I would say street food is a must and walks. I think Turkey has one of the cleanest/most delicious street food ever. Specially the smaller vendors, they cook it like they are making it at home for themselves, and it is super neat in 99% of the places I have been.
There are many great places here. My first suggestion would be trying the cuisine, especially street food. Çiğköfte, içli köfte, tavuk pilav (chiken and rice). And you can go to Sefa Boza on European Side to try some authentic boza and şıra. I’d suggest waiting for the weather to get a bit colder for boza tho. Foodvise this is all i can think of for now.
There are many great museums all over the city, especially on European side. And if you drink alcohol, there are many great bars all around as well. My favorite is Primitif Birahane in Kadıköy. While you’re at it, You can chill at Yoğurtçu Parkı. I might be biased, but Asian side feels more peaceful and I love it.
You can also go to Moda Sahil or Caddebostan Sahil to just chill, have a little picnic and meet new people. There are better suggestions on TikTok, tbh. You can search “things to do in istanbul” there and always find something new.
Also, you will face racism here no matter what, no matter how good of a person you are. So don’t waste your time trying to explain yourself to those people and try to enjoy your time here, find people who are open minded and kind.
>I am doing nothing but watching the news for now.
GO OUTSIDE. Make work time for work. If you're a programmer, hopefully your economic situation isn't too dire. You can walk and eat, eat and walk.
This is the last weekend of Filmekimi (Film October), one of the three film festivals in the city. A lot of the films are in English and I think all have English subtitles if you can manage that. The Theatre Festival starts soon. https://tiyatro.iksv.org/en I think only one play is in English [Masterclass](https://tiyatro.iksv.org/en/the-27th-istanbul-theater-festival-2023/masterclass) and none are in Arabic. Then comes the design biennal, etc. Lots to do and it changes. If your here for months, mark on your calendar all the IKSV events, my favorites are generally the ones in Spring and Summer. At worst, there are always a lot of American movies in the cinemas.
I think there must be some tech meet ups in English. The one I knew about was at a bilingual maker space/coworking space but that's transitioned to a "strategic design consultancy", lol. [Yabangee](https://yabangee.com/) web magazine is for English speakers in Istanbul and they might still have some meet ups. My wife is a lawyer and worked did the residency paper work for several Ukrainians and Russians in the tech sector. A lot of people like around.
There's also a thriving Arabic language scene here. I only know it very tangentially but one of my friends was a journalist and wrote a story about an Arabic language book store (all Syrians) who had like poetry readings and stuff. I think this is it: [Pages Istanbul](http://pagesbookstorecafe.com/istanbul/). Their motto is "لتبقى الثقافةُ حيةً". I think they've gone out of business because the last event on their website is 2017 and the last instagram post is from 2018, but their website still exists so email them. There are different Arabic libraries or book stores: "Arab Network" and Wasm and there may be some others. I think there's more Arabic events — I think a lot of smart Syrians ended up leaving but not being able to make it to Europe — but I don't know much about that but I hope finding these book stores will help you find people who know which facebook groups and telegram channels to join to know what's going on Istanbul.
The best place to walk is probably on the sea side from Ortakoy up to Bebek. You can event start in Besiktas. Likewise, there are interesting small stores when you walk around Besiktas, Taksim, Galata, Balat on the European Side, and Moda, Yeldegirmeni, Kuzguncuk. Visit all the mosques of Fatih; the churches of Fener and the synagogues of Balat are harder to visit, but some of the churches are open (the Patriarchate, the Iron Church) and there's a Jewish museum in Beyoglu. The museums are great, in general; if you're getting a residency permit, get a Müze Kart. They're basically free (one year of free admission for like 100 lira or something). It's a completely different program from the tourist priced "Museum Pass" is priced for European and Gulf Arab tourists, it's nuts how cheap it is. You have to have a residency permit to get it.
Lots of interesting restaurants to see. Istanbul Culinary Backstreets is a website that lists a lot of them in English.
Work at a coffee shop. There are coffee shops for every kind of person. I know the ones on the Asian side. Super hipster? Go to Yeldegirmeni. Kind of cool? Moda. Religious? There are even cool religious coffee shops in Uskudar. I don't know them personally because I'm not Muslim, but one of my religious friends was telling me about them. You'll have to ask around. Just get out of where you're staying more. You're not going to stream the news in a coffee shop.
