Boat Ride on the Bosphorus
Monday 11/16/2009 9:42 AM
After the Spice Bazaar, we just wanted to sit down and relax for a while. We'd also been intending to take a sight-seeing cruise on the Bosphorus, and luckily the ferry docks were right across the street from the Spice Bazaar. We only learned after we'd boarded the boat that there wasn't an actual tour involved: just a boat ride up the Bosphorus and then back again. We didn't mind at all, though, because at that point we were just happy to be on the water. So we sat on a bench on the deck and put our feet up on the side of the boat and watched first the European side and then the Asian side of Istanbul pass us by. And of course, we took a few photos along the way.
Even without a guide to point out what we were seeing, we consulted our travel book to learn what some of the buildings were. Here's Dolmabahce Palace, contructed in the 19th century as a more modern alternative to Topkapi Palace for the residence of Sultan Abdulmecid. Now it's a museum but it served as the imperial residence for nearly all of the Ottoman Sultans after Abdulmecid. It has over 250 rooms:
We also passed Ortakoy Mosque, built in the 19th century:
And here's a photo of the Asian side of the Bosphorus, which looks pretty similar, from the river anyway, to the European side. (We didn't really spend any time on the Asian side, other than passing through on our way to the Sabiha-Gokcen airport, so I don't know if there's a distinct difference in the city between the two sides or not):
We also spotted a wedding, or rather post- or pre-wedding photography, along the river, too:
On our way back, our boat was also swarmed by a flock of gulls (I think someone on the upper level of the boat was tossing bread into the water). Alex got some great photos of them in flight:
And the sun as we headed back to the dock:
If we'd been in a different mood when we got on the boat, we probably would have been disappointed to not have a guided tour of the river, but as it turns out, what we got was perfect for us at the time. It gave us a chance to relax and just be on the water, enjoying ourselves rather effortlessly for about 90 minutes.
Permalink | Comments | Trackback