Bosphorus Cruise

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Geo: 41.0069, 28.9816

Ferry day on the Bosphorous. There are several ways to take this trip. There are numerous private companies who are happy to take you but we did it the more local way using the regular ferry service. The trip is about 90 minutes each way with a 3 hour stop at one end at a small village which seems to have 2 functions - feed tourists and a seemingly large military presence. The latter is likely explained by the fact that the village is situated close to the opening to the Black Sea and is therefore a strategic location. When leaving the boat at the village there are numerous restaurants trying to "invite" you in but we were lucky to find a small cafe with a little garden in the back where we had a light lunch. During the trip one becomes aware of the large population in the Istanbul area. We have been quoted figures of 15 - 25 million. Typically there are many affluent homes close to the water with larger apartment buildings behind. Boats are very much a fact of life on the Bosphorus with numerous ferries, freighters and pleasure craft. One of the Coast Guard boats looked like a high speed pursuit boat like what you would expect the very rich to own. This trip was a bargain with the cost being 25 Turkish Lira (about $16) return.

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Comments

[Sandy]

Hi, This cruise was my favorite part of Turkey. We climbed to the top of the hill to see the Black Sea and then down again for ice- cream. Hope you are enjoying the Turkish cuisine as I did.

[Carla]

Oh, nice legs John.