Get ready to unlock the vibrant and bustling city of Istanbul in this episode! We're joined by Dilek Orubegarcia from Orubes Travel Club, who shares insider tips on navigating this historical metropolis that straddles two continents. From must-see landmarks like the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque to the unique culinary delights, Dilek dives into what makes Istanbul a must-visit destination. You'll learn how to avoid common tourist traps—like the crafty shoe-shining scam—and discover hidden gems that only locals know about. Whether you're planning a short visit or a longer stay, we’ve got the essential insights to make your trip unforgettable.

In this engaging conversation, we also touch upon practical tips for navigating Istanbul’s bustling streets and public transport, essential for any traveler looking to explore the city efficiently. Dilek shares the ins and outs of using the Istanbul Card, the city’s public transport pass, and highlights the scenic ferry rides across the Bosphorus as a must-do experience. After all, where else can you traverse continents in just 20 minutes? We also delve into the cultural nuances of Istanbul, including the local customs around tipping and the unique dessert known as Kazandibi—a milky pudding made with chicken that will leave you both curious and delighted! As we wrap up this episode, you’ll be left with a renewed sense of wanderlust and an abundance of practical tips to make your trip to Istanbul unforgettable. Whether you're drawn by the allure of its history, the tantalizing food scene, or the charming neighborhoods, Dilek’s expertise will guide you every step of the way.

Takeaways:

1. Istanbul is a bustling city that uniquely straddles two continents, offering a rich cultural experience.
2. When visiting Istanbul, don't miss the must-see landmarks like the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.
3. Avoid common scams, such as the shoe-shining trick, which can catch tourists off guard.
4. Public transportation in Istanbul is efficient, with options like ferries that provide scenic views of the Bosphorus.
5. Food lovers should try local delicacies like fish wraps and Kazandibi for a unique culinary experience.
6. Exploring the local markets between the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market unveils hidden gems and authentic souvenirs.

Links

www.orubestravelclub.com

www.destinationunlocked.com

www.danieledwarduk.com

Welcome back to Destination Unlocked with me, Daniel Edward.

Destination Unlocked is the chatty travel podcast where local guides and

top travelers unlock their part of the world for us today, we are visiting

a city that straddles two continents and has become a major cruise port

for Eastern Mediterranean itineraries.

Well, that's certainly how I discovered Istanbul, anyway.

Dilek Orubegarcia is one half of the husband and wife team behind Orubes

Travel Club, a travel agency and licensed private tour guide company

in the historic Eurasian city.

In our conversation, she unlocks all the major highlights, gets very excited

about warm pita bread, and shares a very common scam for you to avoid.

Enjoy.

So, Dilek, where are you unlocking for us today?

Istanbul.

A beautiful city where, one side in Asia, one side in Europe

I am in Asian side.

European side is largest, but the city keeps growing bigger and bigger.

They say Istanbul every year needs 700,000 new construction

house or buildings because of the growing population all the time.

Wow.

And Where's it growing from?

Is it the local population, or people are moving to Istanbul from other parts of

Turkey or from other parts of the world?

All actually, thousands of students come to study universities

from different part of Turkey.

Most of them stay after university finish.

Lots of Turkish people from different cities, they come to

find a job because commercial, business, everything is in Istanbul.

So young people, everyone, they come to find a job.

Also from the countries around Turkey from other countries.

We have got big numbers of immigrants come to Istanbul to work.

The size of the city and the population of the city, it is bigger

than some countries in Europe.

That's so true.

And I suppose Turkey is in an ideal position to be an attractive option

for people from Central Asia, central Europe, Eastern Europe, Western Europe.

It's a great connecting point.

Exactly, yes.

It's an interesting country, we have got borderline with Europe, for example,

from Istanbul, you can drive to Greece in three and a half hours or four hours.

You can drive to Bulgaria in three hours.

Other part of Turkey has got a borderline with Georgia and the

South we have got Iran, Iraq.

