Meeting with people makes all the difference. Do not just view the city from afar. Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and we can too. But He also pushed through the crowds on the side streets and conversed with people both amid the din of the city and in the cool, quiet of their homes. I was once a guest with a pastor for lunch at a Muslim missionary training center in Malaysia.
Chances are slim.
The latter is the most difficult and the easiest to let slide. Ask God to open doors. He is more than able. Experience the full breadth of the city, some of the worst and some of the best parts of town. Give them a chance to fall in love with the city.