I came to Istanbul by flying from Antalya for $36.

The thing that I liked most about Istanbul are the boats. They are used to travel between areas of the city. I didn’t mind where the boats took me as long as it’s not Besiktas and I just hopped onto the next one.

View on Beyoglu & Galata Tower

Near Eminonu ferry terminal

Leaving

View on Rustem Pasha Mosque from a boat

Seats

Sometimes the boats are packed. There are very few foreigners (europeans/western people) on the ships. Maybe it depends on their destination.

Packed

Muslim women

The Bosphorus is full of vessels.

Cruise ship

Cargo ship

Vans

Despite the abundance of ships the water retains it’s natural blue color which lures me.

Luring

Tower

Fountain Sultan Ahmed III

Entrance to the Blue Mosque

Inside the Blue Mosque

Let’s zoom out and look at the bigger picture.

Inside the Blue Mosque

Entrance to the Blue Mosque

Hagia Sofia and Fountain

Apart from water transport, Istanbul has a big metro & tram system. The subway reaches both airports.

Some entrances to the subway are in a classy Muslim style.

Entrance into the subway

The weird thing about Istanbul are the ads. Both funny cat videos and creepy videos are played on the subway. Even some kind of old war footage was played.

Ads in subway

The ads on the streets are unusual too.

Smile

Anti-drug campaign (supposedly)

You can also find some cheesy patriotic war-themed posters in underground crossings.

Cheesy low quality

Turkish military

Compared to these posters the portaits of Ataturk look graceful.

Ataturk portrait at a ferry terminal

I really liked the street art in Kadikoy.

Faces

More faces

Tags

Corner in Kadikoy

Streets

I stayed in Sultanahment where the main sites (mosques) are located. But I wouldn’t recommend it because food is expensive there and it turns dead at night.

Mosque

Small street in Sultanahmet

The better place to stay is in Beyoglu around Taksim.

Istiklal Avenue

Watch your step

An accurate depiction of Istanbul

The sun's going down

I enjoyed my 3 days in Istanbul. It’s a very big city with lots to see.