Staring into a TV camera, I say, “Istanbul is one of the world’s great cities, period. For thousands of years, this point, where East meets West, has been the crossroads of civilizations. Few places on earth have seen more history than this sprawling metropolis on the Bosphorus.”
It’s the last day of a week devoted to producing a TV show on Istanbul and we need a grand spot for the show’s opening. We had a reasonable vista from the Galata Bridge, but it showed just charming old fishermen and tour boats. I want to somehow capture both the historic crossroads and the contemporary might of this city.
So far, the site selection has just led to frustrations. Mentally scanning all possible angles, it hits me: We need what filmmakers call a “high-wide,” a wide-angle, almost aerial shot. I want to show the freighter-filled Bosphorus and its Golden Horn inlet, the teeming Galata Bridge with lumbering commuter ferries churning up the port, and a huge mosque in the foreground.
Explore Howard: Rick Steves’ Europe: Istanbul