İstanbul

"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."

"The most visited city in Turkey. Known for its great history, charming views, the Bosphorus strait that divides Asia and Europe, and its multicultural neighborhoods."