It's a really melting pot.

You can find everything in Istanbul.

Let's talk about the must see highlights in the city.

If you are gonna be staying in Istanbul for, let's say a week, what

are the things that you absolutely must have on your itinerary?

I would advise to combine seeing local life, with

the music, food, and, history.

It is good to combine all of them.

All the historical part of Istanbul, they are in Old City.

Like Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Topkapi Palace, underground cistern.

These are all in the same square, walking distance to each other.

And in this square.

It's a congestion charge.

Travel agencies, cars and private cars are not allowed to go pedestrian walking area.

Maybe one day do visits to famous historical monuments.

I would do second day Asian side.

in Asian side, there are several popular places.

Between Asia and Europe, have got public ferries like a bus.

Go to, for example, Kadikoy fish market, see more local life, for example,

foreign guests really enjoy seeing the display of lots of different kinds of

olives, many different kinds of cheese.

They put it outside with lots of color.

It is very beautiful.

On the Bosphorus Asian side, we have got a neighborhood called,

Kuzguncuk, is a beautiful place.

Still you can see old Istanbul.

1950, population of Istanbul used to be 1 million, but now nearly 20 million people.

The way the city looks changed, the construction changed, the materials

they used in the construction changed.

The city doesn't look it used to look.

But in Kuzguncuk, you can still see old Istanbul wooden houses.

And when you walk in nice, beautiful neighborhood, one

side, you can see a synagogue, other side, you can see a church.

Further away, you can see a mosque.

It gives us a idea how many different communities live together in a peace in

this beautiful historical neighborhood.

And the third day, take a stroll on Golden Horn.

Asia and Europe is separated in two parts with Bosphorus.

Bosphorus is a salty water channel, connects the Black Sea to Marmara Sea.

European side is also divided in two parts with another water called Golden

Horn, like a river in the European side.

So Golden Horn is a water, it's like a horn shape.

Around Golden Horn, there are loads of beautiful historical neighborhoods.

For example, Balat Fener, around Greek Orthodox patriarchs Church.

Continuous since Constantinople, you can go and see this church in a beautiful

neighborhood called Fener and Balat with lots of other historical old Istanbul

houses and many different churches and synagogues too around the Golden Horn.

So these are my recommendations in Istanbul.

There are more, of course, every time there are more things to see.

It never finish.

Well, it is, it's a massive city, and as you say, it's growing.

It's got a hectic charm to it.

It's busy, it's frenetic, it's colorful, it's loud.

It smells great, especially as you're going through the spice Bazaar.

It's an exciting city.

Yes, it's a live city, 24 hours.

Anytime you are hungry in the middle of the night after midnight, there are

places open you can go out and eat.

Istanbul never sleeps and always moving, and always something happening.

Let's talk about food.

Maybe you wanna start with the midnight snacks, but what is the

food that people have to try?

Istanbul it's a place where all the different

people come from different part of Turkey or from other countries.

Also, historically, lots come to Istanbul from different backgrounds too.

So the Food of Istanbul, has got all these combinations.

I cannot say the food of Istanbul, maybe street food, but

we can call it food of Turkey.

Istanbul is maybe like London.

You can find all the international and all different communities,

food from different backgrounds.

And so what sort of things might catch your eye?

Fish.

Fishing, with the big nets like industrial fishing is forbidden in

Istanbul in the summertime, we wait for the fish to make lay eggs, and then

the fishing season starts after autumn.

Bosporus has got lots of salt levels.

For example, black Sea is saltier and colder than Marmara sea.

It makes the Bosphorus to have many different varieties of fish.

In different seasons, local people would look, which fish is

available, and we buy a fresh fish.

We have got famous fish wrap in Karakoy near the Galata Bridge.

You can watch the man cooking it, wrap it in the pita bread with lots of pomegranate

molasses, pieces of little pomegranates, and they fried the onions and lots of

herbs , and they heat the pita bread too.

