Istanbul for meetings and events

Istanbul – Size does mater
Cosmopolitan Istanbul has come back in full shine and has become one of the top global congress cities. Congress Bazaar of Istanbul offers everything that the heart of a meetings organiser could wish for, in addition to 7 convention centres, 3 fair grounds and almost 100,000 hotel rooms, and the excellently organised Convention Bureau of Istanbul.

The best places to meet, stay and incentivize in Istanbul:

ISTANBUL CONGRESS VALLEY
Congress Valley in the city centre, which combines the Istanbul Congress Centre and Istanbul Convention & Exhibition Centre, with the largest hall for 5,000 participants and 11 halls for sections. Around the valley there are 6,000 hotel rooms within walking distance.

GOLDEN HORN AREA
Golden horn includes a slightly more intimate Hallic Congress Centre with a plenary hall for 3,008 participants and a number of smaller halls.

AIRPORT AREA
The Airport Area includes the Istanbul World Trade Centre and nearby hotels. The World Trade Centre has 11 halls, with a total area of over 162,000 m2. An integral part of the cluster are the Grand Cevahir Hotel & Convention Centre, Istanbul Expo Centre and the WOW Conference Centre.
Each cluster has in its surroundings enough hotel rooms to host mega-conferences with over 20,000 participants.

HILTON BOMONTI
Also new is the huge Hilton Istanbul Bomonti hotel and convention center next to the 120-year old Bomonti brewery. The largest hall has a capacity of 3,200 guests, thrilling with its exceptional elegance and excellent technical equipment and more than 30 rooms for parallel sessions.

BOSPHORUS AREA
A view of the Bosphorus from the hotel room is a dream many visitors to Istanbul may have. Here are some of the best meeting hotels on the Bosphorus: W Hotel, Swissotel The Bosphorus, Conrad Istanbul, Ciragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul, Radisson Blu Bosphorus Hotel, FourSeason Hotel Istanbul and Sumahan on the Water.

STAY LOCAL
Tea time a la Turca
An obsession, an addiction, a daily routine, a ritual, a welcome gesture, a conversation starter, a break from work, a Turkish breakfast companion, a pastime favorite and what not. A memorable enjoyment of drinking tea is an unforgettable experience for your conference guests.

Whirling Mevlevi Dervishes
Another unique attraction to be found in Istanbul. The spiritual ideology and the life style of Dervishes have made a remarkable impact in Turkish music and folk traditions over centuries. Istanbul is a great city to get a glimpse of the Dervish culture and Turkish music in general

HIT THE STREETS
Istanbul meeting crossroads
Bringing together the East and the West, Istanbul has always been an exotic place in the crossroads of cultures. From palaces to cisterns, even Bosphorus mansions and historic venues in Istanbul are all available for your congresses, meetings, receptions, social gatherings, galas and events.

PLAY THE GAME
1001 Direk Cistern
Unusual gala dinner in the largest underground cistern in the world. In the Cistern, which has the capacity of 1.200 guests in sit-down dinner set up and 3.000 guests standing cocktail, you can also entertain small groups easily as well.

007 – Skyfall
Remember the film Skyfall, the third film of James Bond in Istanbul with the music of Adele? A film full of action as the previous series, with filming on the roof of the Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, Eminönü up … Now it’s your mission! You only have one weekend to successfully transfer the secret disk before meeting James Bond. Remember the mission is secret agent 007.

Dragonboat on the Goldenhorn
This is a traditional event that is organized for three years between teams of major companies in Turkey. You will first do a bit of physical training and have the necessary training from professional coaches. Then you can begin to row yourself.

Treasure hunt in the Grand Bazaar
In this version of orienteering/treasure hunt game which is applied in Grand Bazaar (or in the old city) , there are two objectives: to develop team work and communication skills by inserting the group in a challenging environment and to provide that the group will visit and enjoy the basic historical places of the Grand Bazaar

Club scene at Bosphorus
A club with the most beautiful views of the Bosphorus, Reina, Sortie, Suad and Super club.

Santralistanbul
A special venue in the restored electrical central

MUST TASTE – GASTRONOMY
Istanbul is not in any way missing a whole world of real treats, so to pick just one would be unfair. This time let’s expose the spices that make the food divine, with the easiest way to encounter them at the Grand Bazaar.

CARRY ME HOME – GADGETS/GIFTS
Lokum – Turkish Delight
Turkish delight must be the only sweet in the world that is so embedded in a country’s national identity. The royal confectioner to the Ottoman Sultan invented Turkish delight, or Lokum, more than 200 years ago. A gel of grain starch and sugar is boiled, and chopped nuts or fruit flavoring is added. As the gel sets, it gains a chewy consistency, and is chopped, dusted with powdered sugar, and sold by the kilo.