Istanbul: live or leave

This photo shows the Turkish Bath we used to go. I was taking photos around it and I thought why not go in and talk to its owner for a few minutes.

I could not go into the steam room, because I wasn't prepared and I did not want to harm my camera. I very much want to go there again and take a good bath along with a massage.

... this is how the traffic looks in the day time around noon.

Istanbul offers you the best clubs, bars and diners. This city lives 24 hours. There is definitely something for every kind of people with every kind of taste. It is a 24-hour living city. Even at 4 in the morning there are people walking in the city center. In the summer you can see a traffic jam on the bosphorous bridge.

Night life and music

A bar in Istanbul





If you like going out, either to wine & dine or dancing, Istanbul nights offers you the best alternatives.

A blog with detailed info about where to go and what to do in Istanbul
Take a look at this blog if you are searching for some tips.

Beer and pizza at Otto Santral.

Yes, this city is over-populated. You live in big crowds here and this can make you mad sometimes.

The sidewalks are usually not the perfect places if you are in a hurry. You can not walk fast, you have to keep the pace of the person in front of you.

It is also dangerous for drivers, because somebody can suddenly walk right in your way. It is a new adventure everyday...

This pic shows how many people can walk on the street of Beyoglu at the same time:


And one from Ortakoy, which can be really crowded in the weekends:


But,

I need to put a big but here. If you are living in a small city where everything is in order, streets are empty, traffic is good and you know everybody, and you are fed up of this, Istanbul can be your medicine.

Here, you can be lost in the crowds, disappear and not found if you don't want to be. I haven't lived in a small city so I do not know what it is like. I have friends who have and as far as I heard from them, small cities get very boring after some time. It is for sure that you can never feel this in Istanbul.

In my opinion, the Prince Islands is the best place to run away from the city life. These small islands are located on the south-east of Istanbul, reached by 1,5 hours of boat trip from the city center.





The islands has been used as holiday resorts and still there are many families who spend the whole summer here. Recently, the working people have started renting apartments or houses for the whole year. Although the transportation can be hard in winter, it feels like living in an oasis, so close to the city and yet so far away from the exhausting atmosphere.

There are also various hotels and pensions on the islands. especially the biggest one, called Buyukada meaning "Big Island" is the most popular one due to the variety of accommodation options. On the smaller islands, there are mostly houses and villas and less hotels. Still you can find some rooms for rent if you decide to stay overnight.

The best side of the islands is that there is no traffic. No cars are allowed on the streets. You can ride a bike or use the carriages to go around. One can only hear the screams of seagulls and steps of the horses.



Last weekend I was there with my husband and my daughter. We wanted to see the possibilities to live on the island and went there to look for an apartment. Although there are very good places with very reasonable prices, the transportation in the mornings is a big problem. After giving a good thought, we decided that we will go there on the weekends for the moment. Maybe later, if we continue living in Istanbul and have our own business running well, we can move there permanently.

This is the view of the flat we liked the most:


By the way, one of my friends has very recently rented a flat in Buyukada and he plans to move in at the end of this month. In order to share his experiences of moving to and living on an island, he started this blog:

The Island Chronicles

Istanbul is a very big city with a few green areas. I used to go out for playing with my friends when I was a child. But today, the children are growing in huge buildings with rarely putting their feet on green.

Almost 80% of the city does not have parks or any green area that is suitable for the children. And mostly the children of the working parents are going to kindergartens, which are stuck among high buildings having very little gardens. The children are like workers. They go to these schools, play inside and come home to play in the house again.

We can only go out to the seaside on the weekends and we usually spend limited time there. Most of the middle and lower class families do not go out at all.

The city is surrounded by the sea but we can not swim because of the dirty water. We just look at the sea, sit at the shore for some time, maybe take a short walk and go back home.



Personally, I do not want to raise my child in this city. She has to run around freely without being disturbed by traffic or high concrete buildings.