It's so delicious when you eat it warm if the bread is warm too.

Fish wrap, fish wrap.

But, don't confuse with the fish sandwich.

years in Istanbul, uh, they used to sell and eat a fish sandwich.

It's still common, but fish wrap, I like it more.

Galata Bridge separates Eminonu and Karakoy.

One side of the Galata bridge is called Eminonu, other side is called Karakoy.

In Eminonu, they do fish sandwich, also delicious, but usually they

don't heat the bread because it's the big numbers of people.

Millions.

They buy fish sandwich for hundreds of years.

It is fixed in the old guidebooks, they talk about this fish sandwich in Eminonu.

I think that's why it is classic and famous.

It's not a luxurious something nice restaurants, it's little cafeterias

. Also, the spice market, for example, we have got meatball restaurants.

It's not, I mean they have got maybe five seats, but most meatballs in

Istanbul always eaten with bean salads.

It's always together meatball and it bean salads.

like ketchup and mayonnaise always together.

Most of the meatballs, sold in Istanbul would be, frozen.

But in this place where I'm talking about, meat every day is prepared.

If you go late, maybe they will not have more because it's finished,

because it's not frozen and it's more delicious and it's cooked on fire.

Nice.

uh, nice, uh, smokey smell.

And they heat the bread also.

We eat lots of bread in Istanbul, Turkey.

I think.

What's the name of the Small Meatball

Restaurant, do you know the name?

Yes, Kofteci Yasar, kofte means a meatball kofte.

Kofteci means meatball seller.

Ya Yasar is the name of the man.

Y-A-S-A-R, Yasar.

Kofteci Yasar.

And this is the place, actually very difficult to find.

You need to go outside of the spice Market.

Walk in this crowded, chaotic, local market.

It is hidden behind Rustem Pasha mosque and lots of local people work in this

market goes there in the lunchtime.

When I am hungry, I go there.

I got so lost coming out of the spice market and then

going into the Grand Bazaar area and trying to get out of that area.

Oh my gosh, I thought I was there forever.

Yes, it's difficult very chaotic,

crowded local market, actually.

It's an exciting adventure sometimes to situate

yourself and work out where you are.

Let's talk about some of the sweet snacks as well, because I

think this is where Turkish food just stands out around the world.

You are so good at sweet stuff.

Mm-hmm.

True.

Uh, we eat, . Baklava of course, but sometimes people says, oh, baklava

is so sweet, it burns my throat.

I don't like it.

But, a real good quality baklava would not make you feel this way.

When you take the baklava in your hand, you should smell it first.

It should smell butter and it should have fine layers of flour, fluffy,

and it should not be like a bread.

When you bite it, it should be like croissant.

Lots of little layers of fluffy things with lots of pistachios.

And it should be juicy.

When you bite, the juice would come in your mouth.

Delicious.

I had to stop at three pieces.

After three, it was like, okay, if I do have more, it's not gonna end well.

What about Turkish delight?

'cause that's something which carries the branding of the country around the world.

Everybody has heard of Turkish Delight.

Is it a thing in Turkey?

is.

But of course Istanbul now is very modern.

If you look at the young people, lots of Turkish people, as a dessert,

baklava, traditionally, yes, but we eat San Sebastian cake or cheesecakes.

Many Turkish people at home, they have good cakes and milk.

Uh, the sweetss or desserts make with milk.

Turkish delights, yes, it's traditional, but in Istanbul, we,

consume more European desserts.

We have got one dessert you can only try in Turkey.

It is a dessert made with milk and chicken,

Milk and chicken

yes,

for dessert.

you, it doesn't taste like chicken.

But there is a chicken inside when they make the pudding, milk, flour, sugar,

and that they, in the other cup, they boil the chicken they, uh, grate it.

You make the chicken breast boil and then

You pull apart all of the meat.

Okay?

be like, uh, strings

Okay.

And then you would mix this, you would keep a little

bit in cold water with ice, and then later on you would add it inside the

pudding and stir it all the time.

