A Ride on the Feribot; Anadolu Kavagi

Day three was the worst weather we had the whole five days we were in Istanbul. The sky was dark, the clouds were thick and low and there was a damp, blustery wind blowing. All day. It drizzled. All day. Visibility was severely hampered by the weather conditions. All day. It was face numbingly chilly. All. Damn. Day.

In short, a perfect day for a boat ride on the Bosphorus. Wooohoooo!!


The Feribot

The Feribot

The feribot (ferry boat, get it?) was spacious and warm and there was actually a pretty good sized crowd on board that day. We taxied down from the hotel to the landing, took a little walk around the neighborhood and, after a little more sightseeing, got on the boat.

The boat departs from Eminonu (near the spice bazaar and Galata Bridge) and heads north towards the Black Sea. It makes several stops along the European side before reaching a small town at the very northern end of the Bosphorous on the Asian side called Anadolu Kavagi. It parks there for three hours before turning around and heading south, back to Eminonu and the heart of Istanbul. It is a very picturesque ride and a great way to see the sights along the Bosphorous without spending a ton of money.

Originally, the feribots were used by the residents of Istanbul as a means of daily transportation up and down the strait, but the operators noticed as time went along that more and more tourists were getting on and riding it all the way up and all the way back without getting off. So, they decided to start selling the trips as "Nostalgic Rides Along the Bosphorous". It wasn't nostalgic for me, but it was well worth the time and money. If the weather had been better I'm sure it would have been incredible.

Galata Tower

Galata Tower

It is said that if you dig deep enough anywhere in Turkey you'll find evidence of ancient cultures. I'm sure that is not too far from the literal truth. The most riveting thing about Istanbul, for me, is that anywhere you travel in the city you will see buildings, artwork, neighborhoods, that are older than most countries in the world. There is evidence of civilizations here that predate Christ.

The structure in the picture to the left is now known as Galata Tower. It was originally called the "Christea Turris" (Tower of Christ in Latin) when it was complete in 1348. It was built by the Genoese as part of the fortification surrounding the Genoese citadel of Galata. It is roughly 220 feet tall and has a commanding view of the Bosphorous and the city below. At times it was used as a lookout for military reasons. The Ottomans later used it to spot fires in the city. Now the top levels house a restaurant and nightclub and there are elevators to take visitors up and down. There are many sights to see along the Bosphorous, both old and new, and this is just one of them.

Dolmabahce Palace

Dolmabahce Palace

Dolmabahce Palace was built by the empire's 31st sultan, Abdulmecid I, and was constructed between the years 1843 and 1856. It's not all that old, but it is spectacular. It was home to six sultans from 1856 until the abolition of the caliphate in 1924. It sits right at the water's edge and it is beautiful, but again, had the weather been better the picture might do it justice.

Ataturk, the founder of the Republic and its first president, spent his last days in Dolmabahce. He passed away there November 10, 1938 at 9:05 am. For a time, all the clocks in the palace were set to 9:05 and left there. Now, only the clock in the room he died in remains set to 9:05.

Sights Unknown, Unnamed


I took many pictures along the way of things that looked interesting, and a few pictures that I just liked because they're good pictures. Here are some of the things I photographed not knowing what they were at the time. Some of them I've been able to look up and name here, and some not. I'll give what explanation I can in each caption. One thing I would like to say is that all the pictures used in this blog, unless credited to someone else, are taken by me. I hope you have enjoyed the ones you've already seen and I hope you keep coming back to see more.

A lighthouse in the distance.

Yaz getting after the biggest cookie I've ever seen.

One of the ferry stops along the way. Click on the picture
and check out the architecture. 

A view from the boat looking north
towards the Sultan Mehmet Bridge.

Mehmet Bridge, up close and personal.

An ancient fort flying the Turkish flag.
No idea who built it or when.

Ottoman era waterfront houses on the Bosphorus

More waterfront houses.
Click on the picture and check out the flock of storks
that flew into the picture at the upper right.
Honest to God. Freakin' storks.

Anadolu Kavagi


Anadolu Kavagi (Onna-doe-loo Kuh-vai) is the furthest stop to the north on this feribot ride. It is on the Asian side of the Bosphorous and within sight of the Black Sea (when it's not foggy and drizzly). Anadolu Kavagi sits opposite Rumeli Kavagi on the European side of the Bosphorus. Anadolu Kavagi is also home to the ruins of Yoros Castle, a Byzantine fort.

Anadolu Kavagi is also a fishing village and we had what was possibly the best meal of grilled fish and fresh vegetable I've ever had the pleasure of consuming.

Up the trail to Yoros Castle. 

The gates to Yoros Castle flanked by towers.
It was foggy, remember?

Typical Byzantine construction with alternating layers of stone and
brick tiles. These walls are several feet thick. 

This is what every stray dog I saw in Turkey looked like.
Large, calm and with a distinct air of "don't fuck with me".

Catch of the day. As fresh as any fish you've ever eaten unless you
walked it from the water's edge to the frying pan yourself. 

Cold, wet and waiting for customers. Glad to oblige. 

They call this "Levrek". It looked like sea bass to me and it was FANTASTIC.

It was a long day. Mom nodding off on the ride back.
She told me to delete this picture. Uh-huh.
Love you, mom.

That was it for the day's activities. The boat ride was six hours in duration and wore us all out pretty good. We went out for a local-style dinner, met up with one of my mother's friends from her previous trips to Turkey, had a little visit and went back to the hotel and to bed. Jet lag was almost licked by this point, but I was still tiring out early. Traveling is hard work, man. 

The next post will be one of the highlights of the trip. I'll be sharing the day we had in Sultanahmet seeing the Blue Mosque and the Mosaic Museum. Sound boring? Yeah, I don't think so. 

See you very soon...