Istanbul

RANK 24.

Istanbul :

Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul), historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople[6] (see Names of Istanbul for further information) is the largest city in Turkey and 5th largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.8 million, also making it the largest metropolitan city proper in Europe and the second largest metropolitan area in Europe by population.[7] Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural, economic, and financial centre of Turkey

Airports :

Istanbul has two international airports: The larger one is the Atatürk International Airport located in the Yeşilköy district on the European side, about 24 kilometres (15 mi) west from the city centre. When it was first built, the airport was situated at the western edge of the metropolitan area but now lies within the city bounds. The smaller one is the Sabiha Gökçen International Airport located in the Kurtköy district on the Asian side, close to the Istanbul Park GP Racing Circuit. It is situated approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of the Asian side and 45 kilometres (28 mi) east of the European city centre.



Hotels :

 Cinar Hotel
 Holiday Inn Istanbul City
 Akgun Istanbul Hotel
 Ceylan Inter-Continental
 Ciragan Palace Hotel Kempinski
 Conrad International
 Dedeman Istanbul
 Divan Hotel
 Barcelo Eresin Topkapi Hotel
 Four Seasons Hotel
 Sheraton Istanbul Atakoy
 Grand Hyatt Regency
 Sheraton Istanbul Maslak
 Klassis Resort Hotel
 Marin Princess Hotel
 Polat Renaissance Hotel
 Surmeli Istanbul
 Swissotel The Bosphorus, Istanbul
 The Marmara Taksim
 Hilton Hotel
 The Ritz Carlton
 The Green Park Hotel BOSTANCI
 The Green Park Hotel MERTER
 Grand Cevahir Hotel
 The Plaza Hotel
 Radisson Blu Conference & Airport Hotel
 Radisson Blu Bosphorus Hotel
 Mövenpick Hotel
 Kaya Ramada Plaza
 Ramada Plaza Istanbul
 W Istanbul
 Marriott Istanbul Asia Hotel
 Four Seasons Hotel Bosphorus
 Crowne Plaza Hotel – İstanbul Old City
 Holiday Inn Istanbul Airport
 Point Hotel Barbaros
 Legacy Ottoman Hotel
 Ortakoy Princess Hotel
 Titanic Business Hotel
 Titanic Port Hotel
 WOW Istanbul Hotel
 Elite World Hotel
 Elite Dragos Hotel


Malls :


 AKMERKEZ
 ATRIUM
 CAPITOL
 CAROUSEL
 CEVAHİR
 DOGUS POWER CENTER
 ISTINYE PARK
 CITY'S NİSANTASI
 ASTORIA
 METRO CITY
 TEPE NAUTILUS
 PROFİLO
 KANYON
 GALLERIA
 MAYADROM AKATLAR
 OLIVIUM OUTLET CENTER
 METRO GÜNEŞLİ
 METRO KOZYATAĞI
 MAXI CITY ÇENGELKÖY
 KULE SHOPPING CENTER
 FLYINN
 G-MALL
 IKEA BAYRAMPAŞA
 IKEA ÜMRANİYE
 BAUHAUS BAYRAMPAŞA
 BAUHAUS BEYLİKDÜZÜ
 BAUHAUS KOZYATAĞI
 PRAKTİKER ÜMRANİYE
 PRAKTİKER GÜNEŞLİ
 PRAKTİKER KARTAL
 KOÇTAŞ CEVAHİR
 KOÇTAŞ KARTAL
 KOÇTAŞ YENİBOSNA
 CARREFOUR ACIBADEM
 CARREFOUR BAYRAMPAŞA
 CARREFOUR HARAMİDERE
 CARREFOUR İÇERENKÖY
 CARREFOUR İSTİNYE
 CARREFOUR MALTEPE
 CARREFOUR ÜMRANİYE
 OPTIMUM OUTLET CENTER
 ADDRES İSTANBUL
 CAPACITY
 MARKA CITY
 METROPORT
 MEYDAN
 NEOMARIN
 PALLADIUM
 KOZZY ALIŞVERİŞ VE KÜLTÜR MERKEZİ


Musems :


 Adam Mickiewicz Museum
 Asiyan Museum
 Atatürk Museum
 Aviation Museum
 Archeological Museum
 Basilica Cistern
 Binbirdirek Cistern
 Carpet and Kilim Museum
 Chora Museum
 Divan Literature Museum
 Fine Arts Museum
 Fire Brigade Museum
 Florence Nightingale Museum
 Hagia Irini Museum
 Hagia Sophia Museum
 Istanbul Museum of Modern Art
 Military Museum
 Miniaturk Museum
 Mosaics Museum
 Museum of Calligraphic Art
 Museum of Caricature and Humor
 Museum of the Ancient Orient
 Naval Museum
 Ottoman Bank Museum
 Pera Museum
 Press Museum
 Rahmi Koc Industrial Museum
 Sadberk Hanim Museum
 Sakip Sabanci Museum
 SAV Automobile Museum
 Tanzimat Museum
 Toy Museum
 Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum
 Vedat Nedim Tor Museum
 City Museum




