5 days in Istanbul, Turkey

Visa procedure for Indians: Indian citizens can avail e-Visa from https://www.evisa.gov.tr/tr/ or paper Visa from https://www.vfsglobal.com/turkey/india/Tourist.html for Turkey as Turkey does not come under European Union hence even if one has Schengen visa, one still has to get Turkish Visa. The following documents are required to obtain a Turkish visa if one doesn't have US, UK, Ireland resident permit/visa or Schengen visa- • Onwards & return confirmed flight tickets • Confirmed hotel bookings • Leave approval application from your organization where you are currently working • 3 months bank statement • Address proof (both permanent & present) 3 months payslips from current organization • Office address document The above documents are mandatory to apply for paper visa. More details can be found at https://www.vfsglobal.com/turkey/india/Tourist.html depending on the jurisdiction from where one is applying - whether from Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Goa, Odisha etc. The visa cost approx. ₹ 18400 if one doesn't have US, UK, Ireland resident permit/visa or Schengen visa but the cost of e-Visa automatically comes down to $44.5 if one has the above visas. But it is mandatory to carry the US/UK/Ireland residence permits and/or Schengen visa during travel as they check it at immigration in Turkey. I booked flight tickets from Skyscanner to get the best deals (N.B - not promoting Skyscanner but writing this after personal experience). It cost around ₹ 62100 on Turkish Airlines for the flight to Istanbul, which left Bangalore at 22:45 hours IST with a 6 hour layover at Mumbai Int'l airport, the flight from Mumbai was at 06:35 hours IST which arrived at İstanbul Havalimanı at 10:50 hours Istanbul time. This flight was of the shortest duration. The flight from Bangalore to Mumbai was Indigo (unfortunately) while that from Mumbai to Istanbul was Turkish Airlines (fortunately). After reaching Istanbul & clearing the immigration (the immigration officer didn't even see my e-Visa, she just asked for my B1/B2 US visa & allowed me to enter Turkey, although the officer/s may want to see your e-Visa when you are flying out of the country), one can go to the main Istanbul city via- Airport bus viz HAVIST buses depending on where one's accommodation is located Taxi (Taksi in Turkish) but it took 40 Euros or approx 800 TL for us (our AirBnB was located right beside Sirkeci Tren Garı) Ideally it takes approx. 1.5-2 hours to reach to Istanbul historical city centre or Sultanahmet area (where Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Museum Palace, Sultanahmet Mosque/Blue Mosque are located) but it took us around 5.5 hours to reach as we were stuck in traffic for approx. 3-3.5 hours within Istanbul city centre, the reasons being- • we arrived on the day of Eid • the streets (rather lanes) of historical city centre of Istanbul as so narrow that 2 medium sized cars cannot go side by side. All are single lanes. I was surprised to see that language is a BIIIG barrier in the whole of Turkey although it is a global tourist destination. Everytime we had to made hand signs or use Google Translator to explain anything to MOST of the local Turkish people. The best time to visit Istanbul is from March to end of May when the weather is cool & pleasant, not too humid & not hot at all. It is advised to carry sufficient winter wears as the cold breeze from the Bosphorus can make one catch a bad cold & cough & it is always slightly windy throughout the day. The accommodations are also relatively affordable during this time. From June to August, it is the summer in Turkey and the cost of the accommodations shoot up in the air manifold.

Opening hours: 09:00 to 20:00 hours. Ticket price: 200 TL per person without audio guide, 275 TL/person including audio guide. I advice my readers to spend as much time as one can in this treasury of historical artifacts, database as this museum is one of a kind having objects from the Stone Age to the Byzantine & Ottoman times.

The entry is free for all travelers & tourists but as Hagia Sophia is no longer a museum but was converted to a mosque in 2020, the museum and larger portions of the mosque is not accessible to the tourists anymore. The mosque is also closed during prayer hours. Hagia Sophia is an erstwhile Orthodox Church/Cathedral which lived through a few conversions from church to cathedral during the crusade ages, to mosque during Ottoman conquest by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453, to museum in 1935 on establishment of the secular Republic of Turkey to mosque again in 2020. As it is a religious place of worship, men & women are instructed to wear appropriate clothing before entering the mosque. Women are advised to cover their heads with a scarf or abaya or jacket hoodie & cover their hands & legs. Ayasofya Camii is the epitome of Byzantine architecture where one can still see the iconograp like the mosaic depictions of Jesus, Mary, Christian saints & angels were removed or plastered over during Ottoman conquest in 1453. It took us about 1.5-2 hours to properly see, visualize & be awed at the interior architectural marvel of Ayasofya. I was disappointed when I realised that the 1st floor of Ayasofya was open to the public till 2020 before it got converted to a mosque.

Entry - free. Attire recommended- covered head, legs & arms for ladies. (Abbayas kept there at the entrance for renting free of cost). Küçük Ayasofya Camii/Little Hagia Sophia - a 6th century former Greek Orthodox/Byzantine church with Ottoman style interior converted to a mosque during the Ottoman reign. This monument is a few years older than (almost contemporaries) & certainly not a model for Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque/Aya Sofya Camii (although the present Hagia Sophia is the 3rd building built on the same site).