Arrival

Istanbul has 2 airports; The Atatürk Airport (IST) on the European side and the Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) on the Anatolian side. Both airports provide some public transportation options depending on your time of arrival. You may also get a taxi (cab) to ride downtown, rates in Turkey are quite affordable. You may calculate the cost through this webpage http://taksiyle.com/en.

From the Istanbul Atatürk airport to downtown (Taksim) there are 3 transport options

Option 1: Taxi (approximately 35 TL, 14 €, 18$) http://taksiyle.com/en
Option 2: Havataş (shuttles)
Option 3: Metro lines M1 -> T1 -> F1 (Duration ~60 min)

From the Sabiha Gökçen airport to downtown (Taksim) there are 3 transport options

Option 1: Taxi (approximately 80 TL, 30 €, 42$) http://taksiyle.com/en
Option 2: Havataş (shuttles)
Option 3: Bus line SG-2 Sabiha Gökçen – Taksim (Duration ~150 min) Schedule (I.E.T.T.)

Some external links for public transportation information in Istanbul

Istanbul Bus Lines : I.E.T.T.
Istanbul Municipality: İ.B.B.
City Map: at İ.B.B.
Public transport: İstanbul Ulaşım
City Guide: Istanbul Trails

Accomodation:

We kindly ask our participants to arrange their accommodation on their own responsibility. However, to simplify a hotel selection (particularly for 1st time visitors) we provide a list of some convenient hotels. Please note that there are no reserved rooms regarding the PANAF meeting.

Recommended hotels:

Turkey in very short:

Name: Republic of Turkey

Population: 73,722,988 (2010 estimate)

GDP: Total:$735.264 billion/Per capita $10,106 (2010 estimate)

Currency: Turkish Lira

Electricity: Please keep in mind that Turkey runs a 220V electricity network.

Traffic: Drives on the right

Tap Water: Tap water in Istanbul is regularly controlled; it is clean and safe to drink. However, the taste may not suite to you and commonly differences in the mineral content causes stomach problems among many tourists. The local custom is to drink bottled water.

Calling code: +90

(Wikipedia: Turkey)