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Istanbul
Alone
Istanbul's hills and traffic can wear you down, so let the water help. Take a ferry between the European and Asian shores, then pause for a glass of tea.
$6.99 ebook
Ebook · Updated Q4 2026
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Where you might stay
- Mid-rangeHotel Ibrahim Pashasmall boutique hotel without coach-party scale
- A treatPera Palacehistoric hotel with a spa and hamam
Two places to eat alone
- Çiya SofrasıPoint at hot dishes and meze along the counter.
- MürverTables held for walk-ins suit a solo diner.
SAMPLE
Why Istanbul
It is not an easy city to arrive in. The airport transfer is long, the Sultanahmet tourist strip has a hustle that can tire you before lunch, the traffic is bad, and the hills are steeper than the photographs suggest. Set against that: a food culture far beyond kebab, a serious museum and gallery scene, mosques that are still working buildings, and a city where sitting alone with a glass of tea is entirely normal.
A free excerpt from Istanbul Alone.
PRACTICAL SAMPLE
Safety in the City
Istanbul is a large city with the ordinary risks of a large city and one specific irritant that visitors notice more than crime. The US State Department rates Türkiye Level 2, exercise increased caution, citing terrorism that can strike with little or no warning, including at tourist locations, along with armed conflict near the Syrian and Iraqi borders and arbitrary detentions; check the current advisory on travel.state.gov before you book.
Theft. Pickpocketing is the real risk and it is concentrated in a small number of places: the T1 tram between Sultanahmet and Eminönü, the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar, the İstiklal Caddesi crowd on a weekend evening, and the crush at ferry gangways. A cross-body bag that closes, worn in front in a crowd, is a useful precaution. Do not keep a phone in a back pocket or an open jacket pocket. Do not put a bag on the back of a chair.
A free excerpt from Istanbul Alone.
Inside this book
- Istanbul Awaits
- A City Shaped by History
- Planning Your Escape
- The Solo Woman’s Istanbul
- Where to Stay
- Semt by Semt, Neighborhood by Neighborhood
View the chapter contents
- Istanbul Awaits
- A City Shaped by History
- Planning Your Escape
- The Solo Woman’s Istanbul
- Where to Stay
- Semt by Semt, Neighborhood by Neighborhood
- Days in Istanbul
- Art, Culture & Creativity
- The Pleasures of the Table
- Evening & After Dark
- The Hamam and the Reset
- Retail Therapy
- Beyond the City, Day Trips
- Conversation Notes
- Practical Matters
BUY THE GUIDE
Istanbul Alone
Istanbul's hills and traffic can wear you down, so let the water help. Take a ferry between the European and Asian shores, then pause for a glass of tea.
$6.99 ebook
Ebook · Updated Q4 2026
Instant download · Secure checkout by Payhip
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Two of its three day plans: “The Crossing to the Asian Side” and “The Chora and the Land Walls”.
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