And then you blend all of them in the machine, put it in a tray

in the oven, to roast it in the bottom, it should be caramelized.

And then when they serve it, they turn upside down.

The caramelized part of the bottom would come on top.

We do food tours and I, most of the times make people eat a chicken breast.

In the end of the tour, say chicken, no, I don't think so, really?

Chicken.

And who thought about this?

Why did they put the chicken inside?

Yeah.

Did anybody ask the chicken?

Okay, so, but it doesn't taste like chicken, but when you

scoop it out, uh, you can see the texture.

There is a chicken.

It's all blended

that shredded and then blended together.

Wow, that is interesting.

What's the name of that one?

In English, we would say chicken breast or in Turkish

kazandibi, kazandibi is like the bottom of the pot because usually they make

a caramelized and the bottom and turn it upside down when they serve it.

I've heard of an apple turnover and upside down puddings,

but I've never heard it made with chicken before, so that very exciting.

My goodness.

To finish off the meal or indeed in the middle of the afternoon, Turkey is

well known for its teas and coffees.

Yes.

Turkish people are the third biggest tea consumers in the world, actually.

Coffee came to Istanbul from Ethiopia in 16th century and,

uh, Turkish people loved coffee.

They were drinking, every day in all part of life.

Uh, Ethiopia used to be part of Ottoman Turkish empire, and it came to Yemen.

From Yemen.

It came to Istanbul.

And, when Turkish people conquered Austria, they

introduced to coffee to Europeans.

But after the first World War, coffee became so expensive and Turkish people

could not afford coffee as much as before.

And Turkish politicians, decided actually in the north of Turkey, in the Black

Sea region, we can grow black tea.

Because in the Black Sea region it rains all day, every day, 12 months.

They decided it's a good climate to grow tea.

About 1950s and seventies, they started growing black tea Black Sea region.

Now, most of Turkish people drink black tea actually all day in the

offices, banks, shops, wherever you go.

We don't put milk, and it's not spicy and in a little glass cups.

I love those cups.

As a design icon that is just, it's so Turkish for me.

I see that cup.

It takes me straight to Turkey.

I wanna quickly touch on transportation and, and how to get around.

If you are visiting Istanbul, whether it's for a day or two visiting by

cruise ship, or if you're staying in the city, how do you travel?

By public transportation.

We have got a car, but we don't go to city center by car because

difficult to find parking places.

Also, for example, between Asia and Europe, there are

bridges, but very bad traffic.

There is an tunnel under the water between Asia and Europe, but still, uh,

every time if you pass the tunnel it would be expensive, so we have got a

really good public transportation system.

So how does it work if you're a tourist?

Is there a tourist card or do you pay with your bank card?

You can use Istanbul cards, but bank card is

accepted in public transportation.

Foreign cards of any countries you can use your bank card.

one line.

We have got lots of lines in Metro.

Only one line, the metro under the water between Asia and Europe doesn't

accept Bank cars in this metro line.

So if you need to use this metro under the water between Asia and Europe,

then you can just buy one pass from the ticket booth in the station.

You can take a public ferry too, bank card is accepted on the public

ferries between Asia and Europe

The ferry sounds like a really nice way to do it.

So where would you pick up the ferry?

Near the Galata Bridge on both sides.

It's a really good way to see the Bosphorus

as well, a little river tour.

of course, yes.

In the morning for people who goes to work it is really nice to take

a public ferry, uh, because you can buy a sandwich, buy a coffee.

In the summertime.

Nice breeze, people are having breakfast on the ferry before they start to work.

That is really nice.

I like the sound of the Istanbul card.

It sounds just simple.

I can do everything on it.

Where do you get an Istanbul card?

Every station, every bus stop, and every train stop.

Metro Stop has got a machine.

You can buy Istanbul card and in those machines you can use your

credit card and also cash too.

