Friendly Rentals Blog

The Blue Mosque(“Sultanahmet Camii”, in Turkish) is the most famous Mosque in Istanbul and the one which welcomes the most tourists. Situated in Sultanahmet square and separated from St. Sofia church by gardened area which all visitors to Istanbul cross at some time during their stay in the city.

Istanbul straddling two continents is where east meets west; history and modernity sitting side by side. During the day lose yourself amid the hustle and bustle of the markets, step back into history and admire the magnificent Islamic architecture of the mosques and palaces from the byzantine and ottoman empires and when the sun goes down leave old Istanbul behind and step into the glitz and glamour of the Istanbul nightlife. Discover where young and young at heart go to party the night away with our guide to the Istanbul nightlife…

Five times a day calls echo from the Mosque’s minarets calling the faithful to prayer, the Turkish city of Istanbul has the same effect. Calling travellers from across the globe to come and explore its antique streets and delve into the culture, a fascinating mixture of old meets new and east meets west. Istanbul, a city of contrasts provides the perfect place to escape from the daily routine and today it is the star of our blog.

Step back in time, to a place where there’s no cars and no traffic. The only sounds are the birds, the holidaymakers, and perhaps the occasional horse-and-cart trotting past. Open your eyes. Where are you? Surprisingly few people would have guessed the answer: the Princes’ Islands, Istanbul.

Hand-painted ceramics, jewels, antiques, carpets (might any of them be magic?), coloured lamps, the scent of spices and leather, the rumble of the stallkeeper’s conversations… the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul is one of those incredible places which makes you feel as if you’d walked into a tale from the Thousand and One Nights.

We’re sure you’ve gobbled down a tasty kebab from the corner bar more than once, but if you’re going travelling to Istanbul in the near future and your knowledge of typical Turkish food can be reduced to döners and pita bread, we recommend you have a look at this article.

Markets in Istanbul come in all stripes, and will sell you everything and anything. The wealth of markets in Istanbul is one of the things that makes the city so vibrant. It’s here, more than anywhere else, where the hackles will rise on the back of your neck in an indication that you are witnessing the truly exotic...

It’s been a good few months since we last delighted your ears with a few tunes, but summer’s coming and our Spotify playlists are back. In previous editions, we’ve looked at the sounds of cities like Paris, Barcelona, London and Berlin… today it’s the turn of our newest destination: Istanbul.

Our recommended apartment this week, the Kempinski 6 apartment, features cosy exposed-brick details, a breakfast bar, floods of natural light and comfortable beds to make it a real Turkish home for up to four people. It also offers you the priceless opportunity to wake up every morning and have breakfast in front of the view of the Bosphorus that the large windows offer, meaning you can both relax at home and be involved with the goings-on of the city at the same time.

Istanbul, the Gateway to the East, is (due to its approximately 12 million inhabitants) one of the most populated cities in Europe. Here, you’ll find the remains of more than two millennia of history, as well as great cultural and ethnic diversity. Boisterous bazaars, mosques, synagogues, parks, ancient palaces, restaurants… Istanbul is a dynamic, impressive city, to the point that Napoleon once claimed that “if the whole world were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital”.

If shopping in Istanbul is big business, the Istanbul Shopping Fest 2012 is set to be huge. With a growing economy and investment of 50 m lira from Turkish airlines, the 2012 edition of the Istanbul Shopping Fest is sure to be a wallet-busting success.

Calling all musicians! Which is more resonant: a full-piece orchestra or just a single person and their instrument? Find out in the International Istanbul Music Festival 2012, this coming June.