Hello Gel
I have been on this holiday and had a great time, however I did not do any optional tours, I went on the
hop on- hop off bus tour from the Blue mosque area cost 20 euros a for 24 hour ticket.
Also if you want to buy tukish delight don't buy the boxes tied with pink ribbon as they are most likely out of date.
There's not much to do at night but it's safe to walk around the streets from the hotel.
I'm sure you will have a good time.
Dave.
Hello Gel. I'd just like to clarify daveJB's reply to you in that there's not much to do at night. I have done ten JY holidays to date, and out of them all, the Istanbul City Break has been the only one where guests did not converge upon the bar in the evening (although there was a modest one at the hotel). Turkey is an Islamic country after all. However, three of the optional excursions took place in the evening - The Whirling Dervishes, a Folk Show / Bellydancing plus Dinner, & and dinner in a converted cistern, so you are unlikely to get bored! In fact I would recommend going on all the optional excursions to discover more of this wonderful city and its Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empire heritage.
Just one word of caution: if you should venture out on your own during the day, I think that you would agree that Istanbul is one of the most densely populated, crowded cities you could visit. However, whilst I never felt threatened or intimidated by the local populace, you should still take the usual precautions. If anything, the locals really do make tourists feel welcome and English seems to be widely spoken.