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Eyewitness Travel Guides
Istanbul
"DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Istanbul" will lead you straight to the best attractions this city has to offer. The guide includes unique cutaways, floor plans, and reconstructions of major architectural sights, plus a pull-out city map clearly marked with attractions from the guidebook and an easy-to-use street index.
DK's insider travel tips and essential local information will help you discover the best of this city in Turkey, from local festivals and markets to day trips around the countryside. Detailed listings will guide you to hotels, restaurants, bars and shops for all budgets, while transportation maps and a chart showing the walking distances between sights will help you get around the city.
With hundreds of full-color photographs, hand-drawn illustrations, and custom maps that brighten every page, "DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Istanbul" truly shows you this city as no one else can.
DK's insider travel tips and essential local information will help you discover the best of this city in Turkey, from local festivals and markets to day trips around the countryside. Detailed listings will guide you to hotels, restaurants, bars and shops for all budgets, while transportation maps and a chart showing the walking distances between sights will help you get around the city.
With hundreds of full-color photographs, hand-drawn illustrations, and custom maps that brighten every page, "DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Istanbul" truly shows you this city as no one else can.
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 27, 2021
3.5 stars.
Inspired by seeing a volleyball finals match on tv, with a team from Istanbul as one half. I also had a fitting cloth bookmark for reading this, a souvenir from Istanbul. Mine is a 2002 print (using the cover here because the 2002 one has no picture; the authors of that are different from this one's), so some things have clearly changed (like, cellphones are likely to be more in use, and websites may be in more places). DK travel books have photos, building cutaway pictures and floorplans, which makes them useful even if they go out of date, or you have no plans to visit the place. The inner parts of the front and back cover are also cleverly used, so you want to pay attention to them (front’s shows the areas within the book, back one’s the transit map in this one).
It starts, as usual, with where it is on the map, some history, the place at a glance with short top 10 and even top 3 for the ones who stay in the city only briefly, and year/season info. The areas are covered after that with small introduction and top-places, followed here by things of greater Istanbul and beyond (areas close enough).
Then comes information on where to stay (hotels and such), where to eat (restaurants etc., and what kinds of food/drink you might find – especially seafood; vegans and vegetarians might not get much out of this, but you can search online for places, and there are some), where to shop (not just bazaars, and not just carpets), and some entertainment places.
Then survival guide: practical information (incl.etiquette, toilets, electricity), information for tourists (incl.opening hours, tours – Istanbul is not an easy place for the disabled), security and health stuff, banks and money, phone use and mailing system, how to arrive in the city and get around there. Finally there’s good maps and a 2-page phrase book.
In the areas each important site is accompanied with address and map location, phone number (and occasionally a net address), nearby train etc. station, opening hours (with occasionally also when they are closed), if they accept donations, the place’s Turkish/English name, and others. In some places the presence of the caretaker determines if you can get in there.
I love particularly how the main places are shown in detail (this happens particularly with mosques). The presence of the past is very clear in the main areas. This city’s main attractions are mosques, museums, palaces and certain parks – mosques are *very* commonly mentioned in many places, yet you do get enough others so it’s not too much. Even some places outside the main areas have nice things to see.
Clearly this edition reflects its time in history: internet cafes, payphones and phones – no mention of cellphones here. The metro may have become better or at least different from the one shown here. But it’s still very informative and enjoyable to read, though you might want to buy a newer version if you decide to go there.
Inspired by seeing a volleyball finals match on tv, with a team from Istanbul as one half. I also had a fitting cloth bookmark for reading this, a souvenir from Istanbul. Mine is a 2002 print (using the cover here because the 2002 one has no picture; the authors of that are different from this one's), so some things have clearly changed (like, cellphones are likely to be more in use, and websites may be in more places). DK travel books have photos, building cutaway pictures and floorplans, which makes them useful even if they go out of date, or you have no plans to visit the place. The inner parts of the front and back cover are also cleverly used, so you want to pay attention to them (front’s shows the areas within the book, back one’s the transit map in this one).
