Istanbul

Istanbul – The airport

Unsurprisingly, Istanbul airport is very large. The special assistance on arrival was incredibly good. A wheelchair was provided, and I was wheeled through the airport by a member of staff to the taxi bay with ease.

It was a lot more difficult when flying out. Firstly, there were no wheelchairs to borrow. The airport is very tight with security and so there is a baggage check before getting into the airport and queuing can be difficult. Once passed this, my husband needed to get to the EasyJet desk to order the special assistance which was quite some distance. This would have been very difficult alone. There are special assistant phones doted around the airport, but we had no joy with this and were told to contact our airline. I would recommend leaving extra time for the return flight if needing special assistance.     

Getting to the city

Public transport to and from the airport is very good and reasonably priced. There is a metro line directly from the airport to the centre where there are other metros, trams and busses which go across the city. For those that can walk with ease, this is fantastic however there is a lot of walking involved and although the airport-city metro is reasonably quiet, public transport does get busy, and a seat is far from guaranteed. We took a taxi on the way to the city which was about £50 and regretted not doing the same on the way back. If you do struggle with mobility, then I highly recommend using the taxi both ways and factoring the cost in.

Location

Istanbul is fairly hilly – there is no avoiding this but if well planned out, it is possible to see all the sites without traipsing up large inclines. The T1 tramline can truly be your friend. This takes you from the coast (Eminou) to Sultanahmet within a few minutes (where you will find the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and other major landmarks). This line will also take you to the Grand Bazar (at Beyazit) and Aksaray metro station as well as across the Golden Horn, where it links via a funicular to Taxim square.

Picking your hotel within a short distance of this line will make for a lot less walking for those wanting to explore the Old Town. Most trams and platforms are wheelchair accessible although if you do require wheels then I would recommend looking into this before booking your hotel.

Exploring

Visiting in the quieter months makes Istanbul far more accessible for those of us with mobility issues. Less people make public transport quieter, the streets are less frantic, and it is not difficult to find a bench (or bar) to rest.

The boat tours of the Bosphorus are a fantastic way to relax and see the city without exerting much energy. There are a wide range of tours that allow you to see palaces, grand mosques and have a feel of the scale of the city whilst seated. Most boat tours are available in English, but it is worth checking and there are also evening trips where food is provided.

Public Transport

The public transport is excellent. Very frequent and allows you to get across the city from early morning until late at night. The Istanbulkart card can be used on trams, busses, metro-trains and even boats. We took a boat across the Bosphorus from Europe to Asia, and it cost around 50p.

You will need the card before you can access public transport. There are machines within metro stations, ferry terminals and major tram/bus stations where you can purchase the card and top them up. You need to put money onto the card before you use it. The machines have English as an option – they aren’t the easiest to use but we got there – with a little perseverance.

Food

The Old Town is full of wonderful places to eat Ottoman cuisine although there is a distinct lack of variation between places. It can get slightly ‘samey’ looking at cloned menus of kebabs and pides place after place.

Food is reasonably priced without being excessively cheap. Beer varies from place to place but can be as low as £2.50 for a large glass although wine is generally pricey. Most places have indoor and outdoor seating and in the winter months some of the outdoor heaters are worth the price of a tea just to walm up and dry your coat.

The service is always exceptionally friendly and expect to be gifted freebies. A fine example was one lunchtime where we were not feeling overly hungry but thought that we’d better eat something. We ordered a lentil soup and apple tea each. We were brought a meze starter with two large flat breads before the soup and were also treated to a baklava and an extra apple tea afterwards. It didn’t make for the light-lunch that we hoped for and felt the need to tip the £8.50 bill.

Massa Bistro (less than a minute from Sultanahmet tram stop) become a favourite of ours. Sitting under the warm heaters, we were treated to not only great food but also traditional Turkish dancing. It was always entertaining when anyone would order a Testi kebab. This is meat cooked in a closed clay dish which requires breaking to serve. This is done publicly, with music, fireworks and dance and grabs the interest of the whole restaurant. 

Price

Turkey has really struggled with inflation in recent years, and it seems that their pricing is all over the place. We paid as little as £1.20 for a very good coffee in a seemingly ‘up-market’ area and as much as £5 for a poor coffee outside a fairly down-trodden kebab hut. The trick is to always find the price first.

Haggling in the Grand Bazar and in most tourist, places are expected, and real prices can be a quarter (or even less) than the marked rate. The general rule is to ignore what the price says and just think ‘what are you willing to pay?’

Tourist places

Blue Mosque – The blue mosque does have steps into it but also a side wheelchair entrance. 

Hagia Sophia – This is near the Blue Mosque, with fairly flat and historical landmarks between the two. Benches, cafes and bars are near and so this is an area which can be explored without too much energy. Much of this is wheelchair accessible and although there are cobbled streets in places, this is generally an accessible area. The Hagia Sophia itself does have a wheelchair entrance but not all areas are accessible.  

Grand Bazaar – I found this difficult. The Bazaar itself is one of the largest indoor markets in the world and isn’t flat. Planning your route to and from the Bazaar is really important as a lot of the roads around it are not wide enough for a car and so you can easily find yourself some distance from being able to get a taxi back. Beyazit is a fairly close stop on the T1 tramline but is still a good few hundred meters from the entrance. If going, I would recommend being mindful of your ‘exit strategy’, I found myself feeling low on energy while being quite deep into the bazar and realising there was no easy way back. This would be very difficult in a wheelchair.

Alternatively, the Spice Bazaar is far easier managed. It is smaller and a fairly short and flat walk from Eminönü (T1) but it is also nearer roads where you can get taxis to and from. It is also a far prettier Bazaar. If you want the Istanbul Bazaar experience, then I would recommend the Spice Bazaar over the Grand Bazaar but in all honesty, there didn’t seem to be anything in either Bazaar that you cannot find in the more accessible shops at a lower price.

Dolmabahçe Palace: One of the most wheelchair-friendly attractions, with ramps and an elevator.

How I found it?

Istanbul was everything I had hoped for, and I’m so glad I made the trip. I’d happily return and would recommend it to anyone looking for a truly unique experience. There’s no other city in the world with a history quite like Istanbul’s—you can feel it in every street, building, and marketplace. The locals are incredibly welcoming, and despite being a major city, it felt remarkably safe. Police presence is noticeable but never overwhelming. Overall, I found Istanbul to be manageable, even with mobility challenges.

What I would do differently?

I suffered after the morning at the Grand Bazaar, and I needed to spend the afternoon and evening that day in bed after exerting too much energy. It was somewhere that I’d always wanted to visit but frankly – it wasn’t worth it.

Our hotel was fine, with a lift and seemingly close to everywhere we wanted to be, but I was faced with a hill either up to the T1 line or down to the bus route. I would definitely make sure that we were much closer to public transport – they are everywhere, and it was poor planning of ours not to be within 50 meters of a stop.

Get a travel card from the airport. We made the mistake of attempting to catch a bus without the card, assuming that we could buy one easily, but we couldn’t and were then faced with walking a fair distance to the nearest machine that sold one.  

Finally, I really should have got a taxi from the city back to the airport. The public transport was so good and cheap that I felt like it was a waste of money to spend £50 instead of £2 by tube but I really suffered because of it.