I'm going to Turkey for a minor cosmetic procedure and I'll pay more for business class so that there's less chance of another passenger accidentally bumping into me.
Anyway is there any reason to choose one airline over the other? Turkish Airlines is slightly cheaper. I'm aware their safety record historically isn't great.
Also, any tips for Istanbul? I'll have 2 days to sightsee.
>>1064337
Go see
>Haghia Sophia
>Blue Mosque
>Topkapi Palace
Those three are all near each other, and can be seen easily in one day. On a main street south of these you can a place where you can go down to a cistern that was used by the Greeks/Romans to hold water. Turks don't use it cause Islam says non-running water is unclean. There's an Archaeological History Museum nearby I think, but I'm not sure
Other stuff is less prominent and not quite as close together
>Suleymane Mosque (nearish a university of some sort)
>Military History Museum (nearish Taksim Square)
>Greek Monasteries: All over the place.
Spice market is neat and touristy, but watch your valuables, and don't buy stupid pointless shit. Just wander around and buy tasty snacks. Pic related is cheap, only 1 lira. A cup of tea is almost always 1 lira as well, which when I went was about 40 cents.
Turkish delight is pretty great.
>>1064337
I took a turkist airlines flight from istanbul to CDG economy class, can't say it was anything special
>>1064463
It's more interesting if you're into the history of the city. It is over commercialized though, but Turks want money.
>>1064337
Watch out for scammers they are clingy just ignore them, and try İskender(alexander) kebap with ayran in any turkish themed restaurant there.Usually every one of them has their own flair to it
>>1064427
Hopefully there's some good museums and not all the good stuff is in Ankara. I'm a big history buff, any remnants of the Greeks, Jews, Turkic folk etc I'll want to see.
The Hagia Sophia & Istanbul Military Museum are top of my list so far.
>>1064463
I went with British Airways in the end since I was able to use Air Miles to pay for part of the flight.
>>1064482
I have a good jacket with inside zip pockets, nonetheless I'll be very cautious and only carry small amounts of money in my outside pockets. I don't intend to buy much anyway.
>>1064510
The operation is minimally invasive :)
BTW, this site suggests the museum will be open on Sunday;
http://www.askerimuze.tsk.tr/INGILIZCE/military_museum.htm
Is that common in Turkey? I know that Friday is the primary day of worship in Islam but Turkey follows the European pattern of Sat-Sun weekend.
>>1064579
Nowhere is closed on fridays. Only small shops with religious owners and they are not closed whole day. only 1 - 2 hours during praying time between 12 - 2 pm on fridays.
>>1064575
What's the operation, op
>>1064579
Some places close on sundays for religious reasons i think, but more important is the fact some museums close for no raisin unless you stay abreast of when they're open. And I don't mean for a short period of time. Any given museum could close for months while renovations are done, so make sure any museums you want to see in particular will be open during your stay, lest you be disappointed. The other anons advice about iskender kebab is good, since kebab is great. Drink tea, buy street vendor food, and don't stay in your room at all. Istanbul has too much to be wasting your time staring at a phone or laptop.
Istanbul has plenty of museums. Not enough to exhaust in two days, for certain. This time of year, it will be cold, so don't expect too much in the way of good weather.
>>1064337
Turkish Airlines have much better food, probably better in-flight entertainment. Seriously these days they are a class above British Airways. Safety record nowadays is fine.
Spend some time on at least one ferry - Istanbul is so vast, being out on the water really brings that home. The Spice Bazaar might warrant a brief visit (a short walk or tram ride from the Hagia Sophia and associated sights), the Grand Bazaar is also fun, and, if anything, has much less aggressive and unpleasant haggling than elsewhere.
>>1064677
OP doesn't wanna spend money though. Better to pay for museum tickets and tasty treats than over priced gifts from the spice market.
That reminds me I still have a thin leather jacket from there that I haven't worn in nearly a year. If only it looked as casual and was as comfortable as my Harrington
A den of thieves. I wouldn't return there unless leading an invasion force
