Istanbul - Day 2
Boat Trip along Bosphorus
Page I

Sea View on Eminönü İskele

The Bosphorus separates the European and the Asian parts of Istanbul.  In its most narrow part the Bosphorus or Boğaz in Turkish, is only 650 meters wide and its maximum separation is 4.5 km. The Bosphorus strait is 35 km long and connects the Marmara Sea in the south to the black sea Black Sea in the north.  It is spanned by two large bridges: the Bosphorus Bridge or Boğaziçi Köprüsü, which was opened in 1973 at the 50th anniversary of the Turkish Republic; and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprü (bridge of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror), which became in use in 1988 and has a ten meter larger span.  

Leaving Istanbul's urban congestion, an all day boat trip along the Bosporus, passing small towns and summer mansions, is always appreciated. This mini-cruise is cheaply organized by public ferry (about 3 EURO) leaving from the Eminönü-Kavaklar Boğaziçi Özel Gezi Seferleri (Eminonu-Kavaklar Bosphorus Special Touristic Excursions) at 10.35 (be sure to be on board at least half an hour before departure). The boat stops at Beşiktaş (Europe), Kanlıca (Asia), Yeniköy (Europe), Sarıyer (Europe), Rumeli Kavağı (Europe), and  finally after 1.5 hour arrives at Anadolu Kavağı (Asia) at the mouth of the Black Sea.

The journey passes the Dolmabahçe Palace, built between 1843 and 1856 on the order of Sultan Abdül-Mecid by the Armenian architect Karabet Balian and his son Nikoğos. In summer, on Tuesday afternoons a Jannisary band performs here. Next, the boat passes the Çiragan Palace with its 300 m marble facade facing the shore. The Çırağan palace was built in 1874 under the directive of Sultan Abdülaziz, destroyed by fire on January 19, 1910 and has been restored as a grand hotel.  At Ortaköy, the next stop, artists gather every Sunday to exhibit their works in a street side gallery.  In Ortaköy, a church, a mosque, and a synagogue have existed side by side for centuries, a tribute to Turkish tolerance. The Ortaköy Mosque is superbly situated on a point extending into the Bosphorus. The mosque was built under the directive of Sultan Abdülmecid in 1854-55 by the Armenian architect Nikogos Balyan, who designed it in Ottoman  baroque-rococo style. The wide, high windows let the ever-changing light reflections of the Bosphorus shine in the mosque. The mosque is now overshadowed by one of the world’s largest suspension bridges, the Bosphorus Bridge, linking Europe and Asia.

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