Being an Erasmus student is super fun, but it has also its difficulties sometimes. As an Erasmus student in Istanbul I would like to help the future Erasmus students coming to Istanbul. I have made a list with some points that can be useful for you.
First of all, your best friend is Google maps. As you might
know or not know, not many people in Turkey speak English. It will be hard to
ask for directions or to understand the directions given. Just look up the
address of the place you want to go to and do the walking, well I guess you all
understand how Google maps work.
Get a student visa, you can’t study here with a tourist
visa, which apparently a lot of Erasmus students think they can. You will get
in a lot of trouble, like booking a flight back to your country to get the
student visa anyways. So get that straight before you come here, or else you
will waste a lot of money on a plane ticket.
Like every Erasmus Istanbul related Facebook groups so you
won’t miss on the awesome Erasmus events. You will also get thousands of boat
party invites. They are not all of the same quality, for example; I went to a
party which got cancelled because the police arrested the manager in front of
us. A lot of people recommend the boat
parties that ISL (Istanbul Student Life) organises.
Places Eski Beyrut, Araf and Beat are bars/clubs in Taksim
where a lot Erasmus students hang out. You are probably going to end up there
too, but try also to explore other places. For example I like Hayal kahvesi a
lot, you’ll find more locals over there and every day there are different bands
playing live music for you. Alcohol is
also pretty expensive in Turkey, so pre drink at you place or go to shot bars.
It’s cheaper if you go with a big group and order for example 50 shots and divide
that. My favourite shot bars: Montreal and Tektekçi.
Food, who doesn’t love Turkish food? There is a hell load of
restaurants and cafes in Istanbul, even if you order something you have no clue
about what it is, you will get something tasty. Some popular after going out
dishes are: midye dolma, ıslak hamburger and kokoreç. Midye dolma is stuffed
mussels, they squeeze a lot of lemon juice on them and they taste delicious.
You can find them in a lot of corners at taksim. Islak hamburger means wet hamburger,
they have a soft structure and it’s my personal favourite meal after drinking.
Than you have kokoreç, I ate it ones and it’s just not my cup of tea,
especially regarding they are made of LAMB INTESTINES, I wouldn’t recommend you
to eat it but hey if you are open for new things, just try it. Of course you
should also try Kumpir, baked/stuffed potatoes, Ortaköy is famous for its
Kumpir so maybe you can eat one at your visit to Ortaköy, also try delicious
waffles topped with a lot of sweets after your Kumpir.
Transportation is not that expensive in Turkey, but it gets
even cheaper when you get a student transportation card. You can apply for it
after you receive your student certificate from your school. Than you make an
e-appointment at the closest IETT office (make your appointment here www.iett.gov.tr/). After
getting a appointment you go to IETT with your student certificate, one
photograph of yourself and 10 TL.
Don’t limit yourself with Istanbul, you’re an Erasmus student
for God’s sake, you should travel a lot and have fun! Turkey has a lot of cool
cities and again transportation isn’t expensive. You could also reach Greece
easily from Turkey.
These are my tips for now, there might be a part 2 later.
You might miss your family and friends back home and feel a little bit lonely
at the beginning, but remember this is a great experience and always try to
have fun!
