Middle East Travelling

[Looch City]

Planning a ~10 day trip to Dubai and possibly Istanbul (or another location) in November.

Anyone have any tips or experiences they'd like to share?

[GP_Matt]

In Istanbul, make sure you try the corn on the cob and street side ice cream vendors but go a few blocks from the Blue Mosque and the quality will go way up.
If you are looking for good fish restaurants avoid any place with printed menus and prices. The price should vary with the size of the fish and the menu should vary with the catch that day.

[Simon96Taco]

Both very cool places, and very different.

Second the suggestion for ice cream in Istanbul. Also get some donair kebab, street-meat style.

For Dubai, consider renting a car. I believe the train is running now (wasn't when I was there) so check into that. I remember the city being very spread out, and much bigger than I realized, without much option to get around. Car rental was very cheap.

Enjoy the trip!

[Bownesian]

My suggestion for the Blue Mosque is that it is very busy in the middle of the day when the tours are happening, but gets much quieter around supper time. My wife and I went (back) about 10 minutes before sunset prayers and it was pretty much empty save for a couple dozen actual worshipers. We found a quiet spot, sat down and listened to the prayer call and chanting and whatnot and it was a very memorable experience.

[CliffFletcher]

Istanbul is pretty much like a Southern European city in terms of cultural norms. So are the heavily touristed parts of Turkey. However, if you go into the interior you need to respect more conservative norms. Do not initiate conversation with women you don't know unless you're engaged in a commercial transaction. Do not sit down on public transit next to a woman you don't know. Do not act visibly drunk in public.

Go to the main tourist sites in Istanbul (the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, and covered market) early in the day. They get very crowded. Venture across the bridge to the Taksim and Beyoğlu districts to get away from the tourist zone and see how the young locals live.

Avoid the street food. An expat I met referred to the bread rings sold at bus stations as 'hepatitis rings.' If you don't understand a menu, or don't find anything you like, restaurants usually display food under a glass case and you can just point to what you want. Sometimes a waiter will even take you into the kitchen and open a fridge and you can just point out what you'd like them to prepare.

If you're going outside Istanbul, take the bus. Unlike most countries, the bus system in Turkey is far superior to the train system. It's fast, clean, efficient, and very cheap.

[automaton 3]

If you are shopping in Istanbul be prepared to haggle and the giant calculators being pulled out to show what a steal of a deal you're getting

Istanbul was a great experience, I'd go back in a heartbeat.

[Nyah]

The covered market & Blue Mosque in Istanbul were really interesting to me. There are also a number of rooftop restaurants around the city, and I recommend doing dinner at least one night at one of them. They give you amazing 360 degree views of the city. I can't remember the name of the one we went to, but just keep your eyes out for hotels that have 'rooftop' on their adverts. Oh, and if you wake easily, prepare to be awoken every morning at 4:45 am with the call to prayer. I think they broadcast it over speakers at each Mosque first thing in the morning & throughout the day.

[Bownesian]

Sunrise in November will be 6:30-7:00 am so it won't be too bad for the OP.

I also enjoyed the cistern in Istanbul. I'd put that pretty high on my list.

[D as in David]

I would add Topkapi Palace as a must see in Istanbul. A cruise up the Bosphorous to the Black Sea is enjoyable.

If you're at all into ancient ruins, get yourself down to Ephesus.

[_Q_]

I've never been to Istanbul and the last time I was in Dubai was in the 80's, so I can't be much help. All I know is the region is awesome and I'm sure you'll have a blast.

Where else are you thinking of visiting?

[calf]

We did Istanbul last year....all the sights mentioned here are in a reasonable walking or tram distance from each other. Grand Bazaar is fun...but dont expect anything authentically Turkey. Lots of Made in China touristy stuff. We saw the lamp we bought there at the Round up Centre last Stampede. But it is still fun. Get tea and spices from the spice market too.

[Looch City]

Thank you for all the tips!

