MAGIC BUS HOSTEL IN ISTANBUL Britnee Johnston October 11 Lodging, Reviews, Travel, Turkey Private Room Amenities Pricing Location 1.9Overall Score It may not be worth doing a review for Magic Bus Hostel in Istanbul considering it was shut down by the police. It’s a place we want to remember though, so here are some of the details about it. For a full account of our stay, visit Mark’s blog post detailing the burglary, police, and riots at Magic Bus Hostel. Private Room: We reserved a twin bedroom at Magic Bus Hostel. It was a spacious room with a cozy nook attached to it. There was also a beautiful colored light fixture hanging in the room. Amenities: On the top level of the hostel was a communal kitchen and lounge area where most of the hostel guests were at in the evenings. With a rooftop patio, we could look out into the streets. Unknown to us, there had been riots on the street and guests would watch from the rooftop. The one night we were there, it was luckily quiet so we didn’t see anything. We did see many police patrolling the entrance to the street with police riot tanks. Those who had been staying longer told us about how some of them went out in the middle of the riots and got teargassed. Pricing: For a twin bedroom it cost €19.98 for one night. We originally had booked for six nights, but since the hostel had been broken into the one night we were there and three guests had their backpacks and possessions stolen, we were forced to move as the police closed down the hostel the next day. Location: We didn’t realize this hostel was located in a Kurdish neighborhood, which was why it was one of the spots where riots occurred. The riots were pertaining to the lack of intervention of the Turkish government to help refugees in northern Syria. Because of this, it wasn’t the safest location to be in and we were glad for the excuse to move to a more touristy area. Our next hostel was much more comfortable and secure: WORLD HOUSE HOSTEL IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY.
