Istanbul’s Top Sights - Istanbul - page 302

SIGHTS
Departure Point: Eminönü
Hop onto the boat at the Boğaz İskelesi (Bosphorus Ferry Dock) on the Eminönü quay near
the Galata Bridge. It's always a good idea to arrive 30 minutes or so before the scheduled
departure time and manoeuvre your way to the front of the queue that builds near the doors
leading to the dock. When these open and the boat can be boarded, you'll need to move fast
to score a good seat. The best spots are on the sides of the upper deck at the bow.
The Asian shore is to the right side of the ferry as it cruises up the strait, Europe is to the
left. When you start your trip, watch out for the small island of Kız Kulesi ( CLICK HERE ),
just off the Asian shore near Üsküdar. Just before the first stop at Beşiktaş, you'll pass the
grandiose Dolmabahçe Palace ( CLICK HERE ), built on the European shore of the Bosphorus
by Sultan Abdül Mecit between 1843 and 1854.
Beşiktaş to Kanlıca
After a brief stop at Beşiktaş, Çırağan Palace ( CLICK HERE ), once home to Sultan Abdül Az-
iz and now a luxury hotel, looms up on the left. Next to it is the long yellow building occu-
pied by the prestigious Galatasaray University. On the Asian shore is the Fethi Ahmed Paşa
Yalı, a wide white building with a red-tiled roof that was built in the pretty suburb of Kuz-
guncuk in the late 18th century. The word yalı comes from the Greek word for 'coast', and
describes the timber summer residences along the Bosphorus built by Ottoman aristocracy
and foreign ambassadors in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, now all protected by the
country's heritage laws. A little further along on your left is the pretty Ortaköy Mosque (
CLICK HERE ), its dome and two minarets dwarfed by the adjacent Bosphorus Bridge ,
opened in 1973 on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic.
Under the bridge on the European shore is the green-and-cream-coloured Hatice Sultan
Yalı OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP , once the home of Sultan Murad V's daughter, Hatice. On the
Asian side is the charming Beylerbeyi Palace ( CLICK HERE ) - look for its whimsical marble
bathing pavilions on the shore; one was for men, the other for the women of the Harem.
Past the small village of Çengelköy on the Asian side is the imposing Kuleli Military
School OFFLINE MAP (Çengelköy; Eminönü-Kavaklar tourist ferry) , built in 1860 and immortal-
ised in İrfan Orga's wonderful memoir, Portrait of a Turkish Family . Look out for its two
'witch-hat' towers.