Istanbul - Bosphorus Cruise

We spent one day taking a ferry from downtown Istanbul up the Bosphorus to a small village.  This tourist ferry leaves at 10:35 am in the winter (there is an additional departure in the summer) and arrives back at 4:30 pm.  You can get off the boat at any of the stops and spend a couple hours there before the boat comes back to take you home.  You cannot hop from stop to stop.  Once you get off you're there until the ferry comes back 3+ hours later.

This is the ferry schedule:  http://www.ido.com.tr/en/index.cfm?page=SubPage&kapsam=178&textid=2274&ln=EN

The ferry is located in Eminonu and was the closest dock to the Galata Bridge.  The cost was 20 Turkish Lira round-trip.

We decided to get off at Andolu Kavagi which was the last stop and is right before the Black Sea.  Even though it was a warm, clear day, I froze my butt off when we were on the ferry since we sat outside on the way there.

We passed the Dolmabahce Palace on the way as well as the ruins of several castles and some beautiful waterfront mansions.

And then when we got off in town we were in Asia!  Istanbul is the only city in the world that is split on two continents.  The Bosphorus River divides the European side from the Asian side.  This was our first visit to Asia.

We hiked up a very steep hill and many steps to reach the ruins of the Yoros Castle.  I had to peel off the 10 different layers I had on for the boat ride.  The existing castle structure was built by the Ottomans in 1453 by Fatih Sultan Mehmed.  It was built on the narrowest part of the Bosphorus to make controlling the waterway easier.  Previous structures and fortifications had existed on the same piece of land for centuries.

After visiting the castle we went back down to the village for lunch.  There are several eateries near the castle as well.  There were so many restaurants to choose from and they all had the same menu.  I ended up picking the one that had a bunch of Turkish men sitting there.  I figured if the locals like it, it must be good.

Based on the amount of restaurants in the town, I assume there are many more people that visit in the summer.  I felt kind of bad that our boat hadn't brought that many tourists to their town that day.

For I ordered the fried mussels and The Husband ordered the chicken kebab.  Turns out they both came on a  type of sandwich.  I didn't end up liking mine.  The Husbands had some onions and spices that made for a delicious sandwich.  And it was dirt cheap.

Our waiter/restaurant owner was also one of the two non-English speaking people we met our entire time in Turkey.  I was able to practice the three Turkish words I had learned on the plane ride over and whipped out my little phrase book.  A phrase book was definitely not needed.  All menus were in English (even the not touristy restaurants).

On the way back we sat on the inside of the ferry since the sun would be setting soon and it was getting cooler.  It was very neat to see the sun set behind the old part of the city.