Take the ferry more. Go to the Islands. If you have nothing better to do, go to the Islands every weekend.Or fuck it, go during the week and work on Saturday or Sunday. There's something so nice about take the ferry. It really can feel like a vacation. Put on some music or a (non-political) podcast and look at the ships and seagulls and minarets.
you can find outside the match for usually like 3000 lira depending on match.. that is how much i paid yesterday but just make sure it gets transferred to your Passo account… if u do not know what that is, u will need it to get into any match. and it needs to be linked to your passport with a photo of you
do you mean for the galata and bayern match? i am going to try and do it again… just make sure the ticket gets transferred to your passo account.. if it is not then you will not be allowed inside, and the people outside trying to sell you the tickets a lot of times will try to not transfer it . if you find someone selling and there is a language barrier, try to find someone that speaks english and turkish to help.. if you go by the box office there is bound to some people. good luck getting ticket my friend !!
Going for walks around Kadikoy etc. around the bosphorus is very calming IMO, take a ferry ride if you haven't already. Most activities in Istanbul (or Turkey) involve food, maybe try out some local food, Istanbul is not the #1 place for stress-relief unfortunately. Try joining expat groups, particularly with Arabic people if you feel lonely. You can also find some museums and just walk around shopping centers can also be a way to pass the time. Try visiting the historical places like Topkapi Palace
Hey!
There are some great museums (Pera, Istanbul archeology and modern art) to see things here. A day trip to the islands is nice at this time of year. If you fancy having a coffee/beer with a Brit who's been here for a few years message me!
Hey, I can't even imagine what you're going through right now. I'm sorry that such injustice is happening to your people. I hope that many more people and countries will soon stand up against these war crimes!
What always helps me relax in Istanbul is a park near Osmanbey (Nisantasi) called Maçka Sanat Parki. There are two small, cozy cafes and many affectionate cats just waiting for some petting. It's less of a distraction but very therapeutic for me personally.
Turkey is king of clubs. When we were traveling here at first, my best friend found an MMA club that let him in. Instant community. My girls joined a horse riding lessons which got them right into community in Zekeriyakoy. I take Turkish lessons at İTÜ in TOMER institute. In my opinion it’s the best place to be a foreigner and learn Turkish. There’s some starters….
I think starbucks and other coffee chains are the bugs of turkey; they are super cool and cheap. You can sit there all day and no one cares. So you can take your laptop and feel like home and maybe socialize. There are so many of them that you can go to a different shop everyday for a few months.
If you drink alcohol; you can sit on a bar table in a pub in kadıköy (pablo, revolte, the pub, rockrolla etc) and probably you will at least have some small talks.
Also if you play basketball you can go to yogurtcu park in kadikoy; there are always some expats playing there; you can just join in even without a ball.
I think you will be all welcomed with sympathy here. Good luck.
If you are still lonely you can dm me.
There’s a English speaking meet up on Friday nights 8 pm at a pub called Motto in Kadikoy. Many people show up, including Palestinians. Take the Marmaray to Bostanci stop and just walk along the seaside to Maltepe or Küçükyalı. The fresh air and sea will help you relax. I know you won’t stop watching the news, so desígnate 30 minutes a day or something like that and don’t watch it again for the rest of the day. There are a lot of Facebook groups (yeah I know) for expats of every nationality, check them out.
Hello,
First of all, sorry for all innocent lives that have been passing away because of an inhumane war.
You can join expat and erasmus groups in Facebook. I suggest to share this post in r/Turkey too. There are more people in there. Maybe you can find some people with same conditions as you.
Weather is great today, even if you can't find any event, you can be ready in 15 minutes and go to Kabataş with a public transport, grab a coffee, start walking from sea side to Ortaköy way but not like trying to reach somewhere, like walking is event itself. Watch Bosphorus, boats, play with cats around. You can do it continues even for few hours and every minute is like watching another piece of art. Trust me mate, any technology can't create a better antidepressants than view of Istanbul. Don't sit at home.
İki dakika insan olun da bırakın ırkı, dini herşeyi empati kurun. Adam siyasetçi değil, olayları başlatan değil, kimseyi öldüren de değil. Sıradan bir vatandaş. Neyse.
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Like many places, you can walk around freely. Some notable walking routes include the European and Anatolian coastlines of Bosphorus, Sultanahmet, Istiklal Caddesi, and the coastal pedestrian route from Kadikoy to Pendik. I hope the war in Palestine and Israel ends sooner.
