Turkey 13 - Istanbul - Trying out the tram / a trip along the Bosphorous on the European side

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Today found us past hump day . When I worked Wednesday was always hump day . Now retired hump day is moveable and means whatever day of the week I choose it to be . This week we had reached over half way through the holiday so we had gone past hump day . There was less time left in Istanbul than we realised . We woke early. Being on holiday does not mean for us lying in until lunchtime . We had our penultimate breakfast to savour and as always it was excellent with a varied choice to pick at . The hotel felt busier mid week than it did when we arrived . There was no longer free refreshments as Ramadan had ended and if there were any complaints the lifts left me stuck in them once or twice , the lack of coffee to purchase and the lack of the restaurant being open. Not much to say went wrong really .

Following breakfast we packed up and left for Gulhane tram stop . Just down the street from our hotel . The tram starts its day from Bagcilar and reaches its final destination at Kabatas. Passing through the historic heart of the Old City it is the tram most used to traverse the city and is extremely busy all day every day. It begins running at 6am in the morning and stops around 11 at night . On a transport map the line is shown in blue . There are 12 main stops on this route mainly in the touristic side of the city . These are ones most people hop on and off. There were queues on the platforms which sit in the middle of the road . Cars drive to either side of them and then weave around in and around them . It all looks frantic but it works. From today just to complicate things a three day holiday starts which mean less workers but more tourists . Free transport too for the locals .

First try with the card . I put mine up to the machine that worked the barrier . It pinged green OK to go but the barrier did not open . Foolishly I was putting it on the wrong machine so the gate did not match . I should have shouted Glenn to go through when I realised but instead tried again . Same thing Realisation and I was seen to be climbing over the gate without paying when in fact I had paid twice . Moral pick right gate and machine . Glenn got through Ok and the wait for the tram was minimal. We even got a seat . We trundled down to Sirkeci station the transport hub for the Marmaray line . The amazing underground train system that was dug deep under the Bosphorous . Talk about the Channel Tunnel . They had done a good job here . Not so far but impressive as we were to find out when we decided to give it a go and head out to the Istanbul less discovered. The poorer seedier side of the city .

We reached the end of the line . The tram had proved easy enough with displays giving the details of the next stop. Announcements in both Turkish and English giving information .

We were not sure how much we were charged and assumed going out that the fare would be calculated on the number of stops passed . However there was no gate so we assumed that the fare was a flat rate . At each machine as you entered your card you were told your current balance so knowing when to top up the card was easy enough.

Our walk took us to the ferry port . We had booked our morning cruise with Headout and expected to find a desk /kiosk /someone hanging around from the company . We did find many desks including the Headout but none seem to be the company we were looking for . We were early enough so not a problem . We were sent by a lovely guy up the road , past the petrol station, past the building site and into the next port building . That took about five minutes walk and we were told to look for the cafe and the guys would be there . Of course, nothing is ever that easy . The port building was heaving . Day trippers were queueing for a day trip to the Princes Islands and we found the cafe. No sign of any man from HeadOUt . What we did not know at the time was the name of the company . Hint - check WhatsApp !!!! We asked again and were redirected back to where we head come from . Past the building site which we were getting to know quite well . Past the petrol station and back where we started out 15 minutes ago . .You start to lose the will to live at this point as no-one seemed to have any idea where we should be going. Eventually we found someone who told us the 2 and a half hour cruises we were booked on were running not from where we were but from where we just come from . He was extremely helpful and explained just who we were travelling with , sent us back with clear instructions . Yes we found the company eventually Velema Travel and they were brilliant but would have preferred instructions perhaps the day before rather than a few hours before . Better had it not been hidden in a Whats App message which we missed .

The young lad from the company was by now waiting for us . We booked in and sat on a stone bench waiting for the boat . We fell into conversation as you do with an Indian couple who had travelled in from Dubai where he worked as a doctor . He knew Wales. He had worked in Cardiff . Knew Merthyr, the valleys and Aberystwyth where he had run clinics. He smiled North Wales he said - Wrexham - football . You are doing well this season . It felt a small world . We spent the next two and half hours in their company.

The time came to load the boat . There were two decks . A few sat downstairs as it was covered and the wind was keen. Two adults with a child, the Indian couple , us and a further two ventured upstairs for a better view . We were offered blankets which were most welcome and the trip began. We were to spend an hour travelling along the European side of the city before returning along the Asian shore. Turkish music filtered into the background . Traditional tunes and more modern ones . We even found ourselves singing along to the old song Istanbul/Constantinople . Those of a certain age will understand . Those younger can google it . So catchy a tune we were pleased that they actually played it.

