Older women with limited time in Istanbul

It has been 3+ years since I have spent any time in Istanbul, and so other folks can probably help better with the specifics of crowds, opening times, and wait times. Your list, though, seems very reasonable. All four sites are close together and within easy walking distance of your hotel.

Here's what I would do:

• Arrival night: After: have dinner close to your hotel and then go to bed.

Next day:

• Hagia Sophia. If you don't see anything else in Istanbul, this is a must. Get there as soon as it opens (9 a.m.?) Be sure to bring a scarf to cover your head.

  • Topkapi Palace. Next door to the Hagia Sophia. Make sure you get tickets to the harem. There is an overpriced but decent cafeteria with great views of the Bosporus at the far end of the palace. Stop there for a quick (late) lunch.
  • Blue Mosque. Across the street (more or less) from the Hagia Sophia. The mosque itself doesn't take long to see, but there may be lines. There were no lines when I was there is 2015, but I was surprised at the length of the lines when I was there while it was still under renovation in late 2021.
  • Basilica Cistern. On the way back to the hotel (but still very, very close).

Those four things are going to fill up most of the day, and you will probably be ready to get off your feet. I would schedule a late afternoon hamam visit. My travel partner was a little hesitant when I first suggested it, but neither of us had the slightest regret. I have enjoyed Caglaglu Hamam (https://cagalogluhamami.com.tr/en/) , and I have also heard good things about Hurrem Sultan Hamam (https://www.hurremsultanhamami.com/en/about-us/). You will need to make reservations, which is easy to do from their websites. Both are close to your hotel.

The next morning, before your departure, I would do one of two things: take the streetcar either to Beyazit or to Eminonou. The Beyazit station is right next to the Grand Bazaar and is probably more straightforward if you have never been to Istanbul. If you are good with a map and have time, the Suleymaniye Mosque is within easy walking distance of the Grand Bazaar. The early morning views of Istanbul and the Golden Horn are spectacular from Suleymaniye. Eminonou is the Spice Market and the Galata Bridge, which involves crossing more streets and tunnels. Either way, the streetcar is cheap, safe and easy.

Have a great time! Istanbul is one of my favorite cities.

Istanbul airport is enormous and though your flight "lands" at 4:30 p.m., you will need to taxi to your gate (can take 20 minutes), then potentially walk for quite awhile to get to immigration, then wait for your luggage, and then start the process of getting to old town which takes at least 45 minutes (by private car or taxi) or more (public transit). A 6:30 arrival time at your hotel is probably optimistic. As noted in prior response, I'd only plan on dinner at the hotel (it looks like they have a restaurant) and going straight to bed.

You don't say when you are traveling but prayer times will affect how you plan out your route. Given the location of your hotel, I personally would go visit the Blue Mosque in early morning on your first full day about 15-30 minutes after the second (sunrise) prayer. There won't be a huge line then and you can get good photos of it and the Hagia Sophia before the crowds jam the square. Don't forget your head scarf and remember you'll have to remove your shoes. Head back to your hotel and have breakfast. Then head to Hagia Sophia and get in line for the museum tickets or use one of the options linked on the official web page to a guided tour/skip line option https://muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/ayasofya You could probably fit in the cistern after that, but know that it sometimes is closed for no apparent reason (as when I was there, no pre-announcement of closure). If that's the case you could go in the morning before you head to the cruise ship.

Topkapi Palace is big and a lot of walking. If you did that in the afternoon you'll probably be exhausted from both jet lag and a long day. Istanbul is big crowded city, which can be draining. I second the suggestion for a Turkish bath, Hurrem Sultan Hammam is lovely and quite close to your hotel. That would help with a good second night's sleep and get you off on the right foot for your cruise.

Basilica Cistern is open daily (unless it's not, per CL's experience) until 10pm. So you could plan it for an end of day visit, although tickets are more expensive:

Remuneration
09.00-18.30 | Ticket: 1.300 TL
19.30-22.00 | Ticket: 2.000 TL

http://yerebatansarnici.com/

In my most recent visit, I landed at IST at 350pm, checked in to my hotel in the New District by 7pm, had a quick fish sandwich dinner from a kiosk near the ferry docks at 745pm, took a tram and entered the Basilica Cistern at 845pm, which gave me plenty of time to wander slowly through it (with very few other visitors in August) before closing.