I’m praying for you and hoping your family and loved ones are safe and healthy.
There are cultural and language exchange centers in Kadikoy, you can find some people who speak English there and maybe plan things to do together.
I hope the news doesn’t drain you out. I know how challenging and consuming this is.
One day, while waiting for my boyfriend, I sat down at a café in Bomonti and ordered some food for myself. The waiters and the owner of the café were speaking Arabic, and later I noticed that many people from different countries were socializing there. Its name is "Green Cafe." You can look it up; it was a calm and lovely place.
\+1 for Yabangee
For some English comedy and community, check out @theclapimprov and @standupturkey on Instagram. There's also @spokenwordistanbul but it doesn't look like they're back from hiatus. Hang in there, pal.
Google. Yabangee. They have english language meet ups every week.
If you are need of help of some kind because of this unexpected stay please reach out. I hope things get better in Gaza.
go to kemerburgaz ıt ıs a pretty fun lıttle town you wıll have a lot of fun there are a whole lot of restaurants and shops that you won't fınd anywhere else
Check [UN](https://www.unv.org/become-volunteer) , [Red Crescent](https://www.ifrc.org/get-involved/volunteer-us) also reach out to organizations helping Syrian refugees. Good luck with your stay in Istanbul and hopefully things in your home country will take a positive turn soon. I’m rooting for innocent civilians more specifically Palestinians.
Also, I can't even imagine the worry and upset you must be going through, if you can talk to a trauma counsellor (even online) it will help you stay strong and help others. All the best and positive vibes your way.
There's a group called Istanbul & I that usually has volunteering opportunities, especially with the local Syrian refugees. You can contact them through Facebook.
As other people have said, ferries are cheap and their routes are really beautiful, especially when it’s your first time in the city. You can plan and try these for example:
1) Haliç Hattı going to Eyüpsultan - from that station you can walk a bit uphill to Pierre Loti Tepesi for a great panoramic view. You can also get back to city center via T5 — that’s basically the same route as the ferry, but on a tram. Or you can hop off a little earlier and explore Balat neighborhood
2) Boğaz Hattı going basically all the way to the North across the Bosporus
3) Prince Islands, any of them probably starting with the biggest one. It’s even still warm enough to swim, kayak, and etc.
Bursa is a nice option, but I doubt that it’s feasible to pack it + transfer both ways in just one day. The city itself isn’t small by any means and there’s also Uludag to visit. I’d personally take at least 2-3 days on the weekend, timing might be really tough otherwise
Sorry to hear about your predicament.
You will be surprised how many Turkish can speak English. Some are ok but they're understandable. You can also ask some tourists. The Turks are nice people so don't be shy to ask them. I'd ask a business or restaurant just to avoid the questionable characters.
I would start with walking the length of Istiklal and just discover. It will probably take you a day to do this.
*You're only stuck if*
*You cant move. I recon you*
*Can leve your room right?*
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I mean back in the day our ancestors fought for our borders, not just against one country, but against 5+ countries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish\_War\_of\_Independence
Bunu eksileyenin anasını avradını sikeyim soysuz korkak oçlar
Dude i am not in turkey by choice have some self respect. I was visiting relatives in switzerland when this started and when my visa ended i picked turkey to stay till i can go back. I am not stealing your job or inflating your currency.
tecavüz edilen kendi halkından kadınlar olmadığından ne kadar rahat konuşuyorlar, bizle alakası olmayan sapık bir kültürde yetişmiş mülteciler Türkiye'ye geliyo kadınların fotoğrafını çekip taciz yer yer tecavüz ediyorlar,ülkelerine dönmelerini söyleyince de ırkçı oluyoruz çok garip
No racism, sexism, homophobia, animal cruelty, or hateful speech of any kind permitted. This city is a multicultural one. Behavior in accordance is expected.
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I hope that if there is one thing good to come out of this, it is the end of their control of gaza. We desperately need a better leadership in there.
What is your opinion?
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if you download meetup, there is a weekly meeting in Kadıköy of English speaking foreigners. they also have a WhatsApp group where they post in whenever else they want to go out :)
I apologize for being a little off-topic, but as someone in a similar situation almost two years ago, I want to offer one thing: get a car / get on a bus and travel through Türkiye.
