It’s not easy to photograph people in Istanbul. Not if you want portrait kind of pictures.They don’t like being photographed. It’s their religion and you should actually respect that, especially when it’s women (even if I didn’t in this case). I miss India. They practically beg you to take their picture there. I still have a couple of people shots and a series of old guys fishing is coming up later.
I’m planing a new trip, to Norway. I have talked about Norway for a long time now and this summer it will finally happen. I will drive my own car up there, pack it with camping gear and live cheap by sleeping in tent and sometimes making my own food. Norway is a really expensive country. Not sure for how long I stay there, one, maybe two weeks I think. I will mostly shoot landscapes but I wouldn’t mind running into some surfers or downhill mountain-bikers and shoot some actions as well.
Here’s some interesting statistics. At least I thought it was interesting. I have been photographing for three years now. The first camera I bought was a Nikon D70s. I had it for a year and shot 9000 pictures with it. Then I bought a Nikon D200 that I also had for about a year and I shot 18.000 pictures with that camera. Now I own a Nikon D3 and I’ve had it for a year now and already shot 24.000 pictures with it. 9000, 18.000 and 24.000. So, I guess I will shoot at least 30.000 pictures in the coming twelve month.
I’m having such a NAS (Nikon Acquisition Syndrome) on a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens right now! But, my new years vow for this year was to not buy any new expensive camera equipment. I did sell my macro lens a few days ago though (never used it). If I sell one lens to buy a new one (even if it only pays for 1/3 of the price for the new lens) am I still braking my new years vow? 
Gear is secondary! You are doing the right thing when spending your money on travels.
Istanbul is a lot different from the rest of Turkey. I don’t photograph people much but have found that outside Istanbul people are very willing to be photographed. I have photographed old men outside a mosque, people working, and shopkeepers and only once had some one refuse. Often in small villages they will bring others out to be photographed. After my last trip ai sent about a dozen letters back with photos to locals i had photographed. My brother was with me for the month and he did a lot of people photography. In Istanbul people are a bit more reserved. Jeff, my brother, has some on his http://www.pbase.com/hamstra/people.
Cheers, Jim