It starts, as usual, with where it is on the map, some history, the place at a glance with short top 10 and even top 3 for the ones who stay in the city only briefly, and year/season info. The areas are covered after that with small introduction and top-places, followed here by things of greater Istanbul and beyond (areas close enough).
Then comes information on where to stay (hotels and such), where to eat (restaurants etc., and what kinds of food/drink you might find – especially seafood; vegans and vegetarians might not get much out of this, but you can search online for places, and there are some), where to shop (not just bazaars, and not just carpets), and some entertainment places.
Then survival guide: practical information (incl.etiquette, toilets, electricity), information for tourists (incl.opening hours, tours – Istanbul is not an easy place for the disabled), security and health stuff, banks and money, phone use and mailing system, how to arrive in the city and get around there. Finally there’s good maps and a 2-page phrase book.
In the areas each important site is accompanied with address and map location, phone number (and occasionally a net address), nearby train etc. station, opening hours (with occasionally also when they are closed), if they accept donations, the place’s Turkish/English name, and others. In some places the presence of the caretaker determines if you can get in there.
I love particularly how the main places are shown in detail (this happens particularly with mosques). The presence of the past is very clear in the main areas. This city’s main attractions are mosques, museums, palaces and certain parks – mosques are *very* commonly mentioned in many places, yet you do get enough others so it’s not too much. Even some places outside the main areas have nice things to see.
Clearly this edition reflects its time in history: internet cafes, payphones and phones – no mention of cellphones here. The metro may have become better or at least different from the one shown here. But it’s still very informative and enjoyable to read, though you might want to buy a newer version if you decide to go there.
August 18, 2010
After using the Knopf guidebook in Paris (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16...)
and LOVING it I was really disappointed by this book. It might be interesting to read before you go, but it is not the book you want to be relying on for information on the ground. The maps suck. They recommend restaurants and then give addresses on streets that aren't labeled on the maps. It was also kind of big and bulky to carry around.
Istanbul is great though. I highly recommend the city itself!
and LOVING it I was really disappointed by this book. It might be interesting to read before you go, but it is not the book you want to be relying on for information on the ground. The maps suck. They recommend restaurants and then give addresses on streets that aren't labeled on the maps. It was also kind of big and bulky to carry around.
Istanbul is great though. I highly recommend the city itself!
July 30, 2025
Thanks for the joy you gave me in Istanbul, Rose Baring. Though my Turkish never got beyond "efendi!" I was able to squeeze the most out of each day, in large measure thanks to you. Magnificent maps of the Bosporus, Grand Bazaar, and "Asian Istanbul".
May 30, 2020
More vacation dreaming...
Very interested in the hamam baths. (But in a hotel room's special bathroom - not a public bath!)
Also, the markets, dining and museums! WOW!
Very interested in the hamam baths. (But in a hotel room's special bathroom - not a public bath!)
Also, the markets, dining and museums! WOW!
May 20, 2011
I've been pouring over this book for the last three days. OMGosh I want to go so bad. A romantic trip with hubbie! That would be so awesome. I didn't realize that the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque were right next to each other. I want to go in late autumn. I have the itinerary all planned out. Now all I need is a baby-sitter, a few thousand bucks, and for Chris to take a week off of work. Let's pack!
November 26, 2013
Detailed and clear guide. One of those rare guides that you can actually completely rely on in a foreign country completed with emergency telephone numbers and survival guides. Must read if you're planning to visit Istanbul. As for me, I picked up this book because I like to look at pictures of a foreign country and run off to imagination-land but it was a very useful book nevertheless.
August 3, 2007
Used on a spring trip to Istanbul. Fairly useful. I like the format of the Eyewitness Guides, though I did a lot of other reading to familiarize myself with the city.
July 24, 2008
read it, lived it, loved it!!!!!
September 22, 2008
Not so helpful while I was there.
September 6, 2009
Great travel guide!
January 24, 2015
Like it says in the description, this DK book is more colorful and descriptive than other travel guides, but is also slightly less helpful which is what I needed.
February 7, 2016
Good research for Turkey, easy to carry.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews