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Travel Contests / Contests / Istanbul Travel / Turkey Travel / Rough Guides / → All Tags

Students Can Compete for a Travel-Writing Guidebook Gig in Istanbul

If you're a student journalists or happen to know one aspiring to become travel writers, there's no reason to wait to do slave work at an internship where you won't see the outside of a cubicle. Rough Guides and BikeHike Adventures are offering a contest that will send one one travel-hungry student to Istanbul on assignment.

You'll get to be a travel-writing assistant for Terry Richardson, author of The Rough Guide to Istanbul, who's researching a new edition of the book. But as is the case with any assistant gig, you'll be the one doing the grunt work researching and updating the guidebook. Be prepared to do some solo traveling.

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Free Stuff / Turkish Airlines / Istanbul Travel / IST / Airline News / Awesome Stuff / Tours / → All Tags

The Ultimate Travel Extra: Free City Tours During Layovers for Turkish Airlines Passengers

Here at Jaunted, we are seemingly always discussing the newest (and awesomest) in-flight amenities, airline meals and airport lounges that come part and parcel with the price of your ticket. Alas, there are even more extras to discover during international travel, like the fact that Turkish Airlines takes passengers with long layovers on FREE tours around Istanbul.

It works like this: if you're flying on Turkish and switching flights at Istanbul's Atatürk Airport and you've got a layover of six hours or more, then you can head to the airport's Hotel Information Desk to partake in a free tour with a private guide. Stops on the tours usually include time at the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar. The itineraries do vary, but you can check ahead of time here to see exactly where the tours go and when.

[Image: TurkishAirlines.com]

Travel Contests / Istanbul Travel / Turkey Travel / → All Tags

Try Out Travel Writing to Win a Free Trip to Istanbul

If you think you have the chops to be a travel writer—or are willing to do whatever's necessary for a free trip—here's your big break. Great Hotels of the World is holding a travel-writing contest whose winner will go to Istanbul on assignment.

The prize includes all of your flights, a five-night stay at Istanbul's Midtown Hotel, breakfast, dinner and "VIP travel writer treatment"—though most credible travel scribes do it anonymously to get the everyday person treatment.

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Advertising / Turkish Airlines / Celeb Travel / Kevin Costner / → All Tags

Kevin Costner Shills For Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines wants you to feel like a flight attendant is always hovering over your shoulder on your next flight. The Star Alliance member tapped Kevin Costner for its latest commercial, which features the "Field of Dreams" actor making significant eye contact with an attendant who then serves him dinner and puts in his bookmark (not a euphemism) as a bouncy tune suggests he "feel[s] like a star." Let's just hope he didn't show her the business in gratitude.

We saw this spot over and over on CNN International last month and never once registered that it was Costner. (In fact, we didn't even remember the airline name, just the tune as heard through a haze of jet lag.)

That said, doesn't his presence actually undermine the claim that anyone flying Turkish Airlines will feel like a star, considering Costner was an A-lister at one point and is still pretty famous. Maybe they teamed up with him because of his long and happy history with turkeys from "Waterworld" to "Swing Vote." Costner has actually been to Turkey before, though, on a world tour with his country band, Kevin Costner and Modern West.

Turkish Airlines recently suffered a nasty crash outside Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport in February in which nine died as the plane broke into three places in a botched landing.

Related Stories:
· Kevin Costner Rounds Out The Wacky Crowd At Tribeca Grand [HC]
· Turkish Arlines Jet Crashes Outside Schiphol Airport [Jaunted]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Turkey Field Trip / Markets / Grand Bazaar / Spice Market / Istanbul Travel / → All Tags

How To Survive The Grand Bazaar and Spice Markets in Istanbul

Last week Shira Levine spent a few days getting her Turkish Delight on in Istanbul, Turkiye ("Turkey is a bird; Turkiye is the country"). Any questions about what to do in Turkiye? Send 'em to us and we'll have Shira answer them for you.

We've been through plenty of shuks, souks, ferias, and open-air markets in both developing and developed nations. The Turkish Grand Bazaar and the Spice Market take the pistachio or saffron-flavored cake in offering interpersonal adventures, thanks to the unbelievably high levels of persistence shop owners have in hopes of making a sale.

Even if you don't buy, these sweet and sensitive guys get very offended if you don't engage them in conversation and step into their shops. Resist! No one has that much time or patience.

Here's our list of tips on how to make the most of your trek through the Spice Market and Grand Bazaar.

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Airport Lounges / Turkish Air / Travel Snapshots / Layovers / → All Tags

The First Class Lounge at Turkish Air is Rather Palatial

We don't want to wish any serious airport stranding on ourselves, but if and when, then couldn't it be somewhere as bizarre as this, the executive lounge of Turkish Air at Istanbul's Ataturk airport?

We're pretty impressed that some people felt relaxed enough here in this über-decadent airline lounge to not just put their feet on the seats, but actually stretch out--we would be hearing our mother's voice in our ear telling us to behave.

