Istanbul & Ankara: A Work Trip to Turkey

Trip Overview

Five days in Turkey — split between Istanbul and Ankara. I’ll be upfront: this was a work trip. I was in meetings for most of it. I did not wander through bazaars for hours or take a leisurely Bosphorus cruise. What I did do was eat incredibly well. Between meetings I managed to grab some of the best kebabs I’ve ever had, and the Turkish breakfast alone justified the trip.

Below I’ve mixed in what I actually experienced with suggestions for what I’d do if I went back with more free time. The practical notes at the bottom are useful either way.

Structure: Istanbul arrival (Days 1–2), domestic flight to Ankara for work (Days 3–4), return to Istanbul and departure (Day 5). Most of Days 2–4 were meetings.

Best Time to Visit: May is ideal — warm but not yet summer heat, around 20C/68F, long daylight hours, and the tourist crowds haven’t fully arrived. Light layers are enough.

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What I Actually Did

The Food

This is the honest highlight of the trip. Between meetings I ate my way through both cities, and Turkey made it easy.

Istanbul: Found a spot near Karakoy that did incredible lamb kebabs — Adana style, spiced minced lamb, served with grilled vegetables and fresh bread. Had pide (Turkish flatbread, boat-shaped, better than pizza) at least three times. Grabbed a balik ekmek (fish sandwich) from one of the boats at Eminonu one evening — the correct first meal in Istanbul, apparently, and I’d agree.

Ankara: The food is more Anatolian than Istanbul’s — heavier on grilled meats and regional kebab styles. Ate in the Kizilay and Tunali Hilmi areas near where I was working. The kebabs here were arguably better than Istanbul’s, though the setting was less photogenic.

Turkish breakfast: The full spread is a meal category unto itself. Olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, white cheese, honey with kaymak (clotted cream), sucuk (spiced sausage), eggs, fresh bread, and tea. I had this most mornings and it was the best way to start a day of meetings.

The tea situation: Turkish tea is constant. Every meeting starts with tea. Every break involves tea. Small tulip-shaped glasses, served on a saucer with sugar cubes. Accepting tea is a social act — refusing it is basically rude. I drank more tea in five days than I normally drink in a month.

Anıtkabir in Ankara

The one piece of actual sightseeing I made time for. Ataturk’s Mausoleum in Ankara — the monumental tomb of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey. A long ceremonial road lined with Hittite lion sculptures leads to the main hall. The architecture commands respect regardless of your politics. Worth 90 minutes if you’re in Ankara for any reason.

Bosphorus Waterfront

I didn’t do a proper Bosphorus tour, but I walked along the waterfront a couple of evenings after dinner. The lit-up mosques reflected on the water at night are Istanbul’s best image, and you don’t need to plan anything to see it — just walk.

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Suggested Itinerary: What I’d Do With More Time

I saw enough of both cities to know what I’d prioritize if I came back without a meeting schedule. Here’s what I’d recommend if you have more free time than I did.

Istanbul — 2 to 3 Days

Sultanahmet (Half Day):

• Hagia Sophia — the building that defines Istanbul. Byzantine cathedral turned Ottoman mosque turned museum turned mosque again. The scale of the interior dome is supposedly the thing no photo prepares you for. It’s free but gets crowded by midday
• Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) — directly across the square. The 20,000 Iznik tiles on the interior walls give it the name. Remove shoes, cover shoulders
• Walk through Sultanahmet Square between the two — the Hippodrome of Constantinople was here

Grand Bazaar & Spice Market (Half Day):

• Grand Bazaar (Kapalicarsi) — one of the oldest covered markets in the world. 4,000 shops across 61 streets. Haggling is expected. Closed on Sundays
• Spice Bazaar (Misir Carsisi) — smaller and more focused. Turkish delight, dried fruits, spices. The colors and the smell hit you at the entrance

Galata & Beyoglu (Half Day):

• Walk across Galata Bridge to the Galata Tower neighborhood. The tower has a viewing platform with 360-degree panorama — both continents visible on a clear day
• Wander through Karakoy and up through Beyoglu toward Istiklal Avenue — Istanbul’s main pedestrian street

Galata Bridge at Sunset:

• The fishermen on the upper deck, the view toward the Suleymaniye Mosque silhouette — this is the Istanbul postcard and from what I saw walking past, it earns it