Let's say you've arrived by cruise ship, 'cause I know a lot

of people arrive by cruise, maybe their ship stays overnight, they wanna

go straight to a particular landmark , let's say maybe it's the Hagia Sofia.

They just wanna get a taxi there.

They just go straight there.

Is that easy to do?

Easy, but Istanbul doesn't have enough taxi.

Even locals find it very hard to find available taxi different applications.

We have gots.

Istanbul municipality has got taxi application.

You can log in and try to find or Uber, Uber on the several other

applications you look, but you cannot find especially if there's a cruise ship.

Of course the other way to see a city as big and

diverse and interesting as Istanbul is to do it with a guided tour.

And that's where you come in.

You are a licensed guide in Istanbul.

What does that mean?

To be a tourist guide in Istanbul, you need

to get a official license from Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

And to get this license, we study two years.

After that we do educational tour, and then after we finish the tour, we get

an exam about the educational tour, and then we need to pass the language exam.

So do you have a specialism that you like to focus on?

I prefer gastronomy also, I like to do historical tour too

because I like doing different things.

I like trying different time, different things.

I like really all of it.

If somebody doesn't actually know that much about Turkey or

Istanbul; their consciousness of Turkey is that there are some really good

beach resorts and some nice weather, but now they want to come to Istanbul.

They want to go on a tour because they want to learn a bit more

about the history, the culture.

Is there an era that really jumps out at you as being very special?

I am most, specialized and experienced in Ottoman time.

I do lots of Topkapi palace tours, which is from 15th century till 19th century.

Topkapi Palace was built by Mehmed the Conqueror, first time in the 15th

century who conquered the Constantinople.

But, till 1856, many different Sultans lived here.

Topkapi Palace is really big.

It was built on top of the Roman Palace, has got lots of

courtyards and buildings around it.

If you wanna see all the details, it can take all your day.

Even 8,000 people live between 5,000 to 8,000.

politicians, parliament members, harem nearly 500 women.

It was a place where they ruled the empire.

There are big kitchens.

They were cooking, industrial cooking, for thousands of people.

It sounds less of a palace, more of a village.

like a little town.

Wow.

Oh yeah, that's, that's gotta be a must see, I can see why that has

become such an interest for you.

If people want to book a private tour with you, what is the

best way that they can do that?

They can go on our website and request a tour or if they

write our name and surname in Google, they can find our phone numbers.

They can just send us a message.

We always get back to people in the same day.

So the website is arubestravelclub.com

and that's O-R-U-B-E-S travel club.com.

And, uh, the website is in English, but also in lots of other languages.

We are including Spanish as well, because if people are, are first language Spanish,

your husband is a native Spanish speaker.

Yes, my husband is Mexican, he's also a

licensed tour guide in Spanish.

We do tours for many people from Spain, south America, Mexico,

in Spanish, and English mostly.

I hope you're enjoying my conversation with Dilek from

Arubes Travel Club in Istanbul.

Istanbul's, one of those cities where I really think you benefit

so much from having a local guide.

It's such a busy, chaotic city, and it's so easy to get lost and

therefore miss the very best parts because you're spending so much time

looking around trying to find it.

So people like Dilek and her husband who know the place inside out and know

the way around, saves you time and gives you the absolute best experience.

Www.arubestravelclub.com is the place to go.

Alright, let's get back to our conversation about Istanbul and

let's have a little bit of a quiz.

Question number one, what strait divides The European and Asian sides of Istanbul

Bosphorus

Correct, the Bosphorus.

Which iconic landmark was once a church, then a mosque, then a

museum, and then a mosque again?

The Hagia Sofia.

That is correct.

The Hagia Sofia.

Which Tower offers 360 degree views of the city?

Galata Tower.

Galata Tower.

Yes.

And would you recommend doing that?

Yes, for sure.

Yes.

This is a useful one for people.

What is the name of the city's prepaid public transport card?

Istanbul card.

That's correct.

Istanbul Card.

And, we'll go with a true or false as our final question.

