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Showing posts from 2015

Istanbul Museums for free: Turkish Bank Museum

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Even though Istanbul does provide a lot of museums, the majority of them are unfortunately - for the budget traveler - not free, not even cheap. One of the very few exception is the Turkish Bank Museum - Türkiye IS Bankasi Museum or Isbank Museum.  Turkish Bank Museum Istanbul Turkish Bank Museum Istanbul According to the name of the Museum one normally would suspect it is a museum about the Turkish Bank, but that is only half of the museum. Being situated in an old bank building in Eminönü it is a sight by itself. Built 1892 and used as the Isbank main branch from 1926 to 2005 it is a museum since 2007, and hosts changing exhibitions - about three to four throughout the year. Besides an exhibition about the history of Türkiye IS Bankasi itself and about the technical development of banking over time, this years main exhibition is about Canakkale 1915 . The Canakkale 1915 "From the depths to the trenches" exhibition will run until the mid of August and is also in En

Free Turkish Courses and many more

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Everybody who is intending to stay longer in the cultural and economic heart of Turkey, Istanbul, may want to learn Turkish. At least at a basic level. May it be just to get better in touch with all the locals and their culture, for better integrating or even for just being able to interact smoother when it comes down to everyday life. Learn Turkish for free in Istanbul Turkish lessons & more in Istanbul - for free There are literally mirads of Turkish lessons offered all over the city. Of better and worse quality and every level of rates asked. But besides that it is not the easiest thing to pick the right language school at all, not everybody may be able to pay much for a language course. Luckily here come the ISMEK in, which is kind of a free public school run by government. In the first place aiming at Turkish residents to provide courses in a broad range of topics from languages over programming to handicrafts, ISMEK also offers Turkish language courses for foreigners

Turkish Food 101: Cold Street Food

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After providing an overview of the breakfast served in Turkey and typical drinks in Turkey , now an overview of the cold street food in the city. The probably most well known of them is the sesame ring called Simit, which can literally be found on every corner of the city in the red push-cars on the street. For a mere 1 TL one gets a decent snack, sometimes even with chocolate cream or cream cheese, the latest is highly recommended to try. Turkish Cold Street Food Simit Simit - crispy round savory roll covered with sesame, kind of a Turkish bagel. The street version, the sokak simit (cold) is very crispy. Some street vendors also offer to prepare it with cream cheese or chocolate cream. Simi are dipped in water which is sweetened with molasses and are dipped into sesame seeds before baking. This process keeps them moist and tasty. Besides the only contain half of the calories as a boiled bagel. Prices are between 0.75 and 1.40 TL for the plain Simit, cream cheese or Nutella

Viewpoints in Istanbul: Camlica Hill

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View from Camlica up the Bosphorus Camlica Hill is probably the number one spot for watching the sunset over Istanbul. It offers a unique perspective on the city, overlooking the old town - Sultanahmet, the areas of Besikatas and Beyoglu, the first Bosphorus Bridge and the main Istanbul waterway, the Bosphorus. If the weather conditions allow it, it is even possible to see the Princes Islands and the famous Mount Uludag near Bursa. Camlica Hill - The view over Istanbul View from Camlica down the Bosphorus Camlica is located about 4km from Üsküdar and divided into two hills: Kücük Camlica (‘Little Pine Hill’) and Büyük Camlica (‘Big Pine Hill’). Büyük Camlica is the highest point in Istanbul at 267m above sea level. Therefore providing the best views of Istanbul. Nevertheless Kücük CAmlica is worth visiting too, being more peaceful and offering beautiful gardens, forests and walking trails. Especially during the spring time Camlica is worth a visit, as in anticipation o