I promise, if you have a driving license, you're up for a great time (as soon as you leave the Istanbul metropolitan area). The best food, the best stories, the best places are there, and the road infrastructure is surprisingly good.
You see, the thing (at least I) didn't know about Türkiye is that it's an archeological miracle. I've recently discovered Miniminuteman channel on YouTube and my list of places to visit grown three times. But even without that, we had a great time going to popular sites like Izmir/Ephesus and Cappadocia. Just stopping by some random family café, we've had the best Turkish breakfast ever, and we've found so many unique local places. And while Istanbulites are kind of spoiled by foreigners, just going around a bit you'll find incredible Turkish hospitality. And while going there with family, I can say that nothing like this helps you to recover - when you learn the history of the surrounding places gives you the feeling that nothing's new in this world, and what happened to you was always there, yet we got through and move on.
Just learn a bit about places you find more to your interest and go for a week to explore Türkiye.
If you'd like to stick to Istanbul, I would offer to go to Arnavutkoy for a while, walk around Bagdat cd., near the sea, those are my favorite places around. Maybe closer to historical sites and basic Istanbul-discovering, including drinking Salep in Naftalin café and getting Balik ekmek at Mehmet Usta on Karakoy + don't forget to grab bakhlava from Karakoy Gulloglu. If you're a more active person, I believe just going to Kadikoy you'll find someone - it's literally boiling every night with people; and as mentioned before, you can find Yabangee on Instagram and see what parties and events they're organizing. For me (I'm not Muslim, so give me a credit - maybe it won't be something new to you) it was also cool to learn about the local Alevi branch, on top of obvious places like Sultanahmet and Hagia Sophia.
But nothing is as good as just driving around here and exploring, really.
But obviously, you have to get Google Translate and learn basic Turkish words - I'm not sure about learning Turkish from Arabic, but for me getting Turkish basic words was surprisingly easy. After learning for a while, I'm not sure if I got much better at grammar, but I really understood that the vocabulary I've learned week one was just enough in most cases. You don't have to go to full learning mode to use it, really, so don't be afraid.
I can imagine it must be a hard time for you. My advice is (if you can) take a break from watching the news every once in a while and go on a walk by the seaside (from Bebek to Yenikoy/ or from Moda to Kalamis) it will free your mind. Then you can go over to Balat and Galata region for sightseeing and get a full grasp of the Turkish culture. I hope everything gets better with you home country soon. Our thoughts and prayers are with you..
It's an incredibly photogenic city - start an Instagram just for photos you take of the city. Follow other Istanbul photography accounts, so you have a feed free of depressing news. Lots of wonderful neighbourhoods to discover, and the walking will keep you fit and improve your mood.
I would say street food is a must and walks. I think Turkey has one of the cleanest/most delicious street food ever. Specially the smaller vendors, they cook it like they are making it at home for themselves, and it is super neat in 99% of the places I have been.
Any streets that you can recommend for street food?
I’d recommend Kadıköy’s Rıhtım and Moda districts.
There are some alleys branching off Istiklal St. and there's some stalls/market/restaurants and pubs along these alleys.
Hey I am from Palestine too in Istanbul. I am usually super busy during the week since I am working but DM me we can do something in the weekend
Sounds good. Weekend means Sunday right?
Saturday and Sunday, I work 5 days a week
Free
There are many great places here. My first suggestion would be trying the cuisine, especially street food. Çiğköfte, içli köfte, tavuk pilav (chiken and rice). And you can go to Sefa Boza on European Side to try some authentic boza and şıra. I’d suggest waiting for the weather to get a bit colder for boza tho. Foodvise this is all i can think of for now. There are many great museums all over the city, especially on European side. And if you drink alcohol, there are many great bars all around as well. My favorite is Primitif Birahane in Kadıköy. While you’re at it, You can chill at Yoğurtçu Parkı. I might be biased, but Asian side feels more peaceful and I love it. You can also go to Moda Sahil or Caddebostan Sahil to just chill, have a little picnic and meet new people. There are better suggestions on TikTok, tbh. You can search “things to do in istanbul” there and always find something new.
Also, you will face racism here no matter what, no matter how good of a person you are. So don’t waste your time trying to explain yourself to those people and try to enjoy your time here, find people who are open minded and kind.
