Near Hotel

The hotel is located in the very center of Fatih district, an area more specifically known among locals as Aksaray/Laleli. This is not the postcard image of Istanbul, but its real working core. Laleli is world famous as a center for wholesale textile and leather trading. Stepping out of the hotel, you immediately find yourself within a labyrinthine set of streets packed with shops, mannequins, and carts laden with goods. During daylight hours this place boils alive: porters running through it carrying huge sacks atop their backs; merchants yelling at buyers in Russian , Arabic , English . It’s slightly chaotic yet organic environment where one can witness a non-touristic side - business part- city .

Even though this area looks totally commercial, it is also classic for tourists because of its strategic location. All main attractions on the historic peninsula can be reached by a 20-30 minute walk or just 3-4 stops with T1 tram from here. The famous Grand Bazaar is even closer within walking distance (about 15 minutes uphill walk). You are staying next to history but not abovepaying for your hotel in the tourist epicenter of Sultanahmet where prices are much higher and rooms often worse in quality.

The area around Grand Abimo is infrastructurally developed to an unbelievable degree. Within two blocks you can find dozens of currency exchange offices-all competing for who offers the best rate in town (often better than at the airport or Sultanahmet)- pharmacies, supermarkets and mobile phone shops. The gastronomic map of the area is also diverse: due to specific clientele there are many places oriented on CIS and Middle Eastern visitors’ tastes but both classic Turkish kebab and Uyghur lagman can easily be found here as well; even borscht if someone gets homesick for “normal” food. In evening time streets are lit up by shop windows grandly safe although one should keep an eye out not to get pick pocketed in crowd.