Tag: Bosphorus

  • Wish You Were Here: A Ferry Boat on the Bosphorus

    Wish You Were Here: A Ferry Boat on the Bosphorus

    New York has its Staten Island Ferry, Venice the Vaporetto and Bangkok the Chao Phraya River Bus, but no city ferry line seems quite as regal as that of Istanbul.

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    Last night, we hopped a Vapur (the name for these old ferries) for the first time, traveling from the docks at Eminönü near the Spice Market to about 25 minutes up the Bosphorus to Ortaköy, a neighborhood just before the towering Bosphorus Bridge. Though a private water taxi charges 120 Lira ($67 USD) for a one-way ride between these points, sharing the ferry means a far budget friendlier cost of only 3 Lira ($1.67) each way.

    The ferries themselves are ridiculously impressive, with their white bows looking just as ready for a transatlantic crossing as a trip between two docks. The funnels spew black smoke under raw power, and the maneuvering skills of the captains are on full display during evening rush hour near the Galata Bridge.

    Vapur sizes vary, with maximum occupancy ranging from 600 to as high as 2100. Ferries like this have sailed the Bosphorus since 1837; they may have changed from steam power to fuel, but they remain an integral part of the population’s daily commute. And frankly we wouldn’t want it any other way.

    A ferry docked for the night nearby the Bosphorus Bridge between Europe and Asia

    [Photos: Cynthia Drescher/Jaunted]

    via Wish You Were Here: A Ferry Boat on the Bosphorus || Jaunted.

  • Destination: East meets west in the Turkish city of Istanbul

    Destination: East meets west in the Turkish city of Istanbul

    Destination: East meets west in the Turkish city of Istanbul

    27 Feb 2013 09:05

    From Birmingham Airport it will take 3 hours 50mins and 2.657km to reach Ataturk Airport in Istanbul.

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    The Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet, in the heart of Istanbul’s old city

    It is the city where two continents collide, their cultures and heritage blending in a unique atmosphere.

    Europe and Asia meet in Istanbul, and throughout this vibrant city you’ll find centuries-old mosques, churches and markets happily rubbing shoulders with modern restaurants, galleries and nightclubs.

    The cost of an overnight stay varies from £10 to £1,000 depending on your taste because Istanbul is also a city of contrasts. Whatever you do, plan on visiting a hamman – the traditional Turkish bath that the UK’s stylish spas try, but fail, to replicate. For about £12 your skin will be scrubbed clean, a fraction of the cost you’d pay back home.

    Kariye Museum

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    Must Sees

    1. Kariye Museum (The Chora Church), Kariye Cami Sokak, Edirnekapi

    This 11th century church looks unassuming from the outside, but step through the door and prepare to be amazed by remarkable mosaics illustrating scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary.

    Over the years, it has doubled as a museum and it remains a Byzantine treasure to this day.

    Take the tram to Topkapi and walk along the old city wall to make this a complete holiday experience.

    Bosphorus Strait, Old City, Sirkeci

     

    2. Bosphorus Strait, Old City, Sirkeci

    Crossing the Bosphorus Strait is one of those holiday musts seasoned travellers like to tick off.

    To start with, you’ll find yourself between two continents while in the same city.

    Taking the boat, you’ll marvel at Istanbul’s iconic landmarks, many of which can only be enjoyed from close this way.

    The infinite blue and the company of seagulls all the way will make you wish this journey will never end.

    Basilica Cistern, Imran Oktem Cad, Sultanahmet

     

    3. Basilica Cistern, Imran Oktem Cad, Sultanahmet

    Yes, it’s even worth a look at the plumbing! The Basilica Cistern (or Sunken Palace from the original Turkish) is a mysterious underground complex lit by candlelight.

    It is, in fact, a Roman building dating back to 532 AD.

    This beautiful, cathedral-like cavern of columns and arches reflected in the still water is quite unlike anywhere else.

    Ancient and quiet, it’s thought-provoking, too, a world away from the bustle overhead.

     

    Fact File

    Language: Turkish

    Currency: Turkish Lira

    Time Zone: GMT + 2

    Flights: Turkish Airlines fly direct from Birmingham. KLM, Air France and Lufthansa are among others offering one-stop flights.

    Best Months: Sun in the summer, snow in the winter, but the humidity is constant in sea-encircled Istanbul. Festival-filled spring and autumn are popular, but winter is picturesque and the trade-off for summer’s humid heat are languid evenings by the Bosphorus.

    Visas Etc: You need a Tourist Visa sticker which can be issued at the point of entry for £10

     

    Hotels

     

    Posh

    Baran Residence Hotel Airport, Naci Kasim Cad. Bahcelievler

    Okay, so you’re happy to break the bank. Expect to pay in excess of £1,700 a night for a spacious, air-conditioned apartment in the Baran Residence just three kilometres from the Atatürk International Airport. Apartments feature modern furnishings and balconies with city views. They have satellite TV and a washing machine. The kitchens include a refrigerator, microwave and dishwasher. You get buffet breakfast, too.

