Today, we cruised along the Bosphorus Strait, a body of water that connects the Sea of Marmara (where we start) to the Black Sea (where we turn around), as well as separating the continents of Asia and Europe. The cruise takes about 90 minutes, plus a 3 hour break at Anadolu Kavagi, then 90 minutes back to the starting point. The weather was “mostly sunny”, which enabled us to see the turquoise color of the water in the strait. The Bosphorous tour is considered one of the top 10 things to do in Istanbul, so we checked it off.

Above are various scenes we saw from the ferry as we traveled up and down the strait, as we passed by many wooden villages, mosques and castles.  The lower right image shows a group that appeared to be military cadets in dress whites at the shore, cheering a rowboat of classmates as they passed by.  There was only the one boat though.  No others appeared to being racing against them, and there was no other indication of a race event.  We motored on past, scratching our heads over what was really going on.

For an extra 14TL (about $3.50 US), you can rent an audio tour in your preferred language.  I got one, and felt it provided a good narrative of the various highlights along the way.  The narrative talked about the various buildings we were passing, and some often interesting historic tidbits.  For example, as we crossed under the Bosphorus Bridge, we were told that the first recorded crossing was in 500BC, when Emperor Darius the Great of Persia created a bridge by lining ships side by side.  He then led 700,000 soldiers over that pontoon bridge to overwhelm Macedonia.

As is usually the case, it was the people that were most fascinating.  Here are a few that we met along the way, both on the ferry and in the village. John (top left) had 5 days between finishing school in Davis, CA., and starting a new career as a paramedic in Las Vegas, and chose to spend that time in Istanbul. It’s what we would have done at his age.

When we arrived in Anadolu Kavagi, we had three hours to explore the former fishing village before our return trip.  We opted to climb the very steep hill up to Yoros Castle.  At the top, we snacked on fried mussels, which the restaurants in this village are known for. This castle is the only historic remnant in town, and overlooks the Black Sea.  It is a rather small castle, compared to most others we have seen in Turkey, and was closed today.  Thus, even after climbing the hill, we could only see the outside and the expansive view.  Enroute on our walk to the castle, we passed a small cemetery.

We returned to Eminönü, the same port we had departed from. This ferry port is filled with food vendors of various sorts, so we decided to sample some of the food this time, including a very popular fish sandwich.  We had also seen some small donuts-like fried pastries many times (center).  This time, we decided to buy a cup (2TL, or about 60 cents US).  Sure enough. Glazed donuts for a treat.

We had also seen the red liquid with something-or-other in it (upper center and upper left) many times, and this time bought one to try (also 2TL).  Turned out to be pickles and cabbage in pickle juice.  Very popular with the locals to augment the fish sandwiches, but not my favorite…