Istanbul | It’s been a blast - Thank You!

[bluemoon32]

Some fantastic posts, really wish i had gone but just wasnt to be this time.
Putting my youngest through Uni is an expensive business ha but itll be worth it all when he graduates next month.

 

[mayo31]

Heard someone at Warwick Services last night said you had an issue at the boarding gate?

Yes, we was flying from Istanbul to Heathrow and then a minibus to Middleton

We arrived just as they were announcing the closing of the gate but the doors were still open. We could see the plane doors

There were 5 of us in total

The woman said we not getting on unless Turkish airlines say we can

How do we do that we asked, she said go to the help desk.

That was a right trek, so I ran there. As I arrived at the help desk the other 4 were being let onto the plane

They rang me to say get back quick as they would wait for me and I can get on.

So I ran back but when I got there the doors were shut and no way were they letting me on.

So there I was watching as the plane taxied away

Ok, there always a way home but what pissed me off was the guy at the gate laughed. No need and I told him.

This was at Istanbul airport, I booked on another flight from Sabiha straight to Manchester setting off at 11pm

That was a coach ride off over an hour to that airport

Met some others on the same flight when I arrived at the airport. One had the idea of asking if we could transfer onto the 9pm flight to Manchester which they allowed

I was home for 1am

 

[Maccblue]

Yes, we was flying from Istanbul to Heathrow and then a minibus to Middleton

We arrived just as they were announcing the closing of the gate but the doors were still open. We could see the plane doors

There were 5 of us in total

The woman said we not getting on unless Turkish airlines say we can

How do we do that we asked, she said go to the help desk.

That was a right trek, so I ran there. As I arrived at the help desk the other 4 were being let onto the plane

They rang me to say get back quick as they would wait for me and I can get on.

So I ran back but when I got there the doors were shut and no way were they letting me on.

So there I was watching as the plane taxied away

Ok, there always a way home but what pissed me off was the guy at the gate laughed. No need and I told him.

This was at Istanbul airport, I booked on another flight from Sabiha straight to Manchester setting off at 11pm

That was a coach ride off over an hour to that airport

Met some others on the same flight when I arrived at the airport. One had the idea of asking if we could transfer onto the 9pm flight to Manchester which they allowed

I was home for 1am

At least you got back ! Did you have to pay anymore ?
However cnuts trick

 

[hammersmithlad]

Sitting in the airport right now reflecting on everything that has happened since I got here last Wednesday. I have a really positive opinion of Istanbul loved the place. Obviously I feel for people who's experience wasn't the same. As for UEFA I'm not even going to let them ruin my time here by thinking about their shit show of incompetence.
hoşçakal ve teşekkürler Istanbul

All I can say for the lucky folk who managed to make the trip is this was one hellva of an adventure & experience I probably won't forget for the rest of my life!

Probably like many others it was my first time visiting Istanbul & the city certainly lived up to the cliche East meets West. At times it felt like central Asia with places packed full of people & poverty obviously apparent. Then again most big cities in Western Europe nowadays have a shocking amount of homelessness & begging on the streets is all too familiar back home.

Like any big city you of course need to have your wits about you & yes, unfortunately I too 'lost' my credit card but I heard it was the same behaviour in other previous Champions League venues such as Paris & Madrid.These global, large scale events are a dream come true for any thief & criminal element who would be targeting this weekend especially.

The city itself is one that never sleeps & even at 2am locals are out shopping in malls buying shoes from Sketchers. Must say the Turkish hospitality was top notch & lot of restaurant owners in the UK could learn a thing or two from them. I was also surprised how tolerant the locals were of us making quite a racket on the streets & some seemed to love the new experience for them taking numerous videos of us chanting either the Johnny Stones or Boys in Blue songs.

Upon reflection & taking aside the UEFA travel organisation fiasco I truly believe this trip will live long into many Blue's memories. And this will be simply not down to our historic Champions League win but also the positive & negative cultural differences experienced which I'm sure would not be as memorable if were to have won in say Munich or Wembley. Like it or not now Blues, Istanbul will be a city that will be etched into us forever more!

 

[Deleted member 77198]

I liked parts of it. Stayed in Sultanahmet in a great hotel. Felt safe around there and Sultanahmet square and the sights around there were lovely. I felt I got a real taste of It in the 2 days I was there. Having been to Cairo I thought it be similar to tha, but it wasn’t. It was much better.

