As you know, Turkish Grand Prix has replaced the Singapore Grand Prix as the 16th race of the season in the calendar. The races that will take place at İstanbul Park with a capacity of 150 thousand spectators also mean an opportunity for a nice weekend experience in İstanbul.
By the way, a small reminder: The Formula 1 circuit in Kurtköy, which hosted the Formula 1 in 2005 for the first time, also has a well-deserved fame thanks to its challenging and exciting characteristics.
F1 spectators’ ideal weekend in İstanbul
So you have bought your tickets for F1 races, made your ‘pre-search’ about İstanbul, and travelled to the city before the races. Indeed, İstanbul is a city that cannot be jammed into a single weekend for its history of thousands of years, its nature and various cultures; however, you will need some advices to experience those two days to the fullest, won’t you? Yes, we have grouped those advices in 5 topics.
Feel the dynamic spirit of the city
The first thing to do to feel the spirit of İstanbul inside your heart is so simple: To take steps!
Let it be a little classical start; let us take the road from Taksim. After walking on İstiklal Avenue for a while – and indeed taking lots of selfies on this iconic street of the city, turn left to Çarşı Avenue from Galata Square and leave yourself downwards. Walking through historical buildings on both sides of the street and reaching halfway through, when you turn left, you will see the town of Çukurcuma.
In the by-streets, you can greet local shopkeepers having just opened their shops, multicultural small hostels, and cats preparing to fall into morning sleep. Or you can just focus on the three-storey buildings, which are the rarest examples of civil architecture. There you can feel like you are in a black and white photo frame shot by Ara Güler.
Likewise, in the same town, you can find yourself at the doors of the Museum of Innocence, set up inspired by the book of the Nobel Awarded author Orhan Pamuk, well renowned all over the world. If you are not ready for such great load of sorrow, keep walking upwards and reach Firuzağa Square and Cihangir Quarter at the end of the climb. You are at the right place for a morning coffee. Numerous boutique cafes and third-generation coffee shops are there at your service.
After the coffee break, the destination now is the historical town of Karaköy, located at the junction of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn (Haliç). There you will find yourself literally ‘within the daily life’. Within the combination of the past, present and future…
İstanbul’s distinctive sign: Ferry
Kadıköy means the ferry port in a way. The Kadıköy ferries departing every 20 minutes are there to present you both the Bosphorus and the unique İstanbul cityscape and friendship of the seagulls. During the voyage, you can enjoy your tea and simit while watching the cityscape. Indeed on the condition that you throw pieces of simit to the seagulls.
When you get off the ferry, keep walking – in order to complete the route. Leaving Kadıköy’s lively crowd, record stores, bookstores behind, step on the narrow streets of Moda, one of the iconic towns of the city. At the end of the road, there is the Moda Cape and the tea gardens where you will want to spend long hours with its magnificent seascape. The seascape reaching out from the Bosphorus bridges to the Historical Peninsula, Bakırköy to Adalar will be at the tip of your fingers to be photographed to eternity.
The walking route has now been completed. Now you can take the road to Intercity İstanbul Park for living the excitement of the F1 race. Of course, the question of “how to go to İstanbul Park” will emerge, where it is possible to get to know about the mass transport information and the bus departure times via the website of İETT .
A journey to the past at the antiques market
Feriköy Antiques Market set up near Bomonti on weekends can be defined as the most comprehensive market in Türkiye in its field. It is possible to find thousands of items from various periods of the past, listen to their stories and buy them for suitable prices on almost one hundred counters. You can also find numerous nostalgic items related to the passion of automotive, which brings you to İstanbul. It is strongly probable to find the first issue of a famous automobile magazine or to leave the market with a valuable model car.
The most famous automobile museums in İstanbul
Speaking of passion of automobile, as you have come all the way to İstanbul, you should definitely drop by the Museum of Rahmi M. Koç. This giant museum established at Hasköy, located at the northern coast of Haliç, is home to numerous classic cars as well as other sections. In the museum where you can admiringly examine the rarest pieces of automobile history, we recommend you to pay special attention to the Anadol models.
We have two more recommendations in addition to the Museum of Rahmi M. Koç. Ural Ataman Classic Car Museum, which is one of the few classic car museums in Türkiye and where more than 60 automobile of the period of 1920-1970 are exhibited, and Mehmet Arsay Classic Car Museum, which hosts hundreds of thousands of Turkish lira worth of classic cars brought from all over the world.
A nice coincidence: Turkish Airlines Euroleague
As a nice coincidence, Turkish Airlines Euroleague, which is the top level of European basketball, continues full throttle after the opening week. One of the most outstanding teams of the Tournament and the Final Four, Anadolu Efes will host CSKA Moscow at home.
Those who follow up football games are also lucky. Because aside from Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, three more İstanbul clubs (Başakşehir, Kasımpaşa, Fatih Karagümrük) are playing in the Turkish Super League. It will be a great opportunity to experience the football and tribune culture.
Reminder
Let us close with a little warning. Having come all the way to İstanbul, you should definitely taste the fantastic street delicacies of İstanbul. You can just note their names down, and anyone you ask on the street will show you where to find them. You can get an idea of these excellent delicacies by reading our article named İstanbul’s street delicacies
- Wet burger
- Kumpir
- Kokorec
- Fish sandwich
- Stuffed mussels
