Istanbul for free

This is the first post about something which is not free, but might save everybody some money. As local markets are by far the best option to buy fruits, vegetables and cheese cheap in Istanbul. Saying that it needs to be stated that the ones which are Organic Markets are relatively expensive in comparison to the normal ones, but they are still cheaper as all the organic supermarkets in Istanbul.  And at least the unique atmosphere of a more or less packed Turkish Market is for free and nevertheless priceless! List of Local Markets in Istanbul To provide a better overview here the markets sorted by days:  Monday Markets Bahcelievler - Next to Türk Böbrek Vakfi  Göztepe - Next to Selamicesme Özgürlük Park, starting at the Selamicesme railroad bridge Tuesday Markets Clothes Street Market in Istanbul Arnavutköy - Close to the Arnavutköy bus stop Bahcesehir - "Pazartürk", located between Bahcesehir and Esenkent Bakirköy - Zuhurat Baba, Karabal Avenue, ne...

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...

As you may know, dervish lodges, madrasas and similar institutions and their rituals were outlawed during Ataturk's secularization campaign but the current AKP government has softened the rules, allowing for institutions like Yenikapi to reemerge. It was completely restored a few years ago and is quite beautiful. And more importantly it regularly host a whirling dervish ceremony, a sema, a sufi whirling .  An authentic Dervish experience in Istanbul Dervish Ceremony in Istanbul So if you seek out the real thing, you should attend one of the dervish ceremonies held by the Mevlevi Sufi Lodge at the Fatih Sultan Mehmet University Istanbul. That one is not a dervish ceremony which is put on for tourists in various location around the sightseeing spots, but the real thing, a real authentic ceremony by a real Mevlevihane (Mevlevi Sufi Lodge).  The Sema Dervish Ritual is normally held every two weeks on wednesdays, the actual dates can be found in the calendar of performance...

Istanbul, one of the most vibrant cities of this planet has a lot to offer, for every taste. Unfortunately Istanbul can also easily crack ones budget, with high entry fees and relatively high prices when it comes to food and culture. Therefore I gonna try to loosely point at some free things to do and experience in Istanbul, or at least almost free or cheap, for the budget traveler and everybody who is interested in experiencing the beauty and life of Istanbul with ease. Also I will give one or the other advice about visiting Istanbul in general and whatever may be interesting or useful while being in Istanbul. All the posts will only cover my own personal experiences and findings, comments and tips are therefore more than welcome! For current free events and happenings in Istanbul make sure to also follow Istanbulforfree on Twitter ,  Google+  and Facebook !