There are no foreign lands. It is the traveller only who is foreign.
– Robert Louis Stevenson
Istanbul is the most populated city in Turkey and the Country’s economic, cultural and historical center. Turkey is a country in Eurasia largely located in Western Asia. Turkey shares its borders with eight countries – Syria and Iraq in the south, Iran and Armenia and the Azerbaijani Exclave of Nakhchivan. Istanbul has many tourist attractions and it is rich in history and culture. Its disheartening to know that people do not want to visit Istanbul just because it is a ‘muslim’ country and it shares its border with Iraq and Syria.
If a woman decides to travel to a ‘muslim’ country all alone, it might not be acceptable to her family because of the stereotypical negative thinking attached to travelling to any muslim country. But, Istanbul is a welcoming city and considered to be extremely safe for women travellers from all over the world.
Istanbul has a minimal rate of sexual assault, rapes and other crimes against women compared to other countries. Although, its hard to say that the crime rate against women is zero, but definitely women can expect almost no unpleasant experiences in Istanbul. The people are very friendly and ready to help.
According to youngadventuress.com, an American solo traveller, Liz shared her story on the website –
“Turkey may be in the Middle East (actually its location baffles me: Middle East? Asia? Eurasia? Europe?) but from what I’d heard from fellow travellers and travel bloggers, Turkey’s nothing like its neighbours. Everyone had nothing but nice things to say about it. Turkish women can be seen wearing long burqas and scarfs and also they wear western dresses.”
Here are some places which you can’t miss while in Istanbul
Istanbul’s rich culture and history is something one must explore while in Turkey. It is the world’s largest growing metropolitan. Some attractive tourist spots include :
Hagia Sophia – It was a church at first, became mosque later and presently, it is a museum. It was built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian The Great. It was the largest cathedral ever constructed in the world for approximately one thousand years.
Dolmabahaçe Palace – It is located in Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, on the European coastline of Bosphorus Strait. It was the main administrative centre of the Ottoman Empire from 1856-1922.
Topkapi Palace – It is a large palace in Istanbul. It was one of the major residences of the Ottoman Sultans for almost 400 years (1465-1856) of their 624 year reign. The palace was also used for state occasions and royal entertainments as well as a royal residence.
Sultan Ahmed Mosque – It is a historic mosque in Istanbul built from 1609 to 1616 during the rule of Ahmed 1. It is popularly known as the blue mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interiors.
(source : Wikipedia)
Apart from these historic places, there are some modern day travelling attractions as well in Istanbul that will make your travel worth every moment. So get, set, adventure!
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