20 years ago today - Day 240

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Tuesday, October 29th - Istanbul

Our hopes are still high that we will have our Iranian visas tomorrow. I can see that Coen is getting anxious to move on as we are losing time to get to India, though Vincent has seen a bit less of the city. In anticipation of possibly leaving in a two days, Vincent is eager to take a boat trip up the Bosphorus. We walked past the docks in Eminonu two days ago where we saw signs for the Bosphorus cruise. Coen is a little leery about spending a day and a half’s budget to go on it but with Vincent and I both wanting to, he decides to join us.

There are travel agent shops in Eminonu so we shop around. I would be the type to take the first or second package, not being much of a shopper, but Vincent and Coen have the shopper gene. Perhaps Vincent is doing it because of Coen’s concern for the cost. As the deadline approaches for the 1 pm sailing, the prices come down and Vincent lands us a deal for about half price. We are all excited about that.

We grab a fish fry lunch from the vendors on the Galata Bridge before boarding. I head for the top deck but Coen and Vincent spend most of the time on the lower deck. Coen has a sore throat and doesn’t want to worsen before we leave.

The boat is not crowded, being that this is the end of October. Here in the city centre, looking at Karkaroy and Beyoglu from across the water in Eminonu, the pollution is quite bad. It is a sunny day but the sky looks brown from the haze. Hopefully it will improve as we move up the Bosphorus towards the Black Sea.

It’s a bit chilly on the upper deck as we set off. The boat follows the western shore of the Bosphorus, past the Karakoy, the Mimar Sinan University and Dolmabahce
Palace. The is much better once we reach the Ortakoy Mosque and past beneath the Bosphorus Bridge towards Besiktas. This is familiar territory to me but totally new for Coen and Vincent. I go to visit them for a few minutes to see how they are doing. I point out some of the things I have seen. They seem to be enjoying this. Vincent doesn’t need to stay inside but he wants to keep Coen company. The loyalty of best friends always impresses me. I ask if they mind me staying on the upper deck. They don’t mind.

I pick out the pinkness of the Tezkereci Osman Camii, the first church I saw in Besiktas. We soon reach the point of land I had almost walked to two weeks ago and beyond that everything is new to me. I soon see in the distance that there is a second bridge over the Bosphorus that I did not know about, which I learn from a map inside is the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. Before it, on the European side, is a large series of medieval towers and fortifications extending from the waterside to the top of the hill, called Rumeli Hisari. It was built by a sultan around 1450AD and used to defeat Constantinople and bring an end to the last vestige of the Roman Empire.

The boat continues beyond the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge for another hour. The great palaces and striking mosques are replaced but more wooded hills and suburbs along the steep banks on either side. There are many yalis built along the waterfront on the European side. They are packed together tightly like shoreline, elaborate townhouses for the rich. They are colourful.

Eventually the ship reaches the northern end of the Bosphorus, the entrance to the Black Sea. On opposite sides of the strait stand two lighthouses, built by the French in 1856 for guiding their ships to and from the Crimean War. The one of this side, the Rumeli Feneri Lighthouse, is quite tall and totally white.


The ship heads back to Eminonu farther from shore, moving faster, only coming closer on the bends to save on distance. We get a closer view of the Asian side at points, but there is not much to take pictures of. It is less developed in most parts, with fewer spectacular buildings. The European side has now fallen into shadow and the hilltops are silhouetted by the sun behind them. I put my camera away and join Coen and Vincent inside on the lower deck for the remainder of the cruise.

It is five by the time we disembark and 5:30 by the time we get back to the hostel. We have just enough time before the cafeteria opens for dinner. This evening we join into card games with a few other backpackers and spend the evening indoors.


PHOTO 1: view of Karkaroy from Eminonu
PHOTO 2: Mimar Sinan University by Karkaroy
PHOTO 3: Bosphorus side of the Dolmabahce Palace
PHOTO 4: the Bosphorus Bridge
PHOTO 5: Rumeli Hisari Fortress
PHOTO 6: yalis along the Bosphorus
PHOTO 7: populated hills of the northern Bosphorus
PHOTO 8: northern tip of Bosphorus, European side
PHOTO 9: Rumeli Feneri Lighthouse
PHOTO 10: Asian side on the Bosphorus on the way back