Turkish delights in Istanbul

Ayasofya, phone 0212/522-1750. Admission is approximately $11; the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Yerebatan Cistern, Yerebatan Cad. diagonal from St. Sophia in the Sultanahmet; phone 0212/522-1259. It’s open Wednesday’s through Mondays, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Admission is approximately $8. 

The Blue Mosque is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., though out of respect you should avoid visiting during prayer times, unless you are Muslim. There is no admissions fee.

Shops in the Grand Bazaar are open from 8:30am to 7pm Mondays through Saturdays; the least confusing entry point is at the Beyazit Gate or the Nuruosmaniye Gate. There’s no entry fee at any of the stores or to get into the Bazaar area, but you might consider investing $7 in a helpful map of the bazaar (you’ll find the maps at all the newsstands in the area).

Buhara 93, Sifa Hamami Sokak 15A; phone  0212/518-1511.

The entrance to the Topkapi Palace, Sultanahmet is at the end of Babuhümayun Cad., behind the Ayasofya; phone 0212/512-0480. Admission to the palace is about $9. You’ll pay an additional $7 each to tour the Harem and the Treasury. The palace is open Wednesdays through Mondays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. but the Harem closes at 4 p.m.

Cagaloglu Hamami, Yerebatan Caddesi at Ankara Caddesi; phone 0212/522-2424. The cost is about $24 for bath and kese treatment and 36 if you get the special massage. It’s open daily 7 a.m. - 10 p.m. for men, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. for women and there are separate sections for each.

Körfez is located on the Asian side, across from Rumeli Hisari at Körfez Cad. 78; phone 0216/413-4314 (advance reservations needed both for the restaurant and the boat rides to and from).

Babylon, Sehbender Sok. 3 in Beyoglu, phone 0212/292-7368. Cover charges range from $10 to $20 depending on which bands are playing. Babylon does shut down for certain periods in the summer, so call first to make sure they’re open before heading over.

Pauline Frommer is the creator of the new Pauline Frommer guides in bookstores now. Her book, Pauline Frommer's New York, was named Best Guidebook of the Year by the North American Travel Journalists Association.

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