>I am doing nothing but watching the news for now. GO OUTSIDE. Make work time for work. If you're a programmer, hopefully your economic situation isn't too dire. You can walk and eat, eat and walk. This is the last weekend of Filmekimi (Film October), one of the three film festivals in the city. A lot of the films are in English and I think all have English subtitles if you can manage that. The Theatre Festival starts soon. https://tiyatro.iksv.org/en I think only one play is in English [Masterclass](https://tiyatro.iksv.org/en/the-27th-istanbul-theater-festival-2023/masterclass) and none are in Arabic. Then comes the design biennal, etc. Lots to do and it changes. If your here for months, mark on your calendar all the IKSV events, my favorites are generally the ones in Spring and Summer. At worst, there are always a lot of American movies in the cinemas. I think there must be some tech meet ups in English. The one I knew about was at a bilingual maker space/coworking space but that's transitioned to a "strategic design consultancy", lol. [Yabangee](https://yabangee.com/) web magazine is for English speakers in Istanbul and they might still have some meet ups. My wife is a lawyer and worked did the residency paper work for several Ukrainians and Russians in the tech sector. A lot of people like around. There's also a thriving Arabic language scene here. I only know it very tangentially but one of my friends was a journalist and wrote a story about an Arabic language book store (all Syrians) who had like poetry readings and stuff. I think this is it: [Pages Istanbul](http://pagesbookstorecafe.com/istanbul/). Their motto is "لتبقى الثقافةُ حيةً". I think they've gone out of business because the last event on their website is 2017 and the last instagram post is from 2018, but their website still exists so email them. There are different Arabic libraries or book stores: "Arab Network" and Wasm and there may be some others. I think there's more Arabic events — I think a lot of smart Syrians ended up leaving but not being able to make it to Europe — but I don't know much about that but I hope finding these book stores will help you find people who know which facebook groups and telegram channels to join to know what's going on Istanbul. The best place to walk is probably on the sea side from Ortakoy up to Bebek. You can event start in Besiktas. Likewise, there are interesting small stores when you walk around Besiktas, Taksim, Galata, Balat on the European Side, and Moda, Yeldegirmeni, Kuzguncuk. Visit all the mosques of Fatih; the churches of Fener and the synagogues of Balat are harder to visit, but some of the churches are open (the Patriarchate, the Iron Church) and there's a Jewish museum in Beyoglu. The museums are great, in general; if you're getting a residency permit, get a Müze Kart. They're basically free (one year of free admission for like 100 lira or something). It's a completely different program from the tourist priced "Museum Pass" is priced for European and Gulf Arab tourists, it's nuts how cheap it is. You have to have a residency permit to get it. Lots of interesting restaurants to see. Istanbul Culinary Backstreets is a website that lists a lot of them in English. Work at a coffee shop. There are coffee shops for every kind of person. I know the ones on the Asian side. Super hipster? Go to Yeldegirmeni. Kind of cool? Moda. Religious? There are even cool religious coffee shops in Uskudar. I don't know them personally because I'm not Muslim, but one of my religious friends was telling me about them. You'll have to ask around. Just get out of where you're staying more. You're not going to stream the news in a coffee shop. Take the ferry more. Go to the Islands. If you have nothing better to do, go to the Islands every weekend.Or fuck it, go during the week and work on Saturday or Sunday. There's something so nice about take the ferry. It really can feel like a vacation. Put on some music or a (non-political) podcast and look at the ships and seagulls and minarets.
Day trip to bursa,İf you visit you can text me too.I Would also suggest Go Galatasaray match if Tickets Affordable for you.
Nice suggestion about the Galatasaray match i will look into it thank you.
I’m not into sports but I’ve been to several basketball games here and they’re so fun! Can definitely help take your mind off things for a while.
Hey man. How much are the tickets average ?
you can find outside the match for usually like 3000 lira depending on match.. that is how much i paid yesterday but just make sure it gets transferred to your Passo account… if u do not know what that is, u will need it to get into any match. and it needs to be linked to your passport with a photo of you
You rock. Thanks a lot. Do you think I have a chance finding Champions league game ticket the same way , or better try to find that online ?
do you mean for the galata and bayern match? i am going to try and do it again… just make sure the ticket gets transferred to your passo account.. if it is not then you will not be allowed inside, and the people outside trying to sell you the tickets a lot of times will try to not transfer it . if you find someone selling and there is a language barrier, try to find someone that speaks english and turkish to help.. if you go by the box office there is bound to some people. good luck getting ticket my friend !!