    Budget

    Cem Sultan Hotel, Kutlugun Sokak 28, Sultanahmet

    Right at the other end of the spectrum, this bargain basement hotel is friendly and welcoming even if the double rooms are a little cramped, and some don’t have windows! Still, it’s clean, relatively comfortable and breakfast is in a room which offers a view across the Bosphorus. Fine for a couple of nights, expect to pay around £22 a head – or less than a tenner a night if you’re prepared to share with strangers in an eight-person dorm.

     

    Eating Out

    Imbat Restaurant, Hocapasa Mh. Hudavendigar Caddesi, Sirkeci

    The food here is good, but the view from the restaurant is unrivalled, hence its recent Travellers’ Choice 2012 Winner at Tripadvisor. The emphasis in on Aegean and Mediterranean cuisine, with a menu that is surprisingly affordable. From your table you can gaze out over the Bosphorus, taking in sights such as Bosphorus Bridge, Galata Tower and Topkapi Palace. Exciting by day, enchanting by night, booking is essential.

    via Destination: East meets west in the Turkish city of Istanbul – Birmingham Mail.

  • New Cable Car for Istanbul, Turkey?

    New Cable Car for Istanbul, Turkey?

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    View of Bosphorus in the back. A cable car across the strait would effectively provide another transport link between Asia and Europe! Image by Flickr user enric archivell.

    New transportation plans in Istanbul, Turkey reveal that a cable car is planned travel over the Bosphorus strait. While the project is still within its infant stages, if built, the system is proposed to connect Mecidiyeköy to Altunizade.

    via Weekly Roundup: New Cable Car for Istanbul, Turkey? « The Gondola Project.

  • Giant ‘seagull’ set to land on Istanbul skyline

    Giant ‘seagull’ set to land on Istanbul skyline

    The Gateway goes behind the scenes of the world’s major transport hubs, revealing the logistics that keep goods and people moving. This month, the show is in Istanbul, Turkey.

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    (CNN) — Wheeling around the skies above the ferry boats and cargo ships, seagulls are as a familiar sight above the Bosphorus as the commuters and containers on it.

    Their enduring presence on Istanbul’s busy waterway will soon be further cemented with the construction of a new transport hub designed to look like the seabird in flight.

    Perched on the western shores of the Bosphorus, the Kabatas Seagull Transportation Hub will enable new and improved connections for ferries, trains, buses and some small ships, says Ali Ulvi Altan, director of major projects for Hakan Kiran Architecture.

    “Today this area carries around 60,000 passengers per day … when [the hub is completed it will carry] around 90,000 persons per day by our estimates,” Altan said.

    The seagull was a natural choice for the design, says Altan, because the bird is the symbol of the Bosphorus.

    The Istanbul-based architects will be assisted by Dutch engineering company, Royal HaskoningDHV who will be providing geotechnical, environmental and maritime expertise.

    In addition to its iconic design, the project will incorporate green features such as rainwater collection and a renewable energy facility.

    Work on the building is due to start next year, Altan says, and should be completed by 2015/16.

    via Giant ‘seagull’ set to land on Istanbul skyline – CNN.com.

  • Bosphorus magic

    Bosphorus magic

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    The ramparts of the Rumeli Hisari fort. Photo: Sheila Kumar

    Sheila Kumar keeps returning to the blue waters of Istanbul.

    I just can’t help it. As I stand looking at the rippling swath of blue water, a line from an old Hindi film song comes to mind: “…tumsa nahin dekha.”

    I’m on the European side of Istanbul, staring at the Bosphorus. Over the last four days, I have taken in all of Istanbul’s many delights. I have trawled its winding caddesis (streets), spent hours in its bazaars, eaten tonnes of kebabs, mezes and baklavas, downed many a glass of apple tea. I went for a hamam session with some trepidation but thoroughly enjoyed it. I watched a dervish show with mixed feelings… should something so private be put on public display? I had felt up many Turkish carpets; actually, I was now ready to buy the T-shirt that said: Been There, Done That.

    However, I would keep coming back to the bank of the Bosphorus. The river exercised a strange fascination on me; strange because I have seen and appreciated the Thames, Seine, Tiber, Gauadalquivir, the Boyne and many other rivers of Europe, at different times over the years. But this body of water, the world’s narrowest strait used for international navigation is altogether something else.

    Vital waters

    The 31-km-long Bosphorus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. On its shores sits Istanbul, with its 11-million-and-counting inhabitants lucky enough to glimpse the river on their way to work, on their return from work, on their Sunday impromptu picnics in the riverside parks, on their evening strolls, from atop the Galata Tower. Some days, the waters are choppy, steel gray and turbulent. At other times, they are a deep blue with the gentlest ripples disturbing the surface, and raucous seagulls wheeling above the surface.

    The Bosphorus is not a river but a sea-strait that divides Istanbul and has many charming legends attached to it. Io, a high priestess of Hera, was transformed into a cow and condemned to wander the earth until she crossed the Bosphorus where she met Prometheus. Jason passed through here on his ship the Argo, en route to securing the Golden Fleece. This is the scene of Noah’s flood. Leander’s Tower stands in the middle of the Bosphorus, and yes, it does refer to that couple, Hero and Leander. There was also a time when concubines fallen out of favour, bodyguards of the Sultan, even a Patriarch, were all killed and their bodies thrown into the Bosphorus.

