Turkish people often use old, wise sayings in order to make the best possible decisions to avoid sticky situations. Proverbs and their affect on people's day-to-day decisions are very strong in Turkey.
Istanbul is famous for rugs - that's good. It is also famous for those who sell rugs - that's, well, not so good. You can either take our word for it, or go out on your own and find out the hard way.
There are a lot of cities and regions in the world today that you can refer to as 'a culture that has been influenced both by the West and the East' but Istanbul is THE location where the West and the East came together and gave birth to something UNIQUE.
To have some fun (that's what bars are for) this list is presented by comparing the bars to their celebrity counterpart. I think it will help you understand the sort of place that you're about to step into.