Istanbul from the Water

I couldn't resist taking a photo of this pomegranate on the hotel terrace.

After a couple of days of bright sunshine in a dazzlingly blue sky, Monday morning dawned with heavy cloud cover and just the merest hint of sun. While it made for a dramatic sunrise, it also suggested that we might not have ideal weather for our morning activity, a cruise on the Bosphorus. In fact, according to the forecast, rain was expected later in the day. 

Despite the gloom, I was excited about the opportunity to see Istanbul from the water. While we drove a short distance from the hotel to the shores of the Golden Horn, I studied a map to get a better sense of Istanbul’s unique geographic position. 

 

The Golden Horn is a deep natural cove that cuts into the European side of Istanbul. It leads to the Bosphorus, a 20-mile long strait that separates Europe from Asia. The Bosphorus connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. It therefore provides a maritime outlet for the countries bordering the Black Sea, i.e. Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Bulgaria, and Romania.

 

The Golden Horn served as the port of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. When they were under threat of invasion, they would put a chain across the waters. One bit of trivia that I learned from Ulaş: the name Bosphorus means “cow passage” in Greek. This is related to an ancient Greek myth about the goddess Io.

 

Our boat was docked between the modern Haliç Metro Bridge and the historic Galata Bridge. The soaring Haliç Bridge, which opened in 2014, carries the M2 line of the Istanbul metro across the waters of the Golden Horn. The Haliç station is located on the bridge itself. There are pedestrian walkways from both sides of the Golden Horn to reach the station. 

The older Galata Bridge also links the north and south shores of the Golden Horn. The current Galata Bridge was built in 1994, but a bridge has existed in this location since the 6^th century. During Ottoman times, it linked the older imperial section of the city with the more modern district of Karaköy, where the population was primarily non-Muslim. In fact, Karaköy was originally the area where Karaite and Romaniote Jews lived. These communities were established 2000 years ago. In the 1400s and 1500s, they were joined by about 200,000 Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal who were invited by the sultan to settle in Istanbul. Immediately past the Galata Bridge is the Galata Port, where cruise ships dock. 

 

And then we were in the Bosphorus, with Europe (below) to our left and Asia to our right.

As we made our way north through the Bosphorus, we sailed past Dolmabahçe Palace (previously an imperial residence, now a museum) on the European side.

Three suspension bridges span the Bosphorus. The longest and southernmost is the Bosphorus Bridge (officially the 15 Temmuz Şehitler Bridge), completed in 1973. Shortly before reaching this bridge, Ulaş pointed out the Ortaköy Mosque, which dates back to the 1850s.  

The next point of interest was the Rumeli Fortress and Castle, built in 1452 by Mehmet II in preparation for Ottoman siege of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. It’s now a museum.

 

On our way back to the starting point of our cruise, we focused on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. Ulaş called our attention to the Küçüksu Pavilion. This summer pavilion was built by the Ottomans in the late 1800s. It’s also a museum now.

Ulaş also pointed in the direction of the new Çamlıca mosque, which dominates a hill on the Asian side. We couldn't actually see this enormous mosque (the largest in Turkey), with its six minarets. The mosque is considered a self-glorification project of Turkish president Erdoğan (he named the mosque after himself) and an attempt to change the secular nature of the Turkish republic to that of a more traditional Islamic state. The cost of the mosque complex, which includes an art gallery, library, and conference hall, was approximately $300 million. Since only 5-6% of the population regularly attends religious services, the mosque gets very little use. At the same time that the mosque was being built, the residents of Istanbul faced soaring inflation (40% over a four-year period) and sky-high rents that drove many out of the city. Not surprisingly, the construction of the Çamlıca Mosque was widely criticized by the Turkish public. 

 

I thought I felt a couple of raindrops as we continued motoring back down the Bosphorus. The building on the right (Asian) side is a military high school.

 

Shortly before we docked, we got a close view of The Maiden’s Tower (aka Leander’s Tower), a landmark structure that stands on a small islet at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus near the Asian coast. A tower has stood in this location since the Byzantine period. 

When we got off the boat, a light rain was falling steadily and the wind had picked up. However, we were determined not to let the weather interfere with the full day of sightseeing Ulaş had planned. More on that in my next post.