Honest Impressions of Istanbul, Turkiye - Hidden Gem or Chaos?

[@billyjesus5442]

6th most visited country on earth, hardly a hidden gem lol.

[@quibs8347]

He is mostly likely an American. Turkey is not really popular destination for them, but lately it has been changing from what I observe online.

[@altanaltay6106]

@@quibs8347He is not American; he has a Scandinavian accent.

[@osmanakbulut8850]

the map @1:00 is incredibly wrong, It is Thracian region of Türkiye and there are 4 cities in the area shown in red color. Constantinapole was actually a very tiny part of modern day Istanbul. By the way Türkiye is among the top 5 popular tourism destinations in the world and Istanbul is already the top visited city in the world in 2023 (the 2nd is London, the 3rd is Dubai, the 4th is Antalya - which is another Turkish city and 5th is Paris), how can it be a hidden gem?

The city map shown on 0:58 is complete wrong. It is the schematic map of historic peninsula (which is a part of european side) enlarged to fit on the whole european side.

[@LouSasshall]

istanbul is the best, could be dangerous if your not street wise, never had any issues there heard few people in comments crying tho 😢😅 same all over the globe

[@theancientsancients1769]

It's mostly scam, but no not much violent crime there

[@oguzb.7033]

Istanbul is much safer than London and New York.

[@benimdunyam2424]

really bad video. doesnt do justice to europe most visited city. türkey also ranks 3 in world most visited country.

[@888654557]

there is no way it would cost 1000 lira for taxi. it would cost min 2000 as well as might be more depends on route, traffic etc. the video is a bit wrong

[@just_guru]

ı am from istanbul so good review , ı appreciate u

[@altanaltay6106]

Other cities of Turkiye are more affordable than Istanbul. You can easily buy an apartment for USD 50K and live on USD 700.00, even in a town like Izmir. Turkiye is an excellent hub for travelling around the world.

[@ARVIN20M]

I live in England, but I previously lived in Antalya for six years. I recommend giving Antalya a try. Unfortunately, there’s some exploitation of tourists in Istanbul unless you speak a few words of Turkish 🤣. However, southern cities don’t have this issue. Corporate tax is 20%, but companies often report expenses (with very lenient oversight), so they might end up paying just 1% 😀. Since cash payments are legal, even for buying property, individuals essentially don’t pay taxes either 😁. An interesting aspect is that in some exchange offices, you can trade a large amount of cryptocurrency and receive dollars or pounds in return. Crypto tax is zero, and the tax rate for KZbinrs is 15%. I’m currently considering relocating to Antalya again, and I’m confident that if you join me for a trip there, you’ll see that living there can be more enjoyable than living in Dubai.

[@monkeyrater]

I second this advice. Antaya has a nice beach vibe. There is a large expat community there, especially Russians and Germans. Istanbul is very crowded and overpriced. Antalya can be half as expensive as Istanbul for the same quality of houses and apartments.

[@setop123]

Okay habibi when are we going 😄

[@peatedandmalted8822]

That’s a mistake almost every foreigner or nomad makes. Istanbul represents only about 20% of Türkiye. There are many other cities, like İzmir, Ankara, Antalya, Muğla, Eskişehir, and even Bursa which are far better than Istanbul in every way IMO. Please don’t go to Istanbul, lol. It’s already overcrowded-try exploring other cities in Türkiye instead! And about the taxi scams-of course, it’s a terrible situation, and believe me, it almost only happens in Istanbul, especially to foreigners. But dude, c’mon, if the bill is 1k TL and you paid 2.5k TL, that’s a bit on you, lol. Just refuse to pay!

[@boredbytrash]

The problem with these countries is their horrible economies… Egypt, Türkiye and others have too high inflation rates and political instability. Dubai is unbeatable in that regard…

[@quibs8347]

Dubai is just a city that was built on pedro-dollars. You are comparing this with 90 millions of people lol. Also Türkiye has 4 times bigger economy and a massive HDI compared to Egypt which has more than 100 millions of people.

[@boredbytrash]

@ good points.

[@Andreas-sd4pr]

Did you check Corniche Market area around Ajman above Deira, it is dirty cheap and lovely place on the sea to live with good international food too. AND two third cheaper than Dubai

[@ardaisldar6758]

How’s İstanbul a hidden gem? It’s the most visited city in the world?

[@apulunas]

probably american.

[@eggygenc6621]

Yeah and a absolute Shit hole rubbish tip of a place aswell

[@vertas2]

@@apulunas 😂

[@monsieurgentil]

Yeah 😂 of course far behind Paris with 30 millions. Istanbul has just 20 millions.

[@cnxexpat1862]

No, it´s not. Wikipedia is wrong.

[@TroofNews]

It’s hard to beat using Dubai as a base and then dipping in and out Asia & Europe. Dubai does so many things well it can ruin the experience of other places as they feel like a let down.

[@tuomaskiv]

yeah so true haha

[@sesvecan]

I'm a bit tired of cleaning up every statement you've made, but let's tackle one: Turkey is not a developing country.

[@umutakyol6290]

You are throwing in facts whixh are true but mixing them with false stuff. Infrastructure in Istanbul is good, even better than many Western European counterparts. What do you think is lacking anyway in terms of infrastructure? Subway and public transport is better than Paris and it’s cheap. The fact that your trip coincided with gloomy weather doesn’t make Istanbul winters bad. But yes it’s north enough that it gets gloomy now and then though it’s still considered Mediterranean climate. Taxi scams is a fact and it has a history and its own reasons. I can get into details if someone asks. I don’t remember being scammed ever in a restaurant in Turkey in my whole life. Maybe it happened but I just don’t remember. I’m a local resident of course but still restaurant owners are less likely to scam you in Istanbul. They may add 10% service fee or what we call kuver (these are starters they bring rightaway when you are seated and is seen as a signature service of a restaurant, sometimes they charge a small fee for it, sometimes they don’t charge at all). I wouldn’t vouch for them, tho. Check your bills always anywhere you go

[@ShamoonBashir-e4u]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@omarahmed-rc6ob]

man in ur case Egypt is a diamond ,cheap, friendly lads, the best quality of life 4 nomads espcially in elalamin and el shiekh zaid , Giza . Give it a try

[@omarahmed-rc6ob]

but make sure to earn in USD

[@anto-k9t]

Try to explore Athens in Greece . As you mention in previous video , many rich people moved there last year.

[@marcreese34]

Why did they move there im curious?

[@vassilisioannou5488]

@@marcreese34 because Greek economy is Growing lot of investors are investing

[@dannydaboss206]

Taxis trying to scam you is already a new low.

[@elektrogstanzl]

Istanbul? No, thank you.

[@zedtrek]

Hidden????? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@Pajtim2023]

When did the government in Turkey my friend is not bad. They load the debt from two trillion dollars to eight hundred billion dollars in six to eight years. Is the USA in the western countries artificially playing with Turkish lira and making them weaker and weaker because the president doesn't want the central bank to have interest because my majority of people in Turkey they don't want to deal with interest it's forbidden in their religion. That's why they're suffering, but now they found oil I believe in 4 to 6 years they will be very powerful and they are very powerful. It don't matter how the money is. What do you appeal? Talk like he's gonna be cheap country forever no if he wants me I'll make it expensive too I don't want people from Europe and other countries to overload my country. That's how you make it on affordable for other people to come Turkey it's not UAE my friend. It's a very big country and powerful

[@EnderViBrittania]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@EnderViBrittania]

🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

[@Kushal-v8b]

Dubai Better than Singapore and bangkok. Cost of living very good