an old man in B&W, well, more black than white, and we know Ben doesn't do much B&W and he stalk old men unless he's filling in for you when you're on holiday.
Oosty wrote:
About 15 million Turks who live on the European side of the Bosphorus would disagree, Phillippe! While Turkey may not be part of the EU, Istanbul is rated as the largest city on the European continent.
Well, no offence, listen to Phillippe because he knows better. IMHO, do not tell Europeans what is Europe Europe is not (only) about geography... is about culture, values, tradition, art, common space... Definitely Europe ends at the Greek border with Turkey. I need to mention that I am a fan of Istanbul, Levant etc.