A couple of other thoughts:

• I heartily second the recommendation to see the Blue Mosque early in the morning, before breakfast, when the light is beautiful and the crowds are minimal. Here's a picture from when I did that exact thing in 2017: https://mariematthews.smugmug.com/Turkey/i-kcqKvbD/A

• I am not sure how old you are, but my friend who went with me in 2021 was in her mid-70's and she was pretty much ready to pack it in for the day after the Hagia Sophia, Hagia Irene (worth a stop only if you have a museum pass), Topkapi, and the Blue Mosque. We probably could have squeezed in the Basilica Cistern had it not been closed for renovations at the time.

Thank you all for lovely suggestions. Is it really possibly to visit Blue Mosque before the 8:30 opening time listed in the guidebook? That would be wonderful. The airport sounds like an ordeal. We are hoping our age will allow us to have one of those carts meet us at each airport. Not sure if it’s available in Istanbul. Won’t save much time but maybe energy for sightseeing.

GerriPat when exactly are you going? The Blue Mosque will be open for dawn prayers, and then sunrise prayers, so depending on time of year yes it can be open before 8:30 a.m. It is closed about 60-90 minutes during prayer times. I personally arrived just after the prayers ended (in late September) and there was no line to get in. I just realized though if you are there on a Friday, midday prayers are much longer so you will have to plan accordingly. The one nice thing about the Blue Mosque is it is still free to enter, so you can pop in when the doors are open and the line isn't too long.

We are hoping our age will allow us to have one of those carts meet us
at each airport. Not sure if it’s available in Istanbul. Won’t save
much time but maybe energy for sightseeing.

I honestly do not remember seeing any of those people movers at the IST airport (and if I had, I would have been jealous!). It would be wise to do some research and you will likely need to make a special request of some sort or arrange a private company to assist you. I do know you must request/reserve wheelchair assistance in advance for any airline.

Marie-your pictures are amazing!!!

CL, you would almost certainly need to pre-book one of those carts to meet you at IST.

My mother has limited mobility and always pre-books and gets amazing service.

I managed to injure myself in Paris a couple of years ago, but with no time to prebook. We fly Emirates, and they were wonderful, but there was a fair bit of waiting around for assistance on the long flight back to Australia as those who had it organised in advance had priority, as they should.

If I had prebooked it would all have been organised. You need to book through your airline, and I think it would be well worth it.

Take a food tour. Always fun, you have a guide and you’ll meet other people. I took the Yummy two continents tour in October and loved it. Had the advantage of crossing the Bosphorus by ferry at sundown. Just don’t eat before you go on tour.

Fantastic collection of photos, Marie. Really made me miss Turkey.

Marie, your photos are magnificent and promoting me to do my best to follow your suggestion to visit early morning. I hope my body cooperates. I’m usually an early riser. By the way, surely these photos were taken with a proper camera, not your phone.

Thanks so much GerriPat, BethFL and Jeanne.

I took that photo on an overnight layover on the way back from Venice. It had been cloudy on my first visit to Istanbul a couple of years previously, and I had not been able to get a decent photo of the outside of the Blue Mosque. I was determined to get a good photo on my second visit. I strolled over just after sunrise and before breakfast that day with the specific intent of getting a picture. Although I took the photo with a proper camera, a modern cell phone could have done the job. It's really about the light, not the camera.

I just love Istanbul and Turkey.

They don’t announce it but buggies at Istanbul airport are free fro those 65+ . Just incase print out this page or pıt the screenshot on your cell phone to show themif needed .This will save you from walşng for more than a mile.

In addition to what others have said, try to book a hot with a rooftop or go to a rooftop restaurant in tbe old town during the call to prayer. Listening to the call to prayers from the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia at sunset was one of my favorite moments in Istanbul.

Thank you CoffeeGirl. Do you have a rooftop restaurant to recommend. I was wanting to do that for the view of sunset but hadn’t added the added bonus of the call to prayer.

Thank you Turkishguide, I am planning to request a buggy for the three of us old girls for all three airports, Philadelphia, Heathrow and Istanbul with the airline. Do you think that will work in Istanbul or do I need something airport specific?

Do you think that will work in Istanbul or do I need something airport
specific?

Since you likely need to call the airline to arrange this, be sure to ask if your request will work for all three airports. When you talk to them, you'll need to clarify what assistance you're asking for - as far as I know wheelchair assistance is what you can request from an airline, not a people mover/cart situation. And keep in mind wheelchair assistance means you're last off the plane as well, so factor that in to your arrival plans. I think the prior poster may be referring to a service at IST called IGA Buggy. It appears to be a paid service, so you'd have to do some more research.

And FWIW, based on the Booking.com photos your hotel has a rooftop seating area. Some of the photos show a minaret with loudspeakers, so you will definitely hear the call quite clearly (and probably loudly, several reviews mention the early hour wake up).