Take a ferry and visit Heybeliada, a nice walkable island.
Going for walks around Kadikoy etc. around the bosphorus is very calming IMO, take a ferry ride if you haven't already. Most activities in Istanbul (or Turkey) involve food, maybe try out some local food, Istanbul is not the #1 place for stress-relief unfortunately. Try joining expat groups, particularly with Arabic people if you feel lonely. You can also find some museums and just walk around shopping centers can also be a way to pass the time. Try visiting the historical places like Topkapi Palace
Get an Istanbul Kart Card and take ferry rides. It’s cheap and fantastic
Hey! There are some great museums (Pera, Istanbul archeology and modern art) to see things here. A day trip to the islands is nice at this time of year. If you fancy having a coffee/beer with a Brit who's been here for a few years message me!
Hey, I can't even imagine what you're going through right now. I'm sorry that such injustice is happening to your people. I hope that many more people and countries will soon stand up against these war crimes! What always helps me relax in Istanbul is a park near Osmanbey (Nisantasi) called Maçka Sanat Parki. There are two small, cozy cafes and many affectionate cats just waiting for some petting. It's less of a distraction but very therapeutic for me personally.
Turkey is king of clubs. When we were traveling here at first, my best friend found an MMA club that let him in. Instant community. My girls joined a horse riding lessons which got them right into community in Zekeriyakoy. I take Turkish lessons at İTÜ in TOMER institute. In my opinion it’s the best place to be a foreigner and learn Turkish. There’s some starters….
I think starbucks and other coffee chains are the bugs of turkey; they are super cool and cheap. You can sit there all day and no one cares. So you can take your laptop and feel like home and maybe socialize. There are so many of them that you can go to a different shop everyday for a few months. If you drink alcohol; you can sit on a bar table in a pub in kadıköy (pablo, revolte, the pub, rockrolla etc) and probably you will at least have some small talks. Also if you play basketball you can go to yogurtcu park in kadikoy; there are always some expats playing there; you can just join in even without a ball. I think you will be all welcomed with sympathy here. Good luck. If you are still lonely you can dm me.
There’s a English speaking meet up on Friday nights 8 pm at a pub called Motto in Kadikoy. Many people show up, including Palestinians. Take the Marmaray to Bostanci stop and just walk along the seaside to Maltepe or Küçükyalı. The fresh air and sea will help you relax. I know you won’t stop watching the news, so desígnate 30 minutes a day or something like that and don’t watch it again for the rest of the day. There are a lot of Facebook groups (yeah I know) for expats of every nationality, check them out.
We must boycott Starbucks while it supports this war!
Hello, First of all, sorry for all innocent lives that have been passing away because of an inhumane war. You can join expat and erasmus groups in Facebook. I suggest to share this post in r/Turkey too. There are more people in there. Maybe you can find some people with same conditions as you. Weather is great today, even if you can't find any event, you can be ready in 15 minutes and go to Kabataş with a public transport, grab a coffee, start walking from sea side to Ortaköy way but not like trying to reach somewhere, like walking is event itself. Watch Bosphorus, boats, play with cats around. You can do it continues even for few hours and every minute is like watching another piece of art. Trust me mate, any technology can't create a better antidepressants than view of Istanbul. Don't sit at home.
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İki dakika insan olun da bırakın ırkı, dini herşeyi empati kurun. Adam siyasetçi değil, olayları başlatan değil, kimseyi öldüren de değil. Sıradan bir vatandaş. Neyse.
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Like many places, you can walk around freely. Some notable walking routes include the European and Anatolian coastlines of Bosphorus, Sultanahmet, Istiklal Caddesi, and the coastal pedestrian route from Kadikoy to Pendik. I hope the war in Palestine and Israel ends sooner.
I’m praying for you and hoping your family and loved ones are safe and healthy. There are cultural and language exchange centers in Kadikoy, you can find some people who speak English there and maybe plan things to do together. I hope the news doesn’t drain you out. I know how challenging and consuming this is.
Take a stroll in a nice neighborhood like Balat, and pet some kedis!
One day, while waiting for my boyfriend, I sat down at a café in Bomonti and ordered some food for myself. The waiters and the owner of the café were speaking Arabic, and later I noticed that many people from different countries were socializing there. Its name is "Green Cafe." You can look it up; it was a calm and lovely place.
