30 Hours In Istanbul Turkey

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If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul.

– Alphonse de Lamartine

While sitting at my desk browsing for cheap flights, I found a flight to Venice Italy for 491 dollars. The catch: a 15 hour layover in Istanbul Turkey (both ways). While most people wouldn’t even consider this messy travel itinerary, I couldn’t have been more excited.

Istanbul had been on my to do list for years. I know it deserves more than 30 hours, but if I can get a free preview on my trip to Italy, I’ll take it. This is when I learned that layovers could be a useful budget friendly travel tool.

So what did we see in our 30 hours in Istanbul?

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Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey

Inside Blue Mosque: You are required to cover your hair while in the mosques. Luckily I was wearing a scarf and was able to use that. Don’t worry, they have free ones to lend out to visitors.

Inside Blue Mosque: You are required to cover your hair while in the mosques. Luckily I was wearing a scarf and was able to use that. Don’t worry, they have free ones to lend out to visitors.

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Whirling Dervish: The whirling dance is best known in the West by the practices of the Mevlevi order in Turkey and is part of a formal ceremony known as the Sema. The Sema is only one of the many Sufi ceremonies performed to try to reach religious ecstasy.

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Smoking a hookah in an outside cafe

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The ceiling of Blue mosque

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Inside the courtyard of Blue Mosque

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The Grand Bazaar:Fact: I bought more souvineers, jewelry, and décor in a couple hours at the Grand Bazaar than I did during 10 days in Italy.

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Where have you taken advantage of layovers?

PS. Visit our post on how to book the cheapest flights for information on finding long layovers 🙂

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