Merhaba,
I'd like to spend 1 or 2 months in İstanbul this summer.. but I need information.
İs it dangerous for a girl to go there alone?
Are there any turkish courses for foreigners I can join?
well I spent some time in the UK n I'd like to do the same but this time in Turkey..
Şimdilik teşekkürler

Selam Sertab

I googled a bit, if you search on the keywords "Turkish", "foreigner", "Istanbul",... you will find several courses.
I'm going to Istanbul at the end of March for two weeks. I was also asking myself if it wouldn't be dangerous, as I'm going alone as well. I read and heard from different sources and people that it shouldn't be. Of course, you don't have to go out and look for it, you should avoid certain neighbourhoods at night, and shouldn't dress provocative for example (that's all about respect I think). I also read that you'll have to get used to be stared at, as Turkish people don't consider that as being impolite. Rough Guide says that in general, Istanbul is a safer place than many other big cities in Europe.

If anyone here wants to share experiences, please do so. I've never been to Istanbul, so I can only say what I heard and read.

Sevgiler
Elisa

Hello!

I'm also going to Istanbul this year with a friend. Being two girls, we're also thinking if it's going to be safe for us.
But by the information I´ve gathered, it is safe. Like Elisa said, you only have to avoid certain places and to have a low profile atitude... but that's what everyone does in their home town to avoid problems, isn't it?
There's a wonderful site that helps a lot on planning a journey to Turkey and it also has a forum about this topic - Women Travelers in Turkey - and some information about learning turkish while in Turkey.

http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com

Hope this would help.

kisses,
aleir

Selam Sertab

I was leafing through the Rough Guide to Turkey and I saw this:
"Language classes: Bosphorus University (www.boun.edu.tr) offers an intensive eight-week summer course for around $300, an a regular two-term Turkish course. For a range of courses throughout the year (and class size usually limited to twelve) try: Turkish Time, in the same offices as English Time, Istiklal Cad 251, Beyoglu (www.turkishtime.com), or the Tömer school, Halaskargazi Cad 330, Sisli (www.tomer.com.tr)"

I'm not affiliated with Rough Guide whatsoever, but I would recommend it as a travel guide. I think it's a great guide.

teşekkürler Elisa!
I'll check all those sites later.
Btw r u going to İstanbul also to study some turkish??
Görüşürüz..

omg I've just notices in my 1st post I wanted to write 'ŞİMDİDEN teşekkürler' and not 'ŞİMDİLİK', sorry for the mistake

if u come to turkey u dont need to take a course..
everybody attends to teach you english

Elisa I checked those sites yesterday, they seem interesting, thnx I've found another one, also quite interesting: www.cactusworldwide.com

tömer is the best course to learn turkish for foreign people as far as i know...

At this moment the main reason why I want to go to Istanbul is the city itself. My Turkish is still very basic , I will use what I know if I can/need to, but I still can't keep a conversation going. But I still have three weeks and a half so that might change
Making myself clear won't be a problem I think, as a lot of people speak English, German, and some even speak French I heard. Maybe it will be more difficult in Ortahisar (Cappadocia) where I will be staying a couple of days as well, I don't know.
I would love to be able to speak the language (fluently )already (but then who wouldn't?). But right now it's more important for me to read about the city, its neighbourhoods, its history, so that I don't arrive unprepared. I'm reading this book now that's called "Passage Istanbul", about famous people (like Trotski, Virginia Woolf, Pierre Loti,...) who all stayed in Istanbul for a shorter or longer period. Quite amusing, sometimes boring (if the character is boring), but still, it's an interesting book.

Sevgiler
Elisa