Our guide a lovely young man welcomed us aboard . Issued us with more welcome blankets. Off we set hugging the shoreline of the straits that divide Asia from Europe . The Sea of Marmara behind us and the Black Sea somewhere in the distance . Welcome , Welcome , snacks first . Turkish bagels with a fine turkish cheese , water and a few nibbles . A good start . We had paid about 43 euro for the trip and so far now we had found the boat it all looked pretty well organised . Our guide told us who he was and then started his talk on what we were seeing . He pointed out extremely expensive hotels with exclusive spots of the waterfront . Up there the Dolmabahce Palace . He went on to tell us the history of the palace . We were to find our guide was extremely knowledgeable , funny, knew just how much of the history to tell and when enough was enough . He was the perfect tour guide who knew his stuff and could pepper us with facts, funny anecdotes and even talked about politics . It was easy to see which side of the political spectrum he sat in . He described the district of Besiktas which once served as the administrative centre of the Ottoman empire between 1856 and 1887 and then from 1909 to 1922. The palace was built between 1843 and 1856 when the sultan felt like moving out of the Topkapi which must have felt very non European compared to Versailles for example . He wanted more luxury than he could get in the old Topkapi, style and modern to reflect a more modern Turkey . The construction cost five million Ottoman gold lira or the equivalent of 35 tonnes of gold . In todays money we are talking millions of dollars /pounds . It was building on this scale that started the Sick Man of Europe tag that stuck for many years . The palace is now a museum/stately home belonging to the state . It had been used as a presidential residence during the summers by Ataturk and he passed away there in 1938. We had not planned to visit as the palace was Baroque and very like anything we could see in Europe however with a bit of time on our hands we were within striking distance so perhaps we might change our minds . It had not been on the list of must do sites so a lot would depend on how we felt when we finished the trip we were on . It was large set in an area of 11 acres of prime sea frontage .

As we drifted past the front of the palace which seemed to go on and on our guide told us about shipping and Rococco architecture . We had no idea that there was a law that said two ships could not pass in the straits at the same time . We were later to see why when we returned on the Asian side . But for the moment it seems large container ships which use this only route from and to the Black Sea have to keep to the maritime rule which comprised only ships going upwards to the Black Sea could travel in a morning slot . Ships coming back could only travel in an afternoon slot . A one way system which seems to work .

Our drifting continued . He took photographs of everyone on the boat so we all had a photo to take home . The Dolmabahce Mosque passed by . Definately best appreciated from a new vantage point, given on our Bosphorus cruise . A strange building - our guide told us it is the only Baroque mosque in Istanbul . It fitted in with the Dolmabachi in style and probably would be lovely inside. Perhaps for another day . We did feel that we were spinning through time from the medieval to the Baroque and in places to the extreme modern .

OUr guide continued to point out palaces of which there many . The Ciragan Palace now a hotel . Preferred palace of the sultans it exhuded grandeur and history . Magnificent but would cost an arm and a leg to stay there and share what the Ottoman nobility enjoyed . As we moved slowly along always at a pleasant pace he explained the expensive houses on the banks where one was used for a famous Turkish Soap Opera . No we did not know it and another had been owned by a wealthy Turkish lady who was intending to leave it to the Turkish State . However she fell out with them and left it to the Egyptian Embassy . The most Expensive Starbucks lines the waterfront . His facts were so varied as he explained the wealthy areas of the city and the type of film stars who lived there .

We were then treated to coffee and nuts . The snacks kept on coming as he pointed out site after site and explained things simply in perfect English .

Nothing was sacred to him . He joked and laughed with us and was the perfect host .This was proving to be a most enjoyable morning as the sun was beginning to shine and the worth of the trip became clear . We were nearing the half way point of the trip with the Rumeli Fortress coming into view . A strong watchtower its advantage was its spot on the European side of the strait and with views across to the Asian side . Built by Sultan Mehmed II the huge structure with its walls were built in 1452. The military prowess was amazing to build such a thing is such short time . Our guide joked that it was closed at the moment for renovation . It took a short time to build originally but now it would be closed for years . But there again how many slaves were used to build it in 1452 compared with the three workers he regularly saw on the site . Our guide knew how to entertain us and keep us smiling . I guess he enjoyed his work and showed it . We passed under the bridges that span the Bosphorous . The Bosphorous Bridge a modern marvel linking the two continents . I think it was this bridge that was closed to pedestrians as when it was first built it became the go to suicide spot in the city .

Then of course there is football . How many clubs are situated on this shoreline ? On both sides Galatasaray , Fenerbahce and Besiktas the big three of Turkish football . OUr guide mentioned some big matches over the years but he never mentioned Liverpool but we remembered it . It was time to cross the strait to the Asian side and there was a treat waiting for us. Twenty minutes to wander round , visit a shop selling Turkish Yoghurt - Better than Greek we were told . Buffalo milk added for texture and flavour . A comfort break with a difference . We had started in Europe and were using the conveniences in Asia . It is not every day you do that . ’

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