True or false?

Istanbul is Turkey's capital.

Nah, false

Indeed it is false.

The capital city is

Ankara

Ankara.

Yes.

Is it worth going to an as well?

'cause everybody talks about Istanbul.

anca.

Um, yes, of course.

Um, it's a big city like Istanbul with lots of cultures and it is got an

notorious civilization museum that you can see lots of different civilizations,

ruins of all the Asia minor and it has got private museums, city life.

We have got Museum Ataturk, founder of Turkish Republic.

It's also for many local people that they love visiting.

I visited with my kids

His picture is up in a lot of place.

I remember getting my hair cut and he was watching me from a frame,

above where the barber was, I think at the time he was trying to burn my

ears off with some sort of flaming ball that he kept throwing at my ear.

It was terrifying

Yes, UR you can see his picture on every money, every

school, children's book or every school.

They have got Ataturk statue.

Turkish people love Ataturk and they are very proud of history.

founder of a nation.

Yeah.

I wanna find out a bit more about language and how many people

would be able to speak English.

If you are visiting Istanbul but you don't know Turkish, are you gonna be okay?

In the city center.

Yes.

And the new generation is speaking better English.

But if you go maybe a little bit more deep inside Istanbul where

the local people lives, less people speak But however, people love trying

to speak English wherever you go.

If they understand you are a tourist, people, even, even you don't need,

they come close and try to speak to you because they wanna speak English.

In Istanbul, sometimes when you walk in the street or if, if you're in the

metro, even sometimes people think I'm a tourist because I walk with the tourists.

They come and approach me, do you need help?

Because they wanna speak English and even they don't speak with good

grammar, they would try to help you.

It's a friendly culture.

I like that about it.

Let's learn a few words that we can then use to engage in the local language too.

So, if you wanted to say hello to a local in Turkish, what would you say?

Merhaba

Merhaba.

Okay.

And goodbye.

When we leave, there are two way.

If you're leaving, you would say güle güle.

If the person is leaving, you are behind.

You say Allah'a ismarladik

Okay, so it's, we've got two phrases that we need to learn there.

How about please?

Lütfen

Lütfen.

Okay.

You have got a very good pronunciation.

For many foreigners, saying you with tot U is very difficult.

I've been practicing.

How about, thank you?

Okay.

We have got a, a difficult word for thank you: Teşekkürler.

Oh, wow.

Teşekkürler.

Teşekkürler.

Yes.

Very good pronunciation.

Bravo.

I'm just mimicking.

That's the best way to learn.

You've got a good ear.

Thank you.

How would you say that you are in the Bazaar and you're saying, how much is this

Kaç para

Kaç para.

And then how do you say no, no, no, no, no.

Way lower

İndirim yapar, İndirim.

discount İndirim yapar.

That is very useful.

very good

where do only locals know?

Where's the sort of place that you would really recommend peeling behind

the guidebook and saying, no, no, no, they don't tell you about this,

but we know this place is good?

Mm, if you like to buy some local things between Grand Bazaar

and Spice Market, there's a local market.

Grand Bazaar is big, has got 29 gates, and one of the gate name is Umut Pazar Gate.

If you come out of this gate, keep walking down.

Finally you would arrive to Spice Market.

Between Grand Bazaar and spice market's a local market that you

can find, clothes, textiles, towels.

The Grand Bazaar mostly you see, handmade, authentic items in spice market spices.

But between Grand Bazaar and Spice Market, you find more clothes like

jackets, jeans, underwears, everything.

Spice market has got also several gates.

you get out to direction of the Rustem Pasha Mosque.

It's also a really beautiful hans, where the first time coffee came, it's

called Beta Han, near the spice market.

It's used to be a place, first time Turkish coffee came to Turkish life

where they roasted the Turkish coffee.

still see where they roasted in a big hole in on the ground.

This is a local place you can, uh, get the Turkish coffee and you can buy

lots of spices, coffees, many different kinds of teas in a historical building.

