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At first sight nightlife in Turkey might look like its equivalent in
any other country in the world. However, beyond the bars, night
clubs, restaurants and discos there’s a lot more variety awaiting
the visitor as this short review shows.
Let’s start with Istanbul, the capital of night life in Turkey.
Start the evening with a meal in a restaurant – go to Kumkapi, where
you have a good selection of fish restaurants spread along two
streets at affordable prices. You can even haggle over the price for
fish, if you’re good at bargaining.
Don’t forget the obligatory Raki drunk mixed with water like its
Greek equivalent, Ouzo.
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Be warned though, as
drinking too much Raki too fast leaves you with memory gaps later in
the night. Afterwards on to for Istiklal for a few beers in one of
the numerous bars, some of which feature live music consisting of
covers of famous rock classics.
The generally student clientele seems to have a passion for
listening to music sometimes up to 40 years old. If you’re still
going, try Ortakoy for a club or disco. These are frequented by the
dance crowd and served by well-known DJ’s spinning the latest
international techno, house or local pop and hip hop. Apparently the
music of these discos there can be heard by residents across the
Bosphorus.
On the Asian side, good restaurants can be found along the seaside
between
Kadikoy (especially Moda) and Bostanci. The latter also has
a few good beer bars, but for clubs and discos Kadikoy is your
choice. Two streets contain all the entertainment you may wish for,
with different kinds of music played in each spot. This being the
Asian side makes if a bit more affordable. There is a formal name
for the street (Kadife Sokak) however you should ask as "Where is
the bars street ?" this is more convenient way to ask.
There are of course many more areas of Istanbul offering good night
life for different tastes and wallets, for example Nisantasi with
chic cafes and beer bars. Since Nisantasi, like Etiler, is
considered upmarket, prices are automatically higher and match those
of European cities.
Throughout the city you can find a good selection of sports bars,
showing either football or basketball – both sports at which Turks
excel. Some bars also might show special matches, generally
announcing the fact on a board outside the venue. If you want any
action yourself go to one of the numerous bowling alleys opened over
the last few years in many parts of town.
Click to view
RECOMMENDED NIGHT CLUBS
If you want a local flavour to your night out try a “Fasil” bar –
Turkish folklore in an atmosphere drenched in beer and Raki, with
most locals bound to sing along with any song – Turkish people have
an amazing memory for song lyrics and can come up with a rendition
of at least 100 songs. While these places don’t serve full meals,
they have a good selection of snacks and starters to go nicely with
your chosen beverage. Get a local to recommend one near to you.
Further down the scale and more Arab-style there are beer bars with
belly dancers. Some of these are probably best reserved for the
locals, but if you’re invited to one, definitely go along for the
experience. These are places better frequented by “the boys” only.
By the way, the legal drinking age in Turkey is 18 and many of the
bars will check your age if in doubt. Not only for that reason is it
advisable to always carry some form of ID with you when out and
about.
An alternative is one of the boats travelling up the Bosphorus with
dance music and stopping at either Anadolu or Rumeli Kavagi, where
you have 1 ½ hours to visit a good fish restaurant before the
journey goes back to the starting point, Moda pier. These boats run
during summer every Saturday evening and coming early is advised, as
they can get quite packed.
Similar night life might be found in Izmir and Ankara, where
nightlife centers on Tunali featuring a similar selection to
Istanbul, albeit not quite as large. Then there are the tourist
centers such as Kusadasi,
Bodrum,
Marmaris and
Antalya. Naturally
they feature a large selection of bars and clubs to cater for the
thousands of holiday makers during the summer season. The most
famous disco is no doubt
Halikarnas, an open air event and probably
one the best discos in the entire world. If you’re on a package
holiday, no doubt your hotel will provide entertainment in the
evenings.
Beyond these destinations there is little nightlife (and due to
culture and religion no or little alcohol) in other Turkish cities
such as Konya and smaller Anatolian cities unless you stumble into a
local festival. Amasya for example has an apple festival at the
beginning of June, Konya has the yearly
Mevlana festival
and other places have wrestling and riding festivals etc. In the
south-east, especially Urfa, so called “sira gecesi” meetings take
place, where men gather at someone’s house to spend a night playing
instruments, chatting and generally having a good time. If you’re
really lucky, you might get invited to a traditional Turkish country
wedding and that’s entertainment lasting for sometimes
up to three nights or more, depending on the status and financial
situation of the families involved.
Getting around in Istanbul after hours is easy with the yellow
Dolmus (shared taxis) going to all main parts of either side of
town. Taxis charge double fare after midnight.
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