Brian Prunka - 2-15-2014 at 01:14 PM
Hey everyone, looks like I may be in Turkey for a week or so this June . . . curious if anyone has any suggestions or contacts!
Lysander - 2-15-2014 at 02:11 PM
Drink Efes or Rakı, eat fish, travel round. There's a lot of history both in the land and the architecture. Beautiful and fascinating country
whether you're in a big city or the country villages, been twice and I plan to go this year as well.
DavidJE - 2-15-2014 at 11:25 PM
Where are you planning on going (for suggestions)?
I'll actually be there for about a month, in May...but leaving Turkey on May 26th.
journeyman - 2-18-2014 at 09:47 PM
Brian, I played in Istanbul for a week back around 1997 or so and the club, closed now, was in an area called Beyoglu. At the lower end of the street
there were some smaller "streets" running off it with a LOT of music stores filled with all kinds of Ottoman instruments, including ouds. Also, there
is a jazz club in Istanbul called Nardis and it is run by, Onder Focan and his wife; very great people. They might be able to point you to some
places. I had a great time there; the people were wonderful. -Roy
Jack_Campin - 2-20-2014 at 04:20 PM
The music shops around Galip Dede/the top end of the Tunel are mostly not the best (though Cankaya/Sandi is there).
It will be worth your while looking in to the Ataturk Kultur Merkezi on Taksim Square (the big concert hall) to see what's on (both at that hall and
at the Cemal Resit Rey concert hall up the road). They often have concerts with top-flight performers (I saw Mutlu Torun there last time I was in
Istanbul). But they sell out, so get tickets a few days in advance.