Palaces & pavalions :


 Beylerbeyi Palace
 Ciragan Palace
 Dolmabahce Palace
 Tekfur Palace
 Topkapi Palace
 Yildiz Palace
 The Aynalikavak Pavilion
 Hidiv Pavilion
 Ihlamur Pavilion
 Kucuksu Pavilion
 Maslak Pavilion
 Sale Pavilion
 Sepetciler Pavilion
 Tiled Pavilion




Towers :


 Beyazit Tower
 Cemberlitas Banded Column
 Dolmabahce Clock Tower
 Egyptian Obelisk
 Etfal (Childrens) Hospital Clock Tower
 Galata Tower
 Gotlar Column
 Milion
 Nusretiye Clock Tower
 Orme Column (Column of Constantine)
 Serpentine Column
 The Maiden’s Tower
 Yildiz Clock Tower


Historical Fountain


 The German Fountain
 The Hagia Sophia Fountains
 Sultan Ahmet III Fountain
 Tophane Fountain
 Valens Aqueduct

EDINBURGH

Rank 25.

EDINBURGH

 Capital of SCOTLAND

Edinburgh is one place that can prove to be your dream destination.  Situated in Central Belt region of Scotland, Edinburgh is the capital city of the country. It has remained to be Scotland’s royal capital ever since the year 1437. This place is known all over for its unique blend of the ancient and the modern.

Language spoken : Scottish Gaelic,Urdu, Bengali, Arabic, Japanese, Polish, Cantonese and Italian

Currency :  The UK currency is the pound sterling (£), with 100 pence (p) to a pound.

BEST TIME TO TRAVEL:  Edinburgh is a city that is appropriate for traveling at any time of the year.  The best time to travel to Edinburgh is summer season. During summer days in Edinburgh you will find long hours of daylight. So in this elongated expanse you can get more time to visit all interesting places in Edinburgh. In the month of August, Edinburgh is completely packed by visitors because of a number of festivals which organized during this month. If people visit Edinburgh in these days then they will get to know about the historical reasons behind every festival and also go through limitless entertainment.

Spring and autumn season is best time to travel to Edinburgh for those people who prefer to live away from the hustle and bustle of crowd. Since, in these days crowd is less as compared to other days. Arrival of New Year is also good time to visit Edinburgh. On the grand occasion of New Year in Edinburgh many functions are arranged which are center of attraction for people. 

Celebrations

Ø  Hogmanay street party (31 December), Hogmanay now   covers four days of processions, concerts and fireworks, with  the street party commencing on Hogmanay

Ø     Burns Night (25 January)

Ø     Beltane Fire Festival (30 April).

Museums and libraries

Ø  Museum of Scotland,

Ø the Royal Museum,

Ø the National Library of Scotland,          

Ø National War Museum of Scotland,

Ø the Museum of Edinburgh,                                   

Ø Museum of Childhood and                     

Ø the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Literature and philosophy

Edinburgh is also famous for its literature and philosophy. Some of the famous writers and philosophers are James Boswell, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, J.K. Rowling, and Sir Walter Scott, who all lived and worked in Edinburgh. Recently, Edinburgh hit newspaper headlines with the crime novels written by Ian Rankin

Shopping spree at :

Grassmarket, 

Lothian Road and surrounding streets, 

Rose Street and its surrounds and the Bridges.

Stockbridge and the waterfront at Leith 

Famous Pubs and clubs

Ø Lava & Ignite (formerly Cavendish)

Ø City Nightclub

Ø University of Edinburgh's student union,

Ø Potterrow.

Ø Base,

Ø Faith,

Ø Karma.

Ø Opal Lounge,

Ø Lulu's,

Ø Shanghai

Ø The GRV, Cabaret Voltaire, The Bongo Club, and Sneaky Pete's now host the majority of underground events held in Edinburgh

Ø There are two dedicated gay clubs in Edinburgh, CC Blooms and GHQ

Music, theatre and film

Ø The Royal Lyceum Theatre 

Ø The King's Theatre,

Ø  Edinburgh Festival Theatre, and 

Ø  Edinburgh Playhouse stage large touring shows.

Ø The Traverse Theatre 

Ø Church Hill Theatre

Ø  King's Theatre

Ø  Youth Music Theatre: UK has a regional office in the city.     

Zoos

Located in Corstorphine

The zoo is the only one in Britain to house polar bears and koalas, as well as being the first zoo in the world to house and breed penguins.

HOSPITALS

Ø Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, which includes

Ø Edinburgh University Medical School

Ø Western General Hospital

Ø Murrayfield Hospital, owned by Spire Healthcare.

Edinburgh Food And Drink

Some well known food items are-

Scottish beef- Aberdeen - Angus breed of beef is famous for its rich and tasty meat. The caterers prepare meat in the same manner as they use to prepare in olden times, but these marvellous chefs have been reduced to very few these days. You will often hear the people say that Scottish beef is no more as delicious as it used to be.