Ankara — 1 Day (If You’re There)

Most visitors skip Ankara entirely. If you’re there for work like I was, these are worth fitting in:

• Anıtkabir — see above. The one must-do. The changing of the guard at the entrance is worth timing your visit around
• Ankara Castle (Ankara Kalesi) — the old citadel on the hill above the city. Walls dating to the Romans and Byzantines. The neighborhood inside the walls is the oldest part of the city
• Museum of Anatolian Civilizations — one of Turkey’s best museums. Hittite, Phrygian, and Urartian artifacts. Small enough to see in an hour

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Trip Summary

Detail	Info
Total Days	5 days
Cities	Istanbul (3 nights), Ankara (1 night)
Flights	Connecting flights each way
Internal	Istanbul to Ankara (domestic)
Actual Tourism	Maybe 20% of the trip
Actual Meetings	The other 80%
Kebabs Consumed	Lost count

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Practical Notes

Getting Around

• Istanbul: Get an Istanbulkart at the airport — it works on ferries, trams, metro, and buses. The T1 tram runs through Sultanahmet to Eminonu to Karakoy and is the most useful single line. Ferries cross the Bosphorus between the European and Asian sides — cheap, scenic, and the best public transit experience in the city
• Ankara: Smaller metro system, but taxis are plentiful and cheap. The city center is walkable between the main districts
• Between cities: Domestic flights run hourly. Under 90 minutes. Turkish Airlines and Pegasus both operate the route

Food Notes

Turkey is one of the easiest countries for eating well on every meal. The cuisine is built around lamb, chicken, and seafood — which makes it straightforward if you don’t eat beef or pork (pork is essentially absent from Turkish cuisine anyway).

What to eat:

• Kebabs — not the late-night European version. Proper Turkish kebabs are grilled lamb or chicken, served with rice, grilled vegetables, and fresh bread. Adana kebab (spiced minced lamb) and sis kebab (skewered cubes) are the two to know
• Pide — Turkish flatbread, boat-shaped, filled with cheese, meat, or egg. Better than pizza
• Lahmacun — thin, crispy flatbread with minced meat, herbs, and lemon. Roll it up, eat it fast
• Meze — the appetizer spread that starts every proper Turkish meal. Hummus, ezme (spicy tomato paste), haydari (yogurt with herbs), stuffed grape leaves
• Baklava — layers of phyllo, pistachios, and syrup. Gaziantep-style is the standard. Have it with Turkish coffee
• Turkish breakfast — the full spread is a meal category unto itself

Drinks:

• Turkish tea (cay) — served everywhere, all day, in small tulip glasses. You will drink more of this than you plan to
• Turkish coffee — thick, unfiltered, served in a small cup. Order “sade” (no sugar), “az” (little sugar), “orta” (medium), or “cok sekerli” (sweet). Don’t drink the grounds at the bottom
• Ayran — salted yogurt drink. Sounds strange, works perfectly with kebabs

May in Turkey

May is arguably the best month to visit. Istanbul sits around 20C/68F — warm enough for walking all day without summer’s humidity. The light lasts until 8:30pm. Ankara is slightly cooler, especially in the evenings, due to the elevation.

Ramadan timing varies by year — check the dates, as some restaurants may have limited daytime hours during the holy month, though tourist areas in Istanbul are largely unaffected.

Money & Tipping

The Turkish lira fluctuates — check the current rate before you go. Credit cards are accepted widely in both cities. Keep some cash for the bazaars, smaller restaurants, and taxis.

Tipping: 10% at restaurants is standard. Round up for taxis. A few lira for tea service or hotel staff.

Dietary Notes

If you don’t eat pork: Turkey is one of the easiest countries in the world. Pork is essentially nonexistent in Turkish cuisine. If you don’t eat beef: also straightforward — lamb and chicken dominate the menu, and seafood is excellent along the coast and in Istanbul. Vegetarian options exist but are more limited outside of the meze spread.

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The Honest Summary

This was a work trip. I spent most of my time in meetings in Ankara and working from a hotel in Istanbul. I didn’t tour the Grand Bazaar or climb the Galata Tower or take a Bosphorus cruise. What I did do was eat some of the best food I’ve had anywhere — the kebabs alone make me want to go back. Turkey is a place where even a heads-down work trip leaves you well-fed and impressed. If I go back with actual free time, the suggested itinerary above is my plan.