Lots of praise for Istanbul, although it's still a maybe in my itinerary haha. Looking at multi-city flights and costs, I may only be able to justify UAE and perhaps a short visit to Doha, Oman.

For the people that have gone to UAE, it is worth visiting both Dubai and Abu Dhabi?

Heck maybe even an Istanbul-only trip would be better from what you guys are saying!

[Makarov]

Originally Posted by Iggy City

Thank you for all the tips!

Lots of praise for Istanbul, although it's still a maybe in my itinerary haha. Looking at multi-city flights and costs, I may only be able to justify UAE and perhaps a short visit to Doha, Oman.

For the people that have gone to UAE, it is worth visiting both Dubai and Abu Dhabi?

Heck maybe even an Istanbul-only trip would be better from what you guys are saying!

In my mind, it isn't even a debate: Istanbul is a vastly more fascinating destination than Dubai.

[mikephoen]

Don't go to Istanbul, go to Constantinople instead!

[_Q_]

Only thing is, Istanbul will be cold in November. UAE, however, is never cold.

[CroFlames]

I had a chance to do a 18 hour layover in Istanbul but my wife was scared of Turkey. So we had a layover in boring Frankfurt instead.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

Don't go to Istanbul, go to Constantinople instead!

Byzantium is way better than both of them.

[Amethyst]

I've never been to Dubai, but I loved Turkey when I went there. It was a long time ago, though, so any tips I might have are out-of-date. If I had a choice to go back to Istanbul or visit Dubai, I would definitely choose Istanbul.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by _Q_

Only thing is, Istanbul will be cold in November. UAE, however, is never cold.

Yeah, I went in March and was surprised by how cold it was. In my mind, Istanbul was a lot further south than it actually is. It's at about the same latitude as Chicago.

It didn't help that the few people I knew who had been there all told me how hot it was. Of course, they had all gone in the summer.

[JD]

I live in Dubai (and Abu Dhabi). I can tell you pretty much whatever you want to know, heck, maybe even meet you for a beer when you come!

To answer your questions and some of the other things brought up:
- yes, a "car" is best as Dubai is huge and spread out. But you don't need to rent one, taxis are plentiful and cheap and really, the best way to get around (especially if you are drinking; no tolerance here). The Metro is indeed open and quite good, but it serves a very linear portion of the city, you won't be able to get everywhere using it, especially if your hotel is not near a station
- you should take a trip to Abu Dhabi as well (only one hour away), it gives you a better sense of the local flavour of the UAE because Dubai is a facade of it. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is something to see. In November, Abu Dhabi hosts their F1 race, so you may want to check that out. In addition to the race, there are numerous concerts, festivals, and parties. Lots of fun to be had.
- Hotels in Dubai are awesome but very expensive, especially in November. There are two good clusters to choose from: the Marina area, which is not Dubai proper, but it's a great area to stay, or downtown Dubai, which is the area near and around Dubai Mall/Burj Khalifa. You could also choose one of the beach resorts out on the Palm Jumeirah which is a whole other stratosphere of cost. But they are really nice. What hotel you choose really depends on your budget.
- You can get busy with all the well-publicized Dubai tourist traps like Ski Dubai and going to the top of the Burj Khalifa, but other things you should not miss include doing a desert safari with dune bashing, renting a seadoo and exploring the waters (this is actually more fun in Abu Dhabi because of the numerous islands there)
- if you're into night life, there are a few world class clubs in Dubai. White is the one I would say is worth checking out if you're only going to one. It's amazing.
- make the drive out to Al Ain or Fujeirah or Ras Al Khaimah (rent a car they're day trips) - these trips give you a better sense of what the UAE is all about and the varying landscapes and places. Dubai is cosmopolitan and doesn't truly represent the local people that well. This one is sort of optional though. When friends and family come to visit, we do this if we run out of other things to do, which isn't often the case!

Feel free to ask anything else. I've been to a number of the countries in the region, but I doubt you're that interested in a vacation to Saudi Arabia or Iraq. Bahrain may be worth checking out, but my impression is it's not that different than the UAE.