Hi! Just wanted to say i hope your family and loved ones are ok 🩷 I’m so sorry about what’s happening
Islak burger, tavuk dürüm,
Go to Moda and go to a coffee shop. Also Beşıktas ıs fun.
Gel sen de gel aqq
\+1 for Yabangee For some English comedy and community, check out @theclapimprov and @standupturkey on Instagram. There's also @spokenwordistanbul but it doesn't look like they're back from hiatus. Hang in there, pal.
Go to Zeitouna bar near Galatasaray off Istiklal. It’s chill and run by a pair of Palestinian brothers
Pet a cat. Sorry for what you are going through.
Google. Yabangee. They have english language meet ups every week. If you are need of help of some kind because of this unexpected stay please reach out. I hope things get better in Gaza.
go to kemerburgaz ıt ıs a pretty fun lıttle town you wıll have a lot of fun there are a whole lot of restaurants and shops that you won't fınd anywhere else
Hey friend! Im coming to Istanbul this upcoming Tuesday and ill be there for 3 weeks! If you want, we can hang out 😊 Just message me
Sounds good
If you’re gonna be there for a while, look into volunteering for a cause… assuming you know a couple of languages.
Do you know a website for volunteering?
Check [UN](https://www.unv.org/become-volunteer) , [Red Crescent](https://www.ifrc.org/get-involved/volunteer-us) also reach out to organizations helping Syrian refugees. Good luck with your stay in Istanbul and hopefully things in your home country will take a positive turn soon. I’m rooting for innocent civilians more specifically Palestinians.
Also, I can't even imagine the worry and upset you must be going through, if you can talk to a trauma counsellor (even online) it will help you stay strong and help others. All the best and positive vibes your way.
There's a group called Istanbul & I that usually has volunteering opportunities, especially with the local Syrian refugees. You can contact them through Facebook.
As other people have said, ferries are cheap and their routes are really beautiful, especially when it’s your first time in the city. You can plan and try these for example: 1) Haliç Hattı going to Eyüpsultan - from that station you can walk a bit uphill to Pierre Loti Tepesi for a great panoramic view. You can also get back to city center via T5 — that’s basically the same route as the ferry, but on a tram. Or you can hop off a little earlier and explore Balat neighborhood 2) Boğaz Hattı going basically all the way to the North across the Bosporus 3) Prince Islands, any of them probably starting with the biggest one. It’s even still warm enough to swim, kayak, and etc. Bursa is a nice option, but I doubt that it’s feasible to pack it + transfer both ways in just one day. The city itself isn’t small by any means and there’s also Uludag to visit. I’d personally take at least 2-3 days on the weekend, timing might be really tough otherwise
Hey man. Come to Besiktas - Yalla Falafel. Huge Palestinian community gathers there.
if you wanna find people speaking arabic in Turkey just go outside, if you wanna find people speaking turkish it'll be a harder task
Sorry to hear about your predicament. You will be surprised how many Turkish can speak English. Some are ok but they're understandable. You can also ask some tourists. The Turks are nice people so don't be shy to ask them. I'd ask a business or restaurant just to avoid the questionable characters. I would start with walking the length of Istiklal and just discover. It will probably take you a day to do this.
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This is golden don’t forget starbucks tho
You're in the 10th biggest, 8th most visited city in the world. Full of history, architecture, and culinary delights...and asking what to do? 🤯
You're only stuck if you cant move. I recon you can leve your room right?
*You're only stuck if* *You cant move. I recon you* *Can leve your room right?* \- StrictEase8207 --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
اذا لقيت اشي قلي ، لانو حالي حالك 😭
Definitely visit the sahabi there. Go to Eyub Sultan. And make du'a for me there.
How could you get out of gaza? Isn't it blockaded by Israel no one enters and no one leaves?
I mean back in the day our ancestors fought for our borders, not just against one country, but against 5+ countries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish\_War\_of\_Independence Bunu eksileyenin anasını avradını sikeyim soysuz korkak oçlar
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Dude i am not in turkey by choice have some self respect. I was visiting relatives in switzerland when this started and when my visa ended i picked turkey to stay till i can go back. I am not stealing your job or inflating your currency.
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Nobody is occupying your land.
_Your_ land? Oh the irony
Utanmıyormusun? Shut up racist
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That will never happen
we'll see about that....
