Sights and Activities in Istanbul

The Bosphorus 

A stay in Istanbul is not complete without a traditional and unforgettable boat excursion up the Bosphorus, the strait that separates Europe and Asia. Its shores offer a delightful mixture of past and present, grand splendour and simple beauty.
 

Modern hotels stand next to yalı (waterfront wooden villas); marble palaces abut on rustic stone fortresses and elegant compounds neighbour small fishing villages.

The best way to see the Bosphorus is to board one of the passenger boats that regularly zigzag along the shores. Embark at Eminönü and stop alternately on the Asian and European sides of the strait! The round-trip excursion, very reasonably priced, takes about six hours. For those who want a private voyage, there are agencies that specialize in organizing day or night-time mini-cruises.

During the trip you will go past the magnificent Dolmabahçe Palace, while further along rise the green parks and imperial pavilions of the Yıldız Palace. To the waterfront of the parks stands the Çırağan Palace, refurbished in 1874 by Sultan Abdülaziz, and now restored as a grand hotel. For 300m along the Bosphorus shore, its ornate marble facades reflect the swiftly moving water. At Ortaköy, the next stop, every Sunday artists gather to exhibit their works in a streetside gallery with the variety of people creating a lively scene. Sample a tasty kumpir (baked potato) from one of the street vendors. And note its church, mosque and synagogue that have existed side by side for hundreds of years – a tribute to Turkey's tolerance at the grass-roots level. Overshadowing Istanbul's traditional architecture at Ortaköy is one of the world's largest suspension bridges, the Boğaziçi Bridge, linking Europe and Asia.