I attended a math conference in Istanbul in July, and took LOTS of pics while I was there (I've only just finished editing them!). Istanbul is an absolutley amazing city, really worth visiting.

All the pics were taken with the Sigma 18-125mm lens (I only took one lens on the trip).

Gallery

The Marmara Hotel, where the conference was held. On the day the conference started, the funicular to the sea was opened (hence the festive looking foreground).



The hotel we stayed in: Cartoon Hotel. The decor of the hotel followed a Disney theme.



Traffic chaos taken from the top of the Marmara Hotel



I found a street side pub where I took pics of the passing parade during lunch:



















Student protest against nuclear power:



One road is closed to traffic (Istiklal Caddesi) and has been turned into a giant shopping mall. I have never seen so many people in one place at one time. The road is about 2km long and was always full of people, regardless of the time of day.







Street vendors:








Miscellaneous street scenes:
Independence Monument:


Vapour trails/clouds:


These cop bikes made an interesting pattern:


Cheers was never supposed to look like this


A tourist travelling device:


Bikers:



A pub on Istiklal Caddesi:



A street in the suburb of Sultanahmet:


I hope you enjoyed this short trip to Istanbul! I will try to do another thread on some of the tourist attractions of the city.

Great series al..i really enjoyed looking

Never been to Istanbul but it looks beautiful by your photos .

Thanks Gus & Mark!

Mark: it is truly amazing. I wouldn't mind spending a whole lot more time there - it's also cheap when compared to the rest of Europe.

I've never been to Istanbul, but one of my best friends is from Turkye and always wants me to go there with him. I've already promised to go, and this kind of story sure helps in wanting to.

On a related note: let's see if this topic brings out a lurking Dgrin member I know, who is a big Istanbul fan as well. Seeing this title, I think he'll watch this thread.

Originally Posted by BigAl These cop bikes made an interesting pattern:

BMW R1200GSs. . . . Totally cool; I'm impressed. BMW has a strong command of the police market, but it's usually their RT sporttouring model or one of their F650s. Mind if I cross-post your photo to another board? I think they'd get a kick out of it.

All very cool photos by the way, an interesting urban study.

Originally Posted by marlof I've never been to Istanbul, but one of my best friends is from Turkye and always wants me to go there with him. I've already promised to go, and this kind of story sure helps in wanting to. On a related note: let's see if this topic brings out a lurking Dgrin member I know, who is a big Istanbul fan as well. Seeing this title, I think he'll watch this thread.

I can recommend it, I could get away with around 6 euros for lunch at the pub I mentioned, and that included a beer and all the pretty girls on view

Originally Posted by Tommyboy BMW R1200GSs. . . . Totally cool; I'm impressed. BMW has a strong command of the police market, but it's usually their RT sporttouring model or one of their F650s. Mind if I cross-post your photo to another board? I think they'd get a kick out of it. All very cool photos by the way, an interesting urban study.

Thanks for your comment! And you're welcome to cross post the pic (just link back to this thread).

Originally Posted by marlof On a related note: let's see if this topic brings out a lurking Dgrin member I know, who is a big Istanbul fan as well. Seeing this title, I think he'll watch this thread.

HA HA Marlof, you caught me here.

And allright, I'll delurk bij showing one of my favourite pictures from Istanbul. Not to hijack this thread, but just as a tribute to a very old and beautiful city like Byzantium, Constantinople or Istanbul.

Guards in front of the Dolmabahce palace. The last palace of the Sultans and the place where Attaturk, the founder of the modern Turkish state, died.

BTW your pictures are lovely and make me want to go back to Istanbul (aganin) but this time Marlof will come along (as promised in this thread), together with our mutual friend.

Originally Posted by Eyeful BTW your pictures are lovely and make me want to go back to Istanbul (aganin) but this time Marlof will come along (as promised in this thread), together with our mutual friend.

Well, I *do* hope you can convince them. I'd love to go again!

Don't worry about thread hijacking! I didn't get to Dolmabahce Palace (my wife did), but did get a pic from a ferry:

Originally Posted by Eyeful BTW your pictures are lovely and make me want to go back to Istanbul (aganin) but this time Marlof will come along (as promised in this thread), together with our mutual friend.

Ok, now you have my promise in writing. And I'm sure you'll know who to show this thread to, to add to the pressure. Not that there's much pressure needed, seeing and hearing all good things about Istanbul. Thanks for this thread, Big Al, I'm sure it helped in getting a few mates to visit that grand city.

Originally Posted by marlof Ok, now you have my promise in writing. And I'm sure you'll know who to show this thread to, to add to the pressure. Not that there's much pressure needed, seeing and hearing all good things about Istanbul. Thanks for this thread, Big Al, I'm sure it helped in getting a few mates to visit that grand city.

You must go, especially since you have your own guide . Try to go in summer though. Here's a pic of the city walls built around 400AD. These people were already building monstrous structures while most of Europe was still in a fairly barbaric stage.

Another lurker here, great series!

Originally Posted by 20DNoob Another lurker here, great series!

Thanks for your kind words!