Advertisement
Published: December 30th 2011
Edit Blog Post
Day 2
Best weather during my stay! If I can describe the weather in my 2nd day in Istanbul: PERFECT. But the whole day? Eh, not so much, but at least I was able to do everything as expected.
Today is my traditional Bosphorus tour day, and the weather was much better than yesterday's. The sunny was finally fully visible, and the sunlight created a magical scenic view on the Bosphorus, that I had to eat breakfast outside - as if I didn't care if I get sunburnt.
The tour stops at different ports throughout the Bosphorus, from the 1st port in Eminonu, to the town of Anadolu Kavagi on the northern part of Istanbul. Now I was a bit hesitant as to whether I should get off at Anadolu Kavagi or not, as I've seen alot of reviews regarding the town in the internet, and alot of people just described it as a town full of restaurants & people that will stop at nothing to lure you to their restaurants by slapping the menu on your faces. In the end, I decided to go for it. There were alot of us on the boat anyway, so I could just simply blend
Blue Mosque
In the morning. in among them to avoid being meddled. (hehe)
Probably one of the most annoying part if today was waiting for the boat to leave Eminonu, The announcement kept repeating the tour info over & over again, that I decided to make it out in English while waiting:
"Dear passengers, Full Bosphorus Tour - 10:35. Save your dwelmus. Escapes that's onward to space holiday kit that surpass to read & collect in on jacket."
(this gave me shivers when I typed this BTW)
(the wrong grammar was in Turkish, not English BTW!! I just made fun of it)
(... oh great, now I sound like a retard. Please, just... disregard this. Why did I even put this OMG)
The best moment of the cruise started right away when we left the dock. A huge flock of seagulls started following us & flew by the viewing area, that it harmonized with the songs I was listening to during the cruise. Seeing these huge flock of birds flying around the city just makes Istanbul another reason why it's so unique. We passed by various landmarks such as Rumeli Hisari,
Yenikoy, and the Bosphorus Bridge - the bridge that connects the two continents, Europe and Asia. The Ortakoy Mosque was sadly under renovation, so all we saw was a cheap ad covering the mosque itself.
At 12 AM, before the boat docked in Anadolu Kavagi, there were already 'greeters' at restaurants waving their hands to welcome us. I was just like "Here were go..." in a sarcastic voice & took a sip of water - much like when Isis said when Camille entered the house (I'm talking about the 1st episode of ANTM All-Stars BTW). Pretty much every tourist got bothered when the hawkers started slapping their menus at us, but luckily I was able to pass them, and it worked!
We all had 3 hours to spend time in Anadolu Kavagi, so I headed to Yoros Castle, which was only significant landmark in the town. The castle was positioned on a hill, overlooking the opening of the Black Sea. Sadly, that was the only thing interesting there, as the castle was in crumbles, and the interior is inaccessible. Oh well, you get what you paid for.
It was time for
lunch as I only had 2 hours before the boat leaves. As if I don't have any choice where to eat, since the hawkers have convinced me enough that those are the only places where I can eat. I decided to eat at Yosun Restaurant, since it was only at the left side of the port. I have to say, I think I paid a ridiculous amount for what I ordered. I ordered one fish (bonito) and a calamari appetizer for a total of 30 TL. The food was good & average, but doesn't really live up to what it costed. Eh, it was either this or the other restaurants that has the same price anyway.
Before I went to Istanbul, I promised to myself that I would visit Rumeli Hisari for one particular reason: it appeared in "The Amazing Race: Season 7" & served as a pitstop. I knew getting there means taking a taxi, but its not like I had any choice. I was supposed to take a taxi from the port of Yenikoy to Rumeli Hisari, but since the cruise route changed, I decided to get off at Kanlica instead. Kanlica might look nearer
to Rumeli Hisari, but it's on the Asian side, so this meant crossing the bridge. I took the taxi which costed 20 TL, so even with that price, I was able to cross the 2 continents in 1 minute!
Rumeli Hisari is a crumbling fortress, which had a fantastic view of the Bosphorus strait. The hike around the fortress was also fantastic and quiet - too bad the main tower wasn't accessible anymore, which was part of the Roadblock in the race. Plus, I arrived there at 4:30, so I only had 30 minutes before the fortress closed.
Last on my list was Kanyon Mall. I decided that I want to experience the modern life of Istanbul, and so I did. Kanyon is a mall in Levent district (which is also the city's financial district), and the mall won an award in an architectural contest or something. The district of Levent is pretty much incomparable to old town Istanbul. I mean, it reminded me so much of Makati City. If someone started here first, no one would ever believe that beyond these concrete towers, there is a place filled with old mosques, streets filled
with Turkish handicrafts, and shisha pubs just 30 minutes away.
Aside from that, Levent is pretty 'hip'. All the people dressed well, American music played all around, modern architectures are everywhere, and some good looking guys as well (sorry I just had to put this in!). Going around Levent was really exciting, and it's like a different world in Istanbul.
ISTANBUL, Y U SO DIVERSE?!
(one more entry coming. PROMISE!)
Advertisement
Tot: 0.093s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 7; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0635s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb