Erdogan must have had a master plan to spoil my trip to Istanbul as much as possible. Now I am not referring to the recent escalation of the conflict with the Kurds and in Syria or the overall political situation in Turkey, both of which had me postponing my long planned trip to Turkey for a year or two. No, I am referring to the (re)construction frenzy that has gripped most of Istanbul.

While I couldn't care less about another skyscraper being built in the suburbs, it felt as if each and every key tourist site of Istanbul was hidden in scaffolds. Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Hagia Irene, the Harem of the Topkapi Palace and the Chora Church, all were only partially accessible. If I were running the joint I would focus on one or two sites, finish and move to the next sites. My Turkish hairdresser back in Germany only rolled his eyes at my suggestion: Construction sites are good for your pocketbook, the more the merrier, the longer the better.

The scaffolds may have been one of the reasons why Istanbul didn't come together for me. Another was the traffic which makes it hard to just wander around in Istanbul as a pedestrian. Last but not least, I was left wondering how much had been lost when the city first fell to the 4th Crusade in the 13th century and finally to the Ottomans in the 15th century. This is best exemplified by the Hagia Sophia.

Having seen the murals in Ravenna which are from the same period I did assume to find something similar, only on a grander scale. But when I entered the building that once was the greatest church of Christendom, only little of the Byzantine glory of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages remained. In the upper floor you will find a few murals, but the greater part of the building had to make way for Muslim iconography and calligraphy. I felt reminded of Cordoba where the reverse happened and a monstrous church was built in what must have been one of the greatest mosques of its time. To get a glimpse of Byzantine glory the Chora Church is the better visit.

Walking

Strolling around cities, ditching buses and trains for lengthy walks, is the way I tend to enjoy cities the most. Unfortunately, in Istanbul this was only possible in very limited areas. Istanbul primarily features tiny sidewalks in a sorry state (look out for potholes!) that are commonly used as parking lots. So you end up walking on the road with plenty of cars running by; not a way to relax and stumble into nice places. In addition, as pedestrian you end up having to take plenty of detours to cross major roads as there tend to be only a few crossings. And those crossings that exist also make you wait as the traffic lights are optimized for car throughput, not pedestrian wait times.

Public Transport

Istanbul offers a reasonably good public transport network with metro lines, trams and plenty of buses. The problem is, though, that the network is a bit cumbersome, at least for tourist destinations. The metro line connecting you to the airport ends in Yenikapi just shy of the old town, so you have to walk another 30min. Or you transfer. If you plan to get to Besiktas the tram ends half way, so you have to transfer to a bus. This would be okay if transfers were less of a pain than they are.

If you transfer from Metro to Tram near the Grand Bazaar, as recommended by the transport authorities, you first have to exit the station, traverse the road via underpass, then pass a park, follow the road a bit, ... In total it takes you 10min to  transfer. I would have been lost had it no been for google maps. Also note that you pay the fare twice when you connect.

I would recommend getting an Istanbul Kart (start with 20 TL and take it from there). These are available at most tram and subway stations and can also be used for the ubiquitous public restrooms.

Museum Card

If you plan to visit the main sites (Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia) it's worthwhile to get a museum pass. The break even is reached when you visit the Hagia Sophia, Hagia Irene and the Topkapi Palace plus Harem. For good measure I would also visit the archaeological museum where you can see some of the counterparts to exhibits in Berlin (Ischia Gate, Pergamon Altar) and London (Akropolis). Finally, it also provides access to the Chora Church, a must visit to me.

The museum card will let you skip the queue. To optimize the time savings do not buy it at Topkapi/Hagia Sophia as the lines are long. Instead, start off at one of the minor sights (Hagia Irene would be my recommendation) where the queues are shorter. As soon as you have the pass, you can skip the long lines at Hagia Sophia and Topkapi and head directly to the ticket control.

Side remark: At Hagia Sophia guides will offer to take you in and enable you to skip the queue, too. This may be worthwhile if you only plan to visit Hagia Sophia.

Tentative Sites

Istanbul boasts three entries on the Turkish tentative list. These can be easily covered within a day.

• The Nuruosmaniye Mosque is just a short detour from the main tourist area. Not that stunning.
• The Galata Tower is part of the Genoese Fortifications and just across the river. It provides very nice views of the Hagia Sophia and the old Town. The area around the tower is also very nice and recommended.
• Finally, the Yildiz Palace Complex is a bit off in Besiktas and will probably require you to take a bus or so. Note, that at the time of writing the palace is undergoing renovations and only the mosque is accessible.

While you are in Besiktas I would also tick off the Dolmabahçe Palace. I feel the Ottoman Palaces should be combined and submitted as one serial nomination akin to Torino.

Day Trips

Two sites that can be done in a day trip are the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne and the historic center of Bursa. Bursa is a fun trip with a nice boat trip. Edirne on a day trip meanwhile is only for the hardened traveller (at least 4h one way if Istanbul traffic allows it). I recommend staying over night.

While You Are There

I enjoyed Ian's recommendation for Turkish sweets: ‪Osmanlizadeler‬. They are pretty close to the Topkapi palace.

Having dinner on a roof top terrace would have been fun, but the weather didn't really allow for it in our case. Be sure to check if a Cafe or restaurant is halal if you want to have a beer along to dinner.