My wife and I (mid 60s, Chicago area) will be visiting Istanbul for the first time for 3 full days in mid February on our way to Tanzania for a safari/beach adventure. Of course we plan to visit the iconic historical sites of the old city like the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, etc, For ease of visiting these sites, we initially were thinking that we would stay in Sultanahmet. However, the more I researched places to stay, the more I seemed to encounter the consistent theme that Sultanahmet is mainly a very touristy area and not representative of authentic Istanbul.
Another thing drawing us to Istanbul was the opportunity to cross over the Bosphorus and step into Asia. While we hope to have a longer stay somewhere on the continent on a future trip, this would at least allow us to tick off the bucket list item of having stepped foot in Asia for the time being. Thinking that actually spending a few nights on the Asian side might lend a little more credibility to our claim of having "visited" Asia. I know, kind of silly.
Anyways, wanted to get thoughts on staying in Kadikoy as a first time visitor. While farther away from the historic sites we hope to visit, it seems nonetheless that they are pretty easily accessible by ferry, and I'm thinking that taking the ferry in and of itself could be a fun part of the trip. While nightlife isn't high on our list of priorities, Kadikoy seems to be pretty vibrant with lots of bars/restaurants should we want to experience that stuff. There also seems to be a pretty good supply of reasonably priced Airbnbs in the area. Looking at a rental rather than hotel as we would like to have a washer/dryer to do some laundry prior to starting the African leg of our journey.
So a couple of questions:
Would Kadikoy be a good place to stay for first time visitors to Istanbul?
If so, are there certain neighborhoods, we should try to target are search? We'd prefer something quieter, but if we are near nightlife, that's ok.
Are there other neighborhoods on the Asian side we should consider?
Is staying on the Asian side a good idea to begin with? Would it be more of a hassle to visit some of the historic sites than its worth.
Appreciate any and all feedback. Thanks!