Irish rock band U2 will come to Istanbul for the first time with 360 tour. This year there have been a lot of big concerts in Istanbul up to now but this will may be the biggest concert of 2010 in Turkey with the support of Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture.

If you are thinking to buy ticket you can check out here. Red zone tickets have already been sold!

Hotels Around Zeytinburnu

The place is in Zeytinburnu which is close to Ataturk Airport. Hotels in that area are generally business type. If your aim is only to see the matches you can look at Ibis hotel. It may be the best choice for you as it is close to Abdi Ipekci Arena. After the match ends in the late time you can go back to the hotel by taxi. It won’t cost much as it’s not far. Prices of the hotel are also reasonable.

If you are also thinking to sightsee it may be a good idea to look for hotels around Sultanahmet as it’s not too far away from Abdi Ipekci Arena and easily reached by public transport.

Hotels Around Sultanahmet

Uyan hotel, Tayhan Hotel, Imga Hotel, Ilkay Hotel, Hotel Ayasofya, Best Western Amber Hotel, Tashkonak Suites, Nena Hotel, Ferman hotel are just a few of them.

You shouldn’t look for hotels around Taksim area as it is far away from Abdi Ipekci Arena. You should also consider about these hotels:

Osmanhan Hotel,Hotel Sapphire,Acra Hotel,Berce Hotel,Seraglio Hotel,Emine Sultan Hotel,Apex Hotel,Sarı Konak Hotel,Sude Konak Hotel,Sultan Hill Hotel,Garden House Hotel,Stonehouse Hotel,Le Piano Hotel,Erboy Hotel,Hotel Inter.

Research about them carefully, because some of them may have high prices due to the tournament.

By public transport:

If you are in Taksim square, take the metro from Taksim to Kabatas and you can get to Sultanahmet from Kabatas by tram. If you are at the other side of Istiklal take the little metro (calles as “tunel”). It takes you to Karakoy. You can take the tram from Karakoy to Zeytinburnu direction and get off when it arrives to Sultanahmet. These won’t take much time. However, there is an alternative way;

By taxi:

You can take a taxi, that will cost higher. It’s the best way to use public transport during commute hours as the traffic is very crowded at that time.

In Ramadan there are a lot of Turks fast. But there are also a lot, who don’t fast. Refraining from eating and drinking in public would be the best during the day time. However, it’s really related to where you are as Istanbul is a very big city. Considering that you will be around touristic places like Taksim, Beyoğlu, The Grand Bazaar, you will not even notice Ramadan has started as you will see a lot of people in the restaurants during the day time. Some of them are tourists, and the others are Turks. Most of cafes, tea houses will also be open. So this issue won’t be such a big problem for you.

In addition, there is one thing you should consider about: Having dinner around fast breaking time may be little problem as most restaurants will be very crowded and it will be hard to find seats.

According to the written sources about past, its original name is “Beştaş”. This name is coming from five-stone columns Barbaros Hayreddin Pahsa set up to connect the ships to the coast. “Beştaş” name has evolved to Besiktas over in time.

Besiktas district, consists of 23 neighborhoods which are Abbasağa, Akatlar, Arnavutköy, Balmumcu, Bebek, Cihannüma, Obelisk, Etiler, Gayrettepe, Mansions, Kuruçeşme, Kültür, Levazim, Levent, Mecidiye, Ortaköy, Muradiye, Nispetiye, Sinanpaşa, Türkali, Ulus, Yıldız and Vişnezade.

Besiktas was the major settlement along the shores of the Bosphorus in Byzantine period. In Byzantine period (4th century -15. century) Beşiktaş coast was known as three important structures called Ayios Mihael Church in “Auaplus” (upstream), Ayios Mamas palace the summer residence of emperors, and the Phocas monastery complex. Ayios Mihael was built in 305-337 and was a famous pilgrimage center.

Besiktas won its identity of a living place in the Ottoman period. During the Byzantine period, destruction of predators especially coming from the Black Sea blocked the development of settlements out of the walls.

Besiktas has gained importance especially in terms of maritime because of Kaptan-ı Derya Barbaros Hayreddin. He lived here and was buried here after his death.

Meat, fish, vegetables, fruit and all kinds of spices are used in Istanbul kitchen. Many of seafood, veal, lamb, goat, chicken, geese, ducks, foods made from rabbits and some birds, meat and vegetables cooked together in the pot meal, made from vegetables and olive oil eaten cold, “dolma”, salads, sherbet made with many fruits and compote, milky desserts and sweets made from dough are just some of them that Istanbul cuisine may offer you.

It’s not problem whether you like meat or seafood, are vegetarian or not, make diet or prefer spicy, rich-fat foods. You will always find different kinds of food which’re pleasure to taste in Istanbul.

It was built as a church when the time of Constantinopole. In 1453 Sultan Mehmet conquered Constantinopole and decided to convert the church into mosque. The Hagia Sophia served as a mosque for about 500 years. And In 1934 it was converted to the Ayasofya Museum. Today many people come to visit there.

You can take an online tour here and see the whole Hagia Sophia structure (your browser may need plugins).