Istanbul Diary - Bosphorus views

Depending upon the weather, the waters around Istanbul take on different shades of blue or grey.

Luckily for us, the day we took the cruise on the straits was a lovely sunny day, with the waters that beautiful blue that stays in your memory.

Subsequently, we took a couple of ferry rides across to the Asian side, but then it was a cloudy day, and everything was tinged in grey, like this picture, at the southern end of the Bosphorus, at the mouth of the Golden Horn, where you can see the Topkapi watch tower, poking out of the trees.
This picture is in the Golden Horn actually, with the Eminonu waterfront drawing up.

Below, is a panoramic view of the Golden Horn,and if you click on the image and see it in full size, you will see all the suspects - the Topkapi, the Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque to the left, and the Sulemaniye mosque in the background to the right.  The tower in the centre of the picture is the Tower of Constantine (under renovaton during our visit), and the mosque in the foreground on the waterfront is the Yeni Camii.  The Galata bridge is right in front.  To the left, around the Seraglio hill, and in the background, is the Sea of Marmara.  So, the Bosphorus straits would begin from the left foreground

We took a tourist "cruise" down the Bosphorus - no, not a fancy one with gourmet food and wine, but one of those boats with an enclosed cabin, and an upper deck, and a guide who points out the sights.  I think our guide was somewhat left-leaning, as he pointed out the playfields of the rich, with some sarcasm.

In hindsight, if we had taken the local ferry boats, we would have probably managed the whole ride much cheaper, and we could have probably gone much farther north.  These tourist cruises take you to the Fatih bridge and then you return.  Also, the one we took started from Karakoy, rather than Eminonu, so you dont get to see the Golden Horn at all on a tourist cruise.

Once you are in the straits, "Europe" is to your left or west, and Asia is the eastern shore.

The European sights

Dolmebahce PalaceThe new palace of the Ottomans, which probably bankrupted them.  Was also used by Ataturk I think, as a state HQ, on his visits from Ankara.  
Crumbling and neglected
As well as new and spankingThe Bosphorus has strong currents.  On the surface, the water flows from the Black Sea towards the Sea of Marmara.  But below, there is a current flowing in the opposite direction.  In ancient times, these strong currents discouraged the setting up of settlements on its banks, with populations preferring the safer Golden Horn.

The Bosphorus Bridge with the Ortakoy mosqueI read that in the 6th century the Persian armies needed to cross the Bosphorus, and tied their boats together to forma a "bridge", in order to cross over!  This modern Bosphorus bridge was built in 1973.

The Ortakoy Mosque, up-close
The club where the F1 crowd party.  Notice the curtains, which are drawn for privacy during such dos
Ataturk's Yacht - not bad for a socialist!
The lovely Rumeli HisariThis fortress has an interesting history.  Can you imagine, that the whole thing was built in 4 months in 1452?!  This was in the time of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, who took over the city from the Byzantines in 1453.  He used the fort to choke off supplies and reinforcements coming from the Black Sea to the city of Constantinople.

The fort comes just before the second Fatih bridge, across the Bosphorus.

Fatih Bridge and the Asian shore

The Asian shore

Anadolu HisariAnd adjacently opposite the Rumeli, on the Asian side is this fortress.  This is older than the Rumeli, and was built by Sultan Bayezid in 1390, to give some control of the Bosphorus.  So, after Rumeli was built, they had controls on both sides of the Bosphorus.

Florence Nightingale was here
The Beylerbeyi Palace

Semsi Pasha mosque at UskudarUskudar is one of the oldest settlements on the Asian side.  We took a ferry across one morning, and it appears that now it has developed into a posh suburb, with large, well-guarded properties lining the shore.

The picture below shows how the Uskudar hill has been built up.

The Leander tower

Back at the southern mouth of the Bosphorus. This little tower has been a watch tower, customs house and also a lighthouse at various points. Now, its just symbolic and marks the entry point into the straits.