MICRO-35 will be held at the Hilton Istanbul Hotel, an established five-star hotel in Istanbul:
Hilton Istanbul Hotel
Cumhuriyet Caddesi, Harbiye-Istanbul, TR 80200
Telephone: +90-212-3156000
Fax: +90-212-2404165
The Hilton Istanbul Hotel is centrally located within a 5 to 10 minute walk to the Taksim and Beyoğlu areas of Istanbul, where one can find many restaurants, cafes, bars, night clubs and shops. The official organizing agency for MICRO-35 in Istanbul, SEMOR, is making available to MICRO-35 attendees rooms at a low rate ($90) at the Hilton Istanbul (this is significantly less than the normal rates for this hotel) . Here is SEMOR's MICRO-35 online hotel reservation form that will enable the MICRO-35 attendees to book a room at the Hilton Istanbul at the negotiated low rate. The cut-off date for the discounted rate is October 25. But since the discounted rate is subject to availability, we encourage attendees to book their hotel rooms as soon as possible
After you submit the online hotel reservation form, you will get your hotel reservation confirmation by email from SEMOR, within two Turkish business days (business days are Monday through Friday in Turkey, but October 28-29 are holidays). Note that you will not need a separate "confirmation number" from the hotel itself. SEMOR is handling all the hotel reservations for MICRO-35 (which is resulting in deep discounts). When you arrive at the hotel, please indicate to the registration desk that you belong to the "MICRO-35" group and give them your name. You will then be checked in. If you have any questions about the hotel reservation process, please feel free to contact SEMOR ([email protected]) and our local arrangements chair Sadun Anik ([email protected]), and we will do our best to help you.
You can continue to submit online hotel reservation forms after October 25. Submitting the online reservation form is the recommended way to book hotel rooms for MICRO-35, all the way until the conference. Even though our initial block of rooms at the Hilton is now full, SEMOR will continue to allocate rooms for MICRO-35 attendees at the Hilton on a best effort basis, and will suggest alternative nearby hotels also at discounted rates, as needed.
The current situation: Rooms are not available at the Hilton before the night of November 19. You can begin your stay at The Marmara Istanbul Hotel (another five-star hotel, at a 10 minute walking distance to Hilton), and either choose to move to Hilton on November 19, or to continue your stay at The Marmara Istanbul throughout your visit. The online hotel reservation form has been updated with this information. Rates at the The Marmara Istanbul are also deeply discounted for MICRO-35 attendees ($100 including V.A.T.).
In case your browser has problems accessing the online hotel reservation web site, please click here for help.
Istanbul is a beautiful city straddling two continents, with many historical treasures and sights to see: take a look at this photo gallery. Here are a few of the highlights of Istanbul:
And here are some additional web sites about Turkey and Istanbul:
To get from the Istanbul Atatürk Airport to the Hilton Istanbul Hotel (and from the hotel to the airport), you can ask MICRO-35's official travel agency SEMOR to arrange transportation for you, tailored to your specific flight schedule. Just check the appropriate box in the MICRO-35 online hotel registration form to receive information by email from SEMOR. Otherwise, the most common transportation from and to the airport is by taxi. The taxi fare from the airport to the Hilton Istanbul is approximately $8 (+ 50% surcharge at night). There is also an airport bus whose last stop is at Taksim, a few blocks away from the Hilton Istanbul .
It is recommended that visitors do not rent a car in Istanbul. Driving in Istanbul is, to say the least, difficult, due to the heavy traffic, hilly landscape, and many narrow and winding streets. Car rental can also be expensive. Taxis are the preferred way to get from one place to another in Istanbul. Taxis are cheap, and can be found easily all over the city.
If you do not have Turkish passport, you may be required to have a visa to enter Turkey. There are three main categories:
The most up to date and complete information is available at the Turkish Department of Foreign Affairs web site.
The Turkish Embassy at Washington D.C. also has web pages about visas that can provide valuable information.
Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs), compatible with bank cards following international standards such as Cirrus, Plus, Maestro, EuroCard and Electron, are available throughout Istanbul and other cities in Turkey, and are the most convenient way to obtain local currency (Turkish Lira) at current exchange rates. For example, if you bring your bank debit card compatible with Cirrus from the US, you will be able to withdraw cash (in Turkish Liras) from your own bank account in the US, through an ATM machine in Istanbul. We recommend that you exchange a small amount of cash at one of the bank branches in the Istanbul Atatürk Airport when you arrive there (enough for paying for the taxi and other expenses for that day in Turkish Liras), and get the rest of your local currency later as needed, from ATM's in the city.
Bank branches throughout the city also provide currency exchange without a commission fee.
The current exchange rates for the Turkish Lira can be found on the Internet, e.g., on the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey exchange rates web page.
Turkey uses a 220 Volt, 50 Herz AC power system, like most of Europe. The wall outlets take German or French style power plugs, with two or three round prongs. (Laptop power adapters are usually dual voltage, but you may need to get a travel adapter before you arrive.)
The telephone outlets in Turkey are a mixture of North American-style RJ-11 outlets, and other, older (A-24) outlets. Modems brought from North America have worked in Turkey in the past.
Travel Oasis, Port and Radio Shack are some example retailers where one can purchase international adapters for power and telephone.
AT&T Business Internet Services and America Online are among the Internet Service Providers that provide local dial-up access numbers worldwide, including major cities in Turkey.