We can't put it better than the photographer who described this place as having a "your flight has been delayed so now you're stranded at Dolmabache Palace" feel to it.

What we can't figure out is why our delays are always at airports where we can't access any decent lounge and end up sleeping on plastic benches at fast food franchises instead. Can anyone tell us which god we have to pray to?

Related Stories:
· Security Guards in Qatar's First Class Lounge Won't Allow Any Pictures [Jaunted]
· Turkey Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong?]

Television Travel / TV Travel / Matt Lauer / Turkey Travel / Protests / → All Tags

Matt Lauer Continues His Globe-Trotting

"The Today Show" publicity stunt/geography lesson that is "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" continued today with a stop in Istanbul. We'll give Meredith Vieira a pass on her claim that "New Zealand is on a submerged continent" and instead focus on the cool info that Lauer had on Turkey, where tourism has doubled in the past six years.

The morning host was also joined by Lester Holt who did a quick tour around the country to Bodrum, Pamukkale, Cappadocia and Ephesus. We also got a look inside the famous Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

Oh, and it's a good thing Matt did his introductory stand-up on a boat in the Bosphorus. Helped him avoid those May Day demonstrations that police in Istanbul put down with tear gas and water cannons today.

Related Stories:
· Where in the World Is Matt Lauer? [MSNBC]
· Television Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Istanbul / New York Times / Henry Shukman / → All Tags

Dining Out in Istanbul

Henry Shukman does Istanbul the foodie's (or maybe just the hungry person's) way in this Sunday's Times. His search for the true Turkish stuff turned up a hidden, exquisite hole in the wall (the kind of place Tony Bourdain would probably bust an artery over), a formal hotel joint serving recipes born in 1539, a retro-minimalist place with six-storey ceilings, and an eight-decade old family business with out-of-this-world lamb.

He found that first restaurant, the Bourdain place called Tarihi Karakoy Balikcisi, not in the Kumkapi district (famous for its abundance of fish restaurants), but in Karakoy. It's lunch-only, and the owner is just the kind of guy you want to entrust your belly to: a fish-freak obsessed with freshness to the point that he only sources his catch from a secret bay "where the currents keep the water the cleanest in the eastern Mediterranean."

The hippest of Shukman's picks is Lokanta, the place with the mega-ceiling (it also has an outdoor space). With its club-ish atmosphere and hip, pretty clientele, this is where you go for a mix of style and substance that won't compromise your palette's cred: shrimp on chili spinach, and chocolate soufflé, anyone?

Related Stories:
· Istanbul: Fresh as the Morning, or Rooted in Centuries Past [NYT]

Istanbul / Crime / Travel Message Boards / → All Tags

Flyertalker Gets Scammed in Istanbul

We read about travel scams and think such things could never happen to us. Often, we "know" scammers are "out there," somewhere, but no way are they right in front of us. Truth is, there's no unifying, world-wide petty scammer underbelly, and though we don't want to fear monger...it's more likely that a crook who's looking to rip you off will be sitting right next to you in a cafe, rather than in a fiery lair fifty feet below the surface of your destination.

With that in mind, here's a reminder that some of the world's more popular scams on travelers, including the classic "guy tricks you into paying for his friends' night on the town," can happen to the best of us. Yes, even Flyertalkers fall victim. PresRDC, a forum member with nearly 10,000 posts to his name, describes a sad chain of events in Istanbul in which he gives the benefit of the doubt to a seemingly friendly "Iranian" man, all in the name of diplomacy:

Soon enough, two of the women come over and sit down and, before I know it, my "friend" has ordered a bottle of champagne. At this point I knew I was in deep water, but felt trapped (because I probably was).

We were only there for less than an hour, when I finally said I am leaving. The bill comes and it is 2800 Turkish Lira, or slightly over $2000. Of course, this time my "friend" suggests we split it, but I protest that I don't have that kind of money on me (which I don't). The manager comes out and escorts us into a back office.

After wrangling police, he finally got out with $300 in the hole. By the way, this elaborate scheme started with the "friend" buying the victim dinner first. Click through for endless Flyertalker advice, and remember, it might not happen to you, but it can.

[Photo: P and R in Oz]

Related Stories:
· Justr Fell Victim to a Scam in Istanbul -- God Do I feel Like an Idiot! [Flyertalk]

Flickr / Istanbul / Turkey / Transportation / → All Tags

Hey Hey, Cripple Creek Ferry

Istanbul! Bridge between East and West! Home to extremely thick coffee! City from whence you'd better not try to smuggle hashish! And also the subject of some great photography.

Elif Ayse's photostream on Flickr of the Turkish burg is just stunning. And authentic--all the titles and comments are in Turkish. Anyway, we like this pic of the ferry, which is working cool light/seagull/public transportation trifecta in terms of photos that grab our attention. Only shiny objects can distract us now.

[Image via Elif Ayse/Flickr]