Also, you can have a local lunch in a local price and

delicious and good quality.

Are there good places that locals go to relax,

to get away from the crowds?

For the people live in Asian side, we have got Princess Island.

There are ferries every half an hour.

I can arrive to Princess Island in maximum half an hour.

When you take a ferry from the city center near the Galata Bridge, it takes longer.

But we have got a very fast metro.

And as soon as you arrive to Princess Islands, there are five of them.

The Büyük ada, it's very crowded.

But the other four, when you go suddenly you feel you are not in Istanbul.

In half an hour, you feel like you went to a countryside with no

traffic, no noisy, only scooters and electrical cars with a nice nature.

Beautiful trees, summer houses, cafeterias.

I like the Princess Islands.

It's so beautiful.

And the Black Sea, for example, beaches, sandy beaches, you can go

45 minutes you can go to Black Sea.

Big beaches in the summertime.

Yeah, that's nice and, and relatively close to the

city, which is really convenient.

I wanna check on tipping and the customs in restaurants or with drivers and guides.

Are people expected to tip?

And if they are, how much is the correct amount?

Yes, the people work in tourism.

They expect it.

In nice restaurants, for example.

Tips are included, you should check.

But if it is not a upscale restaurant, if it's a casual place, you can leave

10, 15% or even some little cafeteria.

Very casual.

You can leave the change if nothing, but if you pay a small amount, you can leave.

If you're happy with the service, they would expect.

And taxi drivers?

Taxi drivers... I wouldn't stop a random taxi

passing in front of me, always better to use application.

And in the application, sometimes it says, trying to find a

taxi going, you cannot find.

And then later on it tells you at a tip, and then you, at the tip you find one.

Taxi driver, taxi drivers also wants you to leave a tip.

Sometimes when you pay them they say, ah, the post machine doesn't work,

and then you need to pay them cash.

And then they, of course, there's a change, but they are looking at you and

make you understand that leave change.

There are, there are unsaid messages there.

Yeah.

If you're looking to get out of the city for a day trip, where

would you say is a really nice day trip from Istanbul to consider?

If it is not really cold in the winter.

Just on the Black Sea area, we have got a town, it's called Şile.

S with tail.

ILE.

Şile is elected third or fourth calming town of Turkey.

It's on the seaside.

Very little town.

Usually people have got summer houses and the beaches, but also it's a nice

little town with the little hotels.

You can just find little interesting cafeterias outside of Istanbul on the

Black Sea, not far away in the Asian side, you drive maybe one and a half hour away.

Another place would be Princess Island again.

I like Princess Island.

There are hotels you can book

. Or for example, if you wanna go another city from Istanbul.

We have got İznik . I-Z-N-I-K.

İznik is a historical place.

First Christian console was held in İznik . It was called Nicaea.

And in the Ottoman time it became famous with the tiles, lots of tiles.

Imperial buildings like Blue Mosque is called Blue Mosque because of the blue

and white tiles provided from İznik.

In The Ottoman time, İznik made the tile for Imperial Buildings.

If you wanna go by flight, one hour flight, you can go to Cappadocia.

Cappadocia is very famous the underground cities.

For many kilometers, you can go and visit all these rock churches carved

into rock and stay in a cave hotel.

All the hotels in Cappadocia, most of them are carved into the rock.

They do balloons.

Very famous.

Everyone goes to Cappadocia, they do balloon.

It's only one hour flight from Istanbul.

You can go today and come back tomorrow.

That sounds fantastic.

And that is on my list.

I wanna see those balloons flying over because I've seen the pictures and

they look, it just looks gorgeous.

I've got six questions for you all about Istanbul.

No right answers all your opinions.

So what would you say is the top thing to see or do in Istanbul?

One thing only.

Mm. Seeing Hagia Sofia and Underground cistern.

Can I change my answer?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

okay, JI change, this is also historical, but now

I'm thinking you can see historical things everywhere in the world and,

churches are, of course all of them are important in terms of inside themselves.