Obviously hated the traffic, the organisation of Uefa and those who were just clearly on the make but met some kind lovely people and glad I have been to see it. It was never on my bucket list but glad I went and the memories it brought.

Met some great blues too!

Cairo is the worst place on Earth.

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

Cairo is the worst place on Earth.

Hellhole.

 

[kingswoodblue]

Same as some on here - really mixed view. Istanbul is an incredible city, its scale and pace have to be seen / experienced to be believed. 2am on a Sunday morning in Iskital Street was like Saturday afternoon in the Trafford centre x 4.

The negatives - awful accommodation ( down to me that one - lesson to self don’t ignore poor reviews,) haggling with taxi drivers, some of the areas around Taksim Sq - was grateful there was so many Blues around, the poverty and seeing young children being used to generate income, women‘s place in the Mosque at prayer time, the traffic, my wallet being stolen on Friday night in Nevedeze, Turkish Police (basically not interested or helpful) and finally UEFA and the Turkish authorities being seemingly unable to organise and deliver an accessible and safe event for all. Atatürk Stadium clearly not fit for purpose.

Positives - The Culture and history - spent 2 full days seeing as much of the sides and experiences as possible - Topaki Palace, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Basicilla Cistern, Galata Tower and Port, the Bosphorus - if you get the chance go. Some great restaurants and food as well.

People - Thought the fans were credit to both clubs. City fans loud, proud, with great humour and looked out for each other - proud to be a Blue. Inter fans - how to handle defeat with dignity and class, a lesson to all fans on how to behave. Most of the Turkish people we came across were polite, helpful and friendly.

I spent 4 days in an incredible City, couple of times I thought ‘what am I doing here‘, the rest of the time I just felt privileged to have this experience with my son, my City supporting mates of 35 + years and all the other Blues. It was a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience, priceless and something I’ll never forget

 

[CarlosTevez'sEnglishTutor]

The taxi drivers were the only downside for me (apart from $$$$$$ UEFA of course)

We booked an Uber for 7 to take us to the stadium, quoted 750 lira. When we got about 10mins from Fatih he told us to cancel Uber, he's not now Uber. He then stated he wanted 4000 lira or $200 dollars. Special day, special price blah blah. He said if police ask, he's Uber, which we didn't think much of at the time. We had no choice, so haggled him to 3500 lira. When we got to the taxi drop off point he then said cash only when we offered a card. Managed to scrape 2600 lira together, which wiped out our cash. Offered him that, and 900 on card, take it or leave it. He was getting irate and was muttering away. He suggested he drive my mrs to an atm to get cash out, which was never happening. Eventually a copper became interested in the argument and asked what was going on. He sided with the driver and said you owe him, a deal is a deal. We then showed him the Uber booking and asked him what about this deal then? The copper took great interest in this and after a few words between them told the taxi to fuck off, which he duly did. Uber took the money from the original booking so having a conversation with Uber now about these guys using the Uber platform to rip people off.

Sounds almost identical to my experience. I got out of the Uber luckily as the dodgy **** was trying to haggle ridiculous fees. Reported him to Uber but nothing will be done as the operators who spoke to me were Turkish. The platform isn't as secure out there. You can't blame the drivers for wanting to earn a bit of extra dough but there's ways of doing this without being an extorting ****.

 

[solley attwell]

I booked a hotel called taksim prince but it didnt exist ended up at a place called little prince hotel. Thanks to a blue called John who was staying there who stayed around to help me out. The streets around nevizade were filthy but there was great craic on the Friday night. In general I have great memories good and bad of istanbul but I would have paid to do it all again just to see my club win the European cup

 

[Lee the Blue]

Like most big cities it has its good and bad points. That said the only reason I would ever have gone there is to see City in a Champions League final. Done that now and don't ever anticipate going back - there's many other places I've been to or wish to go to that are ahead of it where I'd rather spend my time. The stadium itself was a hovel and completely unfit to host a match of that magnitude but that's Uefa for you and another argument. The Taxi drivers were a lively bunch - fellow survivors of one of their yellow cab journeys down the motorway will I'm sure share this view.