Scotch pies-It is round in shape, approximately of 4’’ in size. Scotch pies are made without a pie tin; these have the filling of minced meat. Though mutton was used in olden days but it has been slowly replaced by beef. Wallace’s pie shop is quite famous for its Scotch pies.

Hotch –Potch – It is made by boiling mutton, beef or chicken. There is no compulsion on the type of vegetable to be added in it, one can put any vegetable of choice like cabbage, leeks, carrots, etc. However if you are using any hard vegetables be sure to boil it first with a pinch of barley in it.

Bannocks - it is biscuit made of barley and oat-flour by baking them over the griddle. Nowadays bannocks are eaten by people along with cheese.

The famous drinks of Edinburgh is -

Scottish whisky- is a very popular whisky; it is prepared by distilling from barley liquor. It is also known by the name ‘water of life.’ There are two categories of whisky.

Malt whisky – it is more costly. It is produced as a single distillery’s product.

Blended whisky – it is of low-price and well-known and is the multiple distilleries’ product.

Restaurants And Pubs

Some famous restaurants are:

Fez Restaurants- it is specialized in exotic and aromatic dishes, much known for its couscous (dish prepared with semolina, vegetables, meat) and tagline. It serves Moroccan and meditterranean cuisine. It remains open from Monday to Saturday, and timing are 12p.m to 2 pm and 5pm to 12am.

Harvey Nichols Edinburgh- the restaurants look like a square so it is known as forth restaurant. Brasserie and bar of restaurants are on the back side on same floor of restaurants.

The famous pubs of Edinburgh are –

Bow Bar is also known as best drinker’s pub as it is famous for its huge selection of ales and whiskeys. One can choose among 140 kinds of available malts.

Cafe Royal Circle Bar-It is near to seafood restaurant, so most of the crowd come here after having their dinner in restaurant. One has to move early in order to get better and less crowded space for enjoying elegant baroque furnishing.

 TOURIST ATTRACTION

Edinburgh - National Gallery of Scotland
 The National Gallery is a very good place to see. This gallery houses the largest gathering of European paintings and sculptures. The collection starts with the Renaissance and still consists of some Post-Impressionists. The foundation stone of this gallery has put down by Prince Albert in 1850 and from 1859 it was open for the viewer 

Edinburgh - Royal Botanic Garden

The second oldest botanical garden in the British atoll is royal botanical garden. It is situated to the north of the city heart. It includes biggest palm house of Great Britain, tropical houses with alien orchids and a herbal garden. There are many other beautiful things in the royal botanic garden such as colorful azaleas in wood land garden, various tropical water plate like pink water lily from India and water lily from South America.

Edinburgh - Royal Mile

Royal Mile is known as a connecting link between Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holy Roodhouse. This historic road is lined with well-designed city residential places and existing accommodation, but it is also famous for shops that can magnetize the crowd. In this place one can get famous woolen outlets exclusive boutiques, pubs, museums and wide range of bistro.

Edinburgh - Thistle Chapel
The Thistle chapel was designed in 1917 by Sir Robert lorimer and it is an ultimate example of Gothic style of building. In 1470 James III came to know that thistle chapel is the oldest order of knights in the Scotland’s. Only 16 members were allowed in it apart from the monarch.

HOTELS TO STAY

The well-known Hotels of Edinburgh are-

The George Hotel-

 It is located in the prime area of the city Edinburgh. The places which are near to hotel are Edinburgh Castle,

Prince Street

gardens and Holy rood palace. The hotel is easily accessible by road, rail and air. George hotel is a walking distance from Waverley Station and just few miles from Edinburgh International Airport.

Ramada Mount Royal-

 It is located in the heart of Edinburgh on

Prince Street

. In this hotel one can enjoy all the facilities which one cannot avail in any other international hotel. Ramada Mount Royal is centrally located from all attractions and business areas, which make it ideal for spending vacations and business dealings. The hotels has 158 suits with all facilities.

The Glasshouse-

 It is one of the 5 star hotels in Edinburgh. The hotel has a beautiful garden and offers a panoramic view of the city. It is spread on an area of two acres.and is located in the centre of the city.The glasshouse incorporates modern luxuries and traditional architecture. The hotels has a 150 years old Lady Glenorchy church. The garden in the hotel provides peace of mind and makings an ideal environment for a relaxed  vacation.

Old Waverley Hotel –

 It is located on the famous street of Edinburgh,

Prince Street

, making it convenient for the visitor by providing all the things within its surroundings. Excellent location of the hotel offers a fascinating view of Edinburgh castle. Old Waverley provides its customers absolute value of their money with customer satisfaction assured.

Apex City Hotel –

It is located on the southern side of Edinburgh castle. All the commercial offices and attractions of Edinburgh are very near to the hotel. The hotel attracts a number of tourists who is either looking for a business trip or spending a vacation.