Tag Archives: photography

July 29, 2024 · 5:35 am

Istanbul — Cruising the Bosporus and the Golden Horn


Istanbul ferry plying the Bosporus Strait; Çamlıca Transmission Tower in the background

You’ll see a lot in Istanbul if you just take one of the many tour boats traversing the Bosporus and the Golden Horn. The Bosporus (also spelled Bosphorus) is a strategic strait of vital importance. It separates not only the Mediterranean (via the Aegean and Marmara seas) from the Black Sea, but also Europe from Asia.

Bosporus and Golden Horn (Google Maps)

Ursula and I have done this voyage before, so we knew to shop around for the best price. As the boat gets closer to sailing, the fare tends to go down. Tour boats accumulate near the south end of the Galata Bridge, on both the east and west side of the bridge. We embarked on our boat east of the bridge, and disembarked to the west. As for the Galata, it also demarks a separation of sorts — the Golden Horn from the Bosporus. So, let’s head on out, shall we?

As you’ll see on this trip, the Blue Mosque is not the only six-minaret mosque in Istanbul. Here is the larger and much newer (completed in 2019) Çamlıca Mosque located high up on the slopes of Çamlıca Hill on the Asian side of the Bosporus:

Çamlıca Mosque

This next image captures both the Hagia Sophia (current building completed in 537; originally as a Greek Orthodox church) and the Blue Mosque (completed in 1609):

Hagia Sophia (left); Blue Mosque (right)

There is a lot of traffic on this narrow waterway as you can see in these images:

Ferry
Tug
Tour Boat
Cape Male container ship

Along the journey you will see the immense Bosphorus Bridge (officially the 15 July Martyrs Bridge). Upon its completion in 1973 it was the fourth longest suspension bridge in existence.

Çamlıca Mosque beyond the Bosphorus Bridge

Along the way you’ll pass many interesting structures, such as the Küçüksu Pavilion built in 1857:

Küçüksu Pavilion

Here’s a very interesting photo subject known as the Ortaköy Mosque, built around 1855:

Ortaköy Mosque

Being such a vitally strategic strait, the Bosporus obviously warranted defense. And on this cruise you’ll see a medieval Ottoman Empire fortress built for just that purpose. This is the Rumelihisarı Fortress built in 1452:

Rumelihisarı Fortress

We’ll return to this Bosporus boat tour on Wednesday, but until then I’ll leave you with two final images:

Along the banks of the Bosporus — European side

Here’s an interesting view of the Anadoluhisarı Fort (1394) and typical yali (waterfront) mansions on the Asian side of the Bosporus:

Anadoluhisarı Fort and yali (waterfront) mansions

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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July 26, 2024 · 5:35 am

Fun Food and Photo Friday — Istanbul Favorites and TuR DÖNER for Döner Kebab


TuR DÖNER

What’s that old saying? Oh, yeah. When in Türkiye, eat Turkish. And döner kebab is about as Turkish as it gets. Located approximately three minutes, via foot, from our hotel in the Sultanahmet District of Istanbul was what appeared to be a local favorite — TuR DÖNER. How good was this place. Well, I didn’t know it at the time, but 559 Google reviewers give it an average 4.9 rating. I just looked that up for this article, and I have to concur with that extraordinarily high rating. But Ursula and I figured the place was a winner when we saw that most of the clietele were locals. That’s something we look for when sampling the local fare.

Traveler Tip of the Day: When asking your hotel staff or a local for a restaurant recommendation, inquire where they like to dine for local fare. That generally will get you to the best place for local cuisine, and watch how the local’s face lights up when they understand you want to partake in their country’s food culture. It also keeps you out of the more touristy establishments.

Döner kebab rotating on vertical rotisseries — lamb and beef

The address for this wonderful establishment is Mimar Mehmet Ağa Cd. No. 6, Sultanahmet, Fatih, Istanbul. The place had the feel of a family-run endeavor, and the staff were incredibly friendly and accommodating to our linguistically challenged presence. Indeed, I got the impression they were falling over backwards to cater to us. Around the corner is a similarly named Turgut Döner, but I do not believe they are affiliated. Adding to the confusion: TuR DÖNER’s paper placemats are apparently from Turgut Döner.

Turgut Döner placemat used at TuR DÖNER

Ursula and I both had the beef döner, which turned out to be way too much for us as it also came with TuR DÖNER’s incredible hummus.

Just one of our two beef döner kebab orders
TuR DÖNER hummus

This was my very first experience with döner kebab, but it certainly won’t be my last. Now, the next time I visit the Middle East (Abu Dhabi and Dubai articles will follow this series on Istanbul) I want to partake of the similar Arab dish shawarma. But for this day I was just glad we decided to go native:

Beef döner kebab from TuR DÖNER

Today is a two-fer. Not only are you getting a Fun Food Friday, you’re also being treated to the first of several Fun Photo Fridays of Istanbul favorites:

Watch That First Step — It’s a Doozy
Blue Skies Above the Blue Mosque
Istanbul Balcony
Layers of the Hagia Sophia

Beginning next Monday I’ll take you on a photo cruise on the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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July 24, 2024 · 5:35 am

Istanbul — A Turkish Breakfast and Out on Foot in Sultanahmet


Old ruin just up the street from our hotel, Cankurtaran at Akbıyık Cd. No:8

I‘m not going to mention the name of our hotel (leave me a comment and I’ll get back to you on that) because Ursula doesn’t want me to publicly reveal this wonderful boutique establishment, lest we have trouble getting back into it. Oh, what the heck. Here it is: Royan Suites Sultanahmet. Suffice it to say that we’ve already made reservations for a return early next year. Not only was this place perfectly situated, within easy walking distance of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, and Topkapi Palace, the staff were simply charming. We all became fast friends and had many conversations over our visits to the lobby for breakfast and refreshments. Here, for instance, is Jem:

Jem

Did I mention breakfast? There are several choices here, but by far our favorite was the traditional Turkish one. We had that every morning without fail.

Traditional Turkish breakfast

This spread, brought to our table each morning, was more than we could eat and kept us full well into the early evening.

Traditional Turkish breakfast

The serving was just absolutely incredible. It included fresh and roasted vegetables, various olives, meats, cheeses, fruits, and different spreads for the freshly baked bread.

Traditional Turkish breakfast
Freshly baked breads at our Traditional Turkish breakfast

Freshly fueld and ready to go, we hit the streets and headed for the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia just minutes away:

Blue Mosque

The line into the Blue Mosque was intimidating this day, as was the line into the Hagia Sophia, so we chose to hang around the outside area. If you want to see the interiors, here is my previous article complete with photographs: 54 Days at Sea — Istanbul; Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.

Hagia Sophia (right)

Just this area alone will give the sightseer much to ponder and the avid travel photographer a lot of fun shots:

Blue Mosque
Three of the Blue Mosque’s six minarets

On the grounds of the Blue Mosque is a very interesting structure with an even more intriguing name. Below is the German Fountain (Turkish: Alman Çeşmesi). It was gifted from Germany in 1900, and it commemorates the visit of Emporer Wilhelm II in October 1898.

German Fountain (Alman Çeşmesi, green dome at lower left)

This week I’ll be presenting a dual Fun Photo/Fun Food Friday. It will feature more photo favorite photos of this area as well as a great restaurant near our hotel for traditional döner kebab.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

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