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Life in Istanbul

General Information about Istanbul:

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, representing the country’s most dynamic and vibrant city, not to mention the center for economy, culture and historical heritage.

International students are invited to fully experience Istanbul, by discovering its streets, neighbohoods, ethnic groups and all what it has to offer, by keeping themselves informed about cultural events, music festivals, art scenes and not to forget by savouring Turkish and international cuisines in Istanbul’s restaurants.

As for the city’s history and other useful information, additional details information can be found in the Wikipedia entry.

Cultural life in Istanbul:

Needless to stress the vibrant cultural life in Istanbul, with a diverse and comprehensive list of museums, photos exhibits, art events, historical monuments, music festivals and much more.
List of musems and monuments in Istanbul - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_museums_and_monuments_in_Istanbul
The Turkish ministery of Culture and Tourizm (English Version) - http://www.kultur.gov.tr/?_dil=2
The official website of Istanbul : http://howtoistanbul.com/
An example of IstanbulCity guide website - http://www.istanbulcityguide.com/istanbul.aspx
In addition to Istanbul Bilgi University 3-day long MayFest Festival, there are numerous music festivals in Istanbul as detailed in this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivals_in_Republic_of_Turkey
Time-out Istanbul web portal (English version) - http://www.timeoutistanbul.com/en/Default.aspx
The Online tickets purchasing plateform Biletix (English version) - http://www.biletix.com/anasayfa/TURKIYE/en

Turkish and International Cuisines:


Turkish cuisine is considered as one of the most refined and diverse cuisine in the world, emphasising on fresh seasonal food items and regional specialities. In addition to the grilled meat specialties (kebap), a wide variety of fresh sea and bosphorus fishes (balık) must be tried, and definitely followed by a sweet delicacy among dairy sweets specialties (Sütlu tatları), Baklava and other sweet crispy desserts.
And as true food enthousiast and according to the Turkish way of life, one must finish a meal with a freshly brewed Turkish tea or a flavorful Turkish coffee.
Istanbul as a large cosmopolite city, offers also a plethora of restaurants serving international cuisines and world-fusion food, not to be missed as well.
The history and other interesting details on Turkish cuisine can be found in the Turkish cuisine-wikipedia entry.
International student can also enjoy the convenience of home-delivery using the Yemeksepeti – online platform listing Istanbul-based restaurants (English version) - http://istanbul.yemeksepeti.com/en/AnonymouseDefault.aspx?clanguage=en

Transportation:

As a true metropole, Istanbul benefits from a large network of transportation (both public and private), including buses, taxis, seaferries, tramways and more.

In addition to Istanbul Bilgi University free inter-campus and regular shuttles (more details here), all the students should take advantage of all the available means of transportation the city has to offer:

http://www.iett.gov.tr/en

http://www.ido.com.tr/en

Turkish airlines company’s website (English version) - http://www.turkishairlines.com...

Pegasus airlines company’s website (English version) - http://www.flypgs.com/en/defau...

Airport shuttle company Havataş website (English version) - http://havatas.com/en/

Shuttle/autobus company Ulusoy website (English version) - http://www.ulusoy.com.tr/default.aspx

Shuttle/autobus company KamilKoç website (English version) - http://www.kamilkoc.com.tr/

Istanbul – Pratical information:

As a new resident of Istanbul, it is important to keep these information handy!