Customer Reviews

Eyewitness Travel Guide to Istanbul

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The maps are the most useful of any of the Istanbul travel books I have seen; although this book gives history and analysis, it is not too in depth, as the Knopf book can be, so that you lose sight of where you are. The tours laid out in this book contain references to small cafes and shops and restaurants that none of the others do. It is a 1998 version so is very up-to-date. Excellent book.

This lightweight volume is all you need in Istanbul--you don't even need additional maps, as the ones in here are excellent.

Despite its relatively small size it includes surprisingly detailed information on the nooks & crannies of major monuments (even including interior plans), plus numerous listings of off-the-beaten path sights that give a real thrill to history/architecture buffs. Every sight mentioned in here is well worth seeing.

The historical overview at the beginning is excellent and accessible--definitely adequate to help the traveler understand the context of what s/he is seeing. For the person who may have read up on history and architecture at home, the handy timelines serve as helpful refreshers. The map of Constantinople in particular is a real gem and helps you identify the otherwise unmarked ruins you may sometimes come across (Byzantine bits & pieces are everywhere!)

A word of caution--although this book provides a useful overview of Bursa & Edirne, don't attempt those cities without more extensive information, especially maps--Bursa is hell without a good map.

Good luck & enjoy!

This book was great. It was short but had all the major information on attractions, lodging, restaurants and travel. It was small enough that I didn't mind carrying it around everywhere also. I really liked the suggestions (for example, you may want to go somewhere friendly for your first Turkish bath, as it can be rather intimidating. Their suggestion was friendly and nice). We were short on time, so the highlighted attractions were really nice too. And it had suggestinos on navigating through some of the larger attractions, like Topkapi Palace (it's huge) or putting together attractions that are near each other (Blue Mosque and Hippodrome). The lodging descriptions were quite accurate, nice hotels were truly magnificent and well-described. The pictures were very pleasant, lots of pictures but generally relevant. Also, the food guide was great, because you have to enjoy the wonderful food in Istanbul. It described local specialties, what's in season and a detailed restaurant price and location guide. Also, the maps were very clear and very well done. All-in-all, a great guide, and that if very useful in Istanbul.

The Eyewitness guides are all well-planned but the Istanbul guide is a traveler's treasure. Especially valuable are the features on top ten sites, top ten museums, and top ten mosques that prioritize sights for tourists with curiosity and a cultural interest. There is a useful checklist of sites within the geographic areas. This well-illustrated guide both provides quick reference capability and a listing of all the top sites that more informed tourists will wish to visit.

Seriously good colour production, with great maps and cutaways. Hasn't got the historical depth of a Blue Guide, but this series exists for a different purpose, and this one hits the mark. It has information on just about everything the visitor would want to see and do, and it would be a useful companion for someone living in the city for a period of time. There is another, similar series called 'Everyman Guides' which do not appear to be available on amazon. The publisher is David campbell of London. I have their Istanbul guide as well. It does some things similarly to Eyewitness, and the colour is as good. It, however, takes a thematic approach, so there are chapters on things like Istanbul as seen by painters or writers. I think both volumes are excellent, and provide good reading in preparation for a trip, or armchair daydreaming!

Having lived in Istanbul, I would have welcomed both these books.

This is pretty much the definitive English-language guide for tourists. You'll see people toting it along at all of the major historical attractions - with good reason. Like most Eyewitness guides, it is incredibly user-friendly. This book has it all - useful maps, readable background facts, helpful travel tips. My favorite feature is the list of the top ten sites. My only complaint is that the maps do not include the business districts - a serious oversight for the business traveler. Nevertheless, no one should go to Istanbul without a copy of this book close at hand.

Since I wrote this review two years ago, I have lent the book to 8 people who were traveling to Istanbul, and they've all raved about it. I was on a plane the other day making a connection through Istanbul and a distant acquaintance came over and showed me my copy that he'd borrowed via another friend. That's how much people rave about and rely on this book.

The Eyewitness Travel Guides are all excellent. The Istanbul guide is no exception. It has everything a traveller needs, and it is presented in an easy, slick, fun package. The maps are great and are cross-referenced to the site descriptions, there are wonderful descriptions of neighborhoods, a layout of the Bosporus boat trip, blueprint breakouts of famous sites such as the Blue Mosque, a fantastic chart of the Topkapi palace. Food hints, restauant guide, hotel tips, etc. In short, this is a great guide. It's also lightweight and easy to take along in your daypack.

I brought the Eyewitness Travel Guides: Istanbul by Deni Brown with me to Istanbul last month, along with Freely's Istanbul, and I could not have chosen two better books. The Freely book provided me with the historical background I needed while the Eyewitness Travel Guide provided excellent maps, valuable travel information (the only book that warned me about the $40 visa fee at the airport), and of course those pictures we all love so much. The pictures, and especially the drawings, are excellent. If you are going to Istanbul, take this book and the Freely book with you.

This is THE BOOK to get for your travels to Istanbul - or Constantinople to us Greek Orthodox :-) I used this book when I was there five years ago, and let me be frank: it got me around every street, every landmark, every side alleyway, every bus route, every boat ride. The City is covered from head to toe in this book, with tons of useful information about hours of operation of mosques, churches, museums, and restaurants, plus great maps of the City and its surrounding neighborhoods, with detailed bus and tram schedules. In the back, it offers all the up to date information on hotels and hostels, plus important addressess and phone numbers for police, tourist bureaus, airports, and bus stations.

My personal favorite aspect of this book are the detailed pictoral discriptions of some of the great landmarks of the City: Hagia Sophia, St. Saviour in Chora, the Blue Mosque, Suleymanie Camii, Topkapi Palace to some of the more "off the beaten path" locations, such as the Church of Pammakaristos, the Basilica Cisterns, the Church of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus (Kuckuk Aya Sofya), and the residence of the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. Rather than other guides such as Fodors simply writing it all down, Eyewitness literally "shows" you the information, so it's not only a great book to help you navigate the City, it's great to help you navigate the locations!

I carried this book with my at all times when I was in Turkey. I cannot recommend this book more than Amazon allows, but I'd give this book 10 stars if I could. It is the absolute best travel guide on the market today! I hope it will also serve you as well as it did for me!

I just got back from Istanbul and I can say that this book was one of the things that made this a memorable vacation. The information is complete and (mostly) up to date (visa costs had been increased) but otherwise I found it easy to use and informative. The only other book I would recommend is "Imperial Istanbul" for the true history buff traveler.