    Given that it is part of the only passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the Bosphorus has always been of major importance since Byzantine times. Wars have been fought on both sides of the strait; the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great decided to locate the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople, by this strait. In recent times, Russian oil is exported by tankers to western Europe and the US, via the Bosphorus. Two suspension bridges — the Bosphorus Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge — stand like magnificent sentinels across the water.

    Magnificent sentinels

    Besotted as I have become, merely looking at the Bosphorus twice or thrice each day is not enough, so I take a cruise down the river. Like pretty much all of Europe’s riverside cities, the buildings on the banks are a mix of old palaces, small mosques, luxe hotels, and the contemporary many-million-bucks dwellings of Istanbul’s rich and famous. I board at Eminonu, and my cruise vessel gently drifts past the three gems in Istanbul’s crown: the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque, a precious triptych. We pass the historic Dolmabahce Palace, where Kemal Ataturk spent his last days. A mild breeze keeps the sun’s warmth shrouded and we are soon drifting past the Golden Horn. In a bit, we go under the Bosphorus Bridge, within hailing distance of huge tankers and cargo ships, and come upon the sprawling Rumeli Hisari fort, also known as the Fortress of Europe.

    Here and there, we pass fishermen standing still as statues, hopeful of a good catch of lufer (bluefish); their main station is the Galata Bridge and they sell their catch to the many seafood restaurants in the vicinity. Many of these anglers are retired academics and white collar professionals who have turned their hobby into lucrative business. In under two hours, we are at Anadolu Kavagi, where a climb up Joshua’s Hill to the Yoros castle is amply rewarded with a panoramic view of the junction where the Bosporus River meets the Black Sea. Blue skies meet blue water on the far horizon. More of the magic at work.

    And when I am back at the Eminonu docks, I treat myself to a fish sandwich and sit staring at the waters. And I mentally make a promise that like Arnie, I’ll be back. That very evening, to see the blue waters lit up by the lights of Istanbul. I can’t help it. It’s the lure of the Bosphorus.

    via The Hindu : Life & Style / Travel : Bosphorus magic.

  • Come Fly With Me: Shades of Istanbul

    Come Fly With Me: Shades of Istanbul

    Meera Ashish shuttles between her home bases in Dubai, London and Uganda, making huge detours along the way…

    Meera Ashish

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    Standing in a jam-packed tram in Istanbul on a Saturday afternoon, let’s just say, is not fun! When you’re used to the London Underground, you’re brave enough to travel on any other Metro system … It’s a good way to explore a new city and get a glimpse of real day-to-day life. But Istanbul was not quite the mix of East and West I had expected. The streets were not reflective of the chaotic life that I imagined as part of cities in Asia — rather, they were more attuned to their relaxed European counterparts. But the rush hour on the tram revealed the less-European instincts of the locals.

    In London you get rowdiness. In Mumbai, the ladies in the ladies-only carriages literally push each other on and off, which can be entertaining and annoying. The Metro in Dubai can often get hot and sweaty. But in Istanbul, the men make the experience of travelling on a train or a tram highly undesirable, which probably explains why we spotted so few women. My friend and I moved inwards when it dawned on us that the close proximity of the men was not due only to the lack of space. It made me wonder why Istanbul had not adopted the Asian, or Indian, culture of having separate carriages for women. Even Dubai has carriages just for women and children. I’ve been on the Metro in Paris, Spain, New York and Mumbai, but I have never faced this kind of discomfort (nothing to do with odours and sweat, of course).

    I had not planned to start my tales of this city by writing about this one aspect. Let me tell you some more about this trip — a trip that is linked inextricably to one shady book that came by recommendation, and I did no research to find out what it was all about.

    First, I did manage to see in such a short time, various tones and shades of Istanbul, due mostly to the fact that I was with friends who wanted to cram in as much as possible from the Bosphorus cruise to shopping at the Bazaar to a Turkish bath to food and, of course, nightlife. But the agenda was often happily distracted by the girly chatter that had not been indulged in for much too long.

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    Rushing down ten minutes before breakfast ended always set the relaxed tone of the day, and then, of course, we would sit at breakfast at the House Hotel for an hour before heading out into the chic outdoors of Nisantasi. The few things I’ll remember about Istanbul is sitting by the Bosphorus at the Kempinski Ciragan Palace having afternoon tea; a pianist coordinating melodiously with the chorus of birds, the moving sails just visible beyond the pool and umbrellas; of course, dinner at the most picturesque Ulus29 which overlooks the river; the twinkling city on the opposite bank and two gleaming bridges on either side; and the next day at Munferit, a romantic alfresco setting with tables spilling on to the street, located in the Beyoglu. And then dancing at Reina, where we were literally looking up closely at the details of one end of the bridge, where the barman was kind enough to give me a plate of cut fruit, and eating salad at 3 in the morning just because … well, just because.

    — Follow Meera Ashish on talefourcities.com and @meeraashish

    via gulfnews : Come Fly With Me: Shades of Istanbul.