This park us next to Taksim Square. It is not the nicest Park. Kids and dome young-at-heart teens…read morecompete for playtime in the playground.

Gezi Park is a beautiful, small park in Taksim; an oasis in the middle of one of the most crowded…read morecities of the world. Being born & raised in Istanbul, Gezi Park is full of memories for me. Nowadays for Turkish people the park has a new meaning. It's a symbol of freedom, the center of the uprise against the ongoing oppression from the government and police violence in Turkey. Now, I live abroad but I visited the park on my last visit to Istanbul. I was there on June, 15th just half an hour ago police forces brutally attacked peaceful protestors with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's order. This time to end the resistance for good, no matter what... I digress. You should read the news (well, foreign news as Turkish media is being censored and auto-censored you won't get much from them), follow #direngezi hastag or just read the wiki page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_protests_in_Turkey I'd suggest anyone visiting the area add Gezi Park to their list. Go there, stand in the middle of the park for a short break and also to praise the peaceful protestors who resisted for people's freedom.

Park for children, small basketball/soccer court, and a dog park - this place has it all…read more This is a popular neighborhood park. Great for families with small children to visit who live in Cihangir. There are two small playgrounds, a work out station for adults and even a fenced in basketball court that is also used as a small football playing area (I mean soccer :) ). I had a great time visiting it with my friends who have small kids. No tourists here. There is such a nice mix of international folks and locals. A great place to get your neighbors. This is probably not the place you want to visit as a tourist. There are so many larger parks nearby tourist destinations that are amazing! I found that the city municipalities do a great job in having parks scattered throughout urban areas. So popular with local Turkish families!

This hotel is hiding behind an abandoned building at the end of Cihangar. From the outside it…read morelooks like a dump but inside it's beautiful. The rooms are small heck the elevator only holds up to 3 ppl. You have to put ur card key in the reader in order for your electricity to work. Everything is so energy efficient. Beds are comfortable. I would definitely recommend this hotel and the hospitality is great!! The breakfast in the morning is like a feast!!

We were walking the Moda area of Istanbul and stumbled upon this little urban park…read more It was a perfect bit of green space in the oasis of buildings had a nice meandering path with trees and grass. Not to mention play areas for kids in the like. There also were a few mini basketball courts basically the paint and maybe up to the three point line. There also appear to be tennis courts but it's unclear if they were a separate entity from the park. Aside from that there was very little services and parking appeared to be Manhattan level bad , but other than that the park with also immaculately, clean and well-maintained

Obstructed views of the water, which is unfortunate because it's literally right next to the park…read more Cafe has direct view.

Enjoyed visiting so much. The vibe, the lovely people, our hotel Sofitel was great. Loved the…read morecats in the streets, the shops and restaurants are fantastic. I would visit again for sure.

Taksim Meydanı or Taskim Square is a large open area with a monument in the center…read more It as a vast complex surrounded by shops, vendors, a huge mosque and the like. There is also a park adjacent as well as several embassys, and its one of the main shopping districts in Istanbul It was later in the day and some light rain on and off so for our visit it was not packed. But we also wanted to get back to Sultanment so we did not spend a ton of time here,