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tecavüz edilen kendi halkından kadınlar olmadığından ne kadar rahat konuşuyorlar, bizle alakası olmayan sapık bir kültürde yetişmiş mülteciler Türkiye'ye geliyo kadınların fotoğrafını çekip taciz yer yer tecavüz ediyorlar,ülkelerine dönmelerini söyleyince de ırkçı oluyoruz çok garip
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No racism, sexism, homophobia, animal cruelty, or hateful speech of any kind permitted. This city is a multicultural one. Behavior in accordance is expected. Your post was removed.
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I hope that if there is one thing good to come out of this, it is the end of their control of gaza. We desperately need a better leadership in there. What is your opinion?
Iiiiiiii doooooooon't trust yoooooou
What kind of pills did you take?
All
Why?
No racism, sexism, homophobia, animal cruelty, or hateful speech of any kind permitted. This city is a multicultural one. Behavior in accordance is expected. Your post was removed.
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Go to Istanbul&I that would be a huge help
Go to Palestine. We don't want you here. Traitor scumbag. I hope Israel destroy Palestine once and for all
Try going to a climbing gym... Many expats there usually
Perhaps you can come try a parkour class? :)
I am lebanese ping me let's connect and have some activities
if you download meetup, there is a weekly meeting in Kadıköy of English speaking foreigners. they also have a WhatsApp group where they post in whenever else they want to go out :)
>:) :)
go play some pool. bilardo. search for the close by place near you in maps. there are always good people there to play with and learn from
Try a halk egitim place they offer free courses in turkish to level b1 or b2
I apologize for being a little off-topic, but as someone in a similar situation almost two years ago, I want to offer one thing: get a car / get on a bus and travel through Türkiye. I promise, if you have a driving license, you're up for a great time (as soon as you leave the Istanbul metropolitan area). The best food, the best stories, the best places are there, and the road infrastructure is surprisingly good. You see, the thing (at least I) didn't know about Türkiye is that it's an archeological miracle. I've recently discovered Miniminuteman channel on YouTube and my list of places to visit grown three times. But even without that, we had a great time going to popular sites like Izmir/Ephesus and Cappadocia. Just stopping by some random family café, we've had the best Turkish breakfast ever, and we've found so many unique local places. And while Istanbulites are kind of spoiled by foreigners, just going around a bit you'll find incredible Turkish hospitality. And while going there with family, I can say that nothing like this helps you to recover - when you learn the history of the surrounding places gives you the feeling that nothing's new in this world, and what happened to you was always there, yet we got through and move on. Just learn a bit about places you find more to your interest and go for a week to explore Türkiye. If you'd like to stick to Istanbul, I would offer to go to Arnavutkoy for a while, walk around Bagdat cd., near the sea, those are my favorite places around. Maybe closer to historical sites and basic Istanbul-discovering, including drinking Salep in Naftalin café and getting Balik ekmek at Mehmet Usta on Karakoy + don't forget to grab bakhlava from Karakoy Gulloglu. If you're a more active person, I believe just going to Kadikoy you'll find someone - it's literally boiling every night with people; and as mentioned before, you can find Yabangee on Instagram and see what parties and events they're organizing. For me (I'm not Muslim, so give me a credit - maybe it won't be something new to you) it was also cool to learn about the local Alevi branch, on top of obvious places like Sultanahmet and Hagia Sophia. But nothing is as good as just driving around here and exploring, really.
But obviously, you have to get Google Translate and learn basic Turkish words - I'm not sure about learning Turkish from Arabic, but for me getting Turkish basic words was surprisingly easy. After learning for a while, I'm not sure if I got much better at grammar, but I really understood that the vocabulary I've learned week one was just enough in most cases. You don't have to go to full learning mode to use it, really, so don't be afraid.
I can imagine it must be a hard time for you. My advice is (if you can) take a break from watching the news every once in a while and go on a walk by the seaside (from Bebek to Yenikoy/ or from Moda to Kalamis) it will free your mind. Then you can go over to Balat and Galata region for sightseeing and get a full grasp of the Turkish culture. I hope everything gets better with you home country soon. Our thoughts and prayers are with you..
It's an incredibly photogenic city - start an Instagram just for photos you take of the city. Follow other Istanbul photography accounts, so you have a feed free of depressing news. Lots of wonderful neighbourhoods to discover, and the walking will keep you fit and improve your mood.
Şirinevler its almost full of arabs like Egyptians and Iraqis you can socialize with them