• Destination Istanbul

Lose yourself in this incredibly dynamic city where east meets west and staycay in the Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus, the address of experiences

Lose yourself in this incredibly dynamic city where east meets west

When in Istanbul, do what the locals do… shop of course! Your first port of call must be the Grand Bazaar, where you’ll be able to brush up on those bargaining skills, not to mention stock up on souvenirs for your friends and family back home. With over 60 streets and alleys and 4,000 shops, the world’s largest and oldest covered bazaar sells absolutely everything.

Your next stop should be Mısır Çarşısı or the Egyptian Bazaar, the centre for the spice trade in Istanbul where you can lay your hands on fresh supply of spices, nuts, honeycomb, Turkish delight, dried figs, caviar and mature hard Turkish cheese. Browse at your leisure, as people have been doing since the Spice Bazaar was built in 1664.

Shop to your heart’s delight among the boutiques, bookstores and music stores along the bustling İstiklal Avenue, an elegant pedestrianised street located in the historical Beyoğlu district. For a spot of culture, there are numerous art galleries, cinemas and theatres too. End your trip in one of the fine Turkish or international restaurants housed in the Ottoman-era buildings that line the street.

Fashionistas head to Nişantaşı, an upscale residential area filled with fashion boutiques. selling international and prominent local labels. There is plenty of opportunity here to relax a while in many of the fashionable restaurants housed in fabulous Art nouveau buildings.

CULTURAL SITES

Istanbul is a cultural melting pot with so many brilliant places to visit. Your itinerary must simply include Topkapi Palace, the court of the Ottoman Empire sultans, ambitious courtiers, beautiful concubines and scheming eunuchs lived and worked between the 15th and 19th centuries. Visit the palace’s opulent pavilions, jewelfilled Treasury and sprawling Harem gives a fascinating glimpse into their lives.

Two mosques on your must-list visit are the Sultan Ahmed Mosque or Blue Mosque, an Ottoman-era Friday Mosque and the Agios Sophia, an important monument both for Byzantine and for Ottoman Empires, which was once a church and later a mosque.

HIDDEN GEM

Balat is a work-a-day neighbourhood of winding cobbled streets oozing history in vibrant bursts of colour. The listed UNESCO heritage site is surprisingly rarely visited by tourists. You’ll find hip cafés and avant garde art galleries side-by-side old-school grocers. The areas historical importance as a place of Jewish, Greek and Armenian communities is attested to in the number of Synagogues, and churches found here and there along the narrow streets.