Ataturk airport is about 20km west of the city centre. British passport holders must pay £10 for a visa on arrival. Once through, the Havas bus shuttles every half-hour between the international arrivals and the city centre. Traffic permitting, the journey takes about 20 minutes to reach Aksaray , where you change for the tram into the old city, or 10 minutes longer to reach Taksim Square - the hub of the new city. The fare to either stop is 8 New Turkish Lira (YTL) (£3.50). The taxi fare to the city centre is around YTL25 (£11). Whichever way you travel, look out for the remains of the old city walls along the way.
Istanbul resembles three jigsaw puzzle pieces that don't quite match. Most of your time will be spent in Sultanahmet , the area where the city grew up. This is the thumb of Europe that points east across the Bosphorus (the drain from the Black Sea into the Med). To the north of this, across the estuary known as the Golden Horn, is Beyoglu - the more modern part of the city. The historic link between them is the Galata Bridge. The Asian part of the city, on the eastern side of the Bosphorus, is of limited interest - but the ferry trip there is magical (see Take a ride). Public transport is good, with dozens of bus routes and ferries, but you will probably walk most of the time - with the clean, air-conditioned trams helping out when you get weary for a flat fare of YTL1.10 (£0.50).
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |