Overall assessment of Istanbul

Istanbul is a pretty cool city with interesting culture and history. It is safer than I expected, but you still have to be aware of the common scams. If you like big cities, I highly recommend a visit to Istanbul. It’s more expensive than other towns in Turkey and it is very crowded! The tourist sites are all really close together, so you can honestly see everything you would want to see in a matter of about 3-4 days. But if you want to spend time enjoying all the random alleys with great restaurants, you should give it a bit more time.