But for example, in Istanbul doing the Bosphorus being between Asia

and Europe, taking a ferry, crossing the Asian side, in just 20 minutes.

It's something that in the world you don't do every day.

It's very interesting.

I think you take a ferry from Europe past the Asian side.

Yeah, you are sailing across continents.

Yes.

It is something more special about Istanbul, I think.

What would you say is a tourist trap to avoid in Istanbul?

I have been a guide for 18 years.

It never changed, since when I started working as a guide in 18 years, all the

time I hear from the people in my tour.

Sometimes when you walk outside in touristic places, one shoe shine man walks

in front of you and they drop their brush.

And then you look, you run and get the brush and you say, excuse me, excuse me.

You drop your brush.

And they start saying, thank you very much.

And they start brushing your shoes.

You say, no, no, no, I don't need the brush.

Don't do it.

But they brush it anyway, and then later on they ask money for this.

So if a shoe shiner drops a brush in front of you, don't pick it up.

This is a very common I hear, and people really get upset about this.

It's a classic scam, but it, it's so effective.

What's your favorite time of year to visit Istanbul?

November.

The most crowded time of Istanbul is September and October.

Lots of people, big numbers of cruise ships come Istanbul

on September and October.

Because, uh, summer is so hot.

Winter is so cold.

People prefer to come in September, October.

April, and May is crowded too.

It's so crowded.

Summer is so hot.

So in my opinion, November, the second week of November, it

is not as cold as cold winter.

December, January, February is really cold.

November still not hot, cold, but start getting colder and less people.

That does sound ideal.

If somebody's got a trip coming for Istanbul, they wanna read a book or

watch a film that's gonna get them in the mood for being in the city, what

book or film would you recommend?

Dan Brown's Inferno.

It's a very interesting book that when you start reading it keeps you reading.

You read it , really curious about all the book, finish it, and then it

wants to make you go and see Istanbul.

It's a true story, true historical story.

You see Hagia Sofia inside the book, Hippodrome of Constantinople,

Underground Underground Cistern, and they made a movie about it.

Hmm.

What would you say is your top food or drink that people just

must try when they go to Istanbul?

Chicken breast, which is kazandibi in Turkish.

They should try that: a dessert, which is made with Milky pudding and chicken.

It's very interesting.

They should not go and eat the kebab, in my opinion, first of all, because

kebab, you can eat everywhere in the world, in all Europe, wherever

Turkish people immigrates because, uh, many people think Turkish people

eat kebabs, kebab, kebab, kebab.

But there are many local restaurants.

They cook vegetables, with the meat, homemade food.

What people cook at home.

So I recommend them to eat, for example, Karnıyarık.

Karnıyarık is something eggplant, they fry eggplant, they open the stomach

and put a bolognese sauce inside.

That sounds very tasty.

Final question.

If somebody wants to take home a really authentic local souvenir,

not a magnet, not a cap or a mass produced t-shirt, but something

that's really locally meaningful, what would you say they should look for?

Turkish towels, for example.

Turkish towels.

Actually Turkey is the heaven of the textiles.

We have got high quality cotton.

Turkish towels, they are very thin, not like a classic towels of the world.

When you fold, it doesn't take too much space in your bag and dries very quickly

and you would put it in your backpack when you go to swimming pool or beaches and you

can get them in every color and in many different designs and very pretty too.

Dilek from Arubes Travel Club.

Thank you so much for unlocking Istanbul for us.

You're welcome.

I thank you too for inviting me.

I enjoyed it very much.

Well, that's all for this episode of the

Destination Unlocked Podcast.

Thanks again to Dilek Orubegarcia of Orubes Travel Club for unlocking Istanbul

for us, and thank you for listening.

Before you go, double check that you are following the Destination Unlocked

Podcast wherever you're currently listening, so you can easily find

your way back for the next journey.

I'll see you then.