Next Monday I will be flying to Istanbul, Turkey. I will be there for two weeks as I am attending a couple of events, one of them Ethereum EthGlobal Hackathon, it will be my first one and I am quite excited about it. I've been to Istanbul once, just before the COVID-19 pandemic and it is a nice and interesting city and look forward to visiting some of its sights as I will have some free time.
I've been collecting info here and there for the past weeks and today I decided to wrap it all up into a document to make sure I have everything ready for next week's departure. I am so used to moving around EU countries with only my regular ID card I forgot how time-consuming traveling can be as I want to make sure I have everything I need under control before departure.
Turkey requires a visa for most foreigners visiting the country. Luckily EU citizens do not need to go through that process for short-term stays. You can also bring only your ID card, although I also want to bring my passport with me.
Moving around in the city is quite cheap as there is a transport card you can purchase and refill in order to have credit to pay when jumping into one of the many public transport options you have in the city. The only inconvenience is you can only charge your card with cash (no credit cards) so you have to bring some Turkish Liras with you before landing if you intend to take the bus shuttle from the airport to the city center.
Although I am spending two weeks there, I want to bring only a carry-on, I hate carrying too much stuff when traveling so I am used to bringing only what is needed. This time though, as I am spending two weeks, I may have to do some laundry so locating a laundromat around the hotel is on my todo list :)
I plan to post and share some of the places I visit from there. Any suggestions for must-see sights besides Santa Sophia Mosque and the Grand Bazaar?