With such a full day yesterday, I seem to have come down a little under the weather with a sore throat. I slept in but after breakfast regained my motivation.
I headed out with several ideas in my head but my feet took me to Kabatas where I boarded the 1130 ferry to Prince’s Island.
The crowded journey to the last island Buyukada took 2h with a stop in Kadikoy and three islands in the Prince’s Island group. I reckon if it had been non-stop, the journey would have taken about an hour. It does take time to dock at each stop and travel between the islands even though they are quite close together. It would have been quite a nice journey if it hadn’t been for the crowd; we saw some dolphins leaping through the water.
Even from there, the urban sprawl of Istanbul was still with us. With a population of 14 million, the city extends far out. We had escaped the city’s traffic as there are no cars but only horsecarts and electric bike/trikes here. But we had not escaped the crowds; in fact I thought it was more crowded here than in the city.
Walking beyond the first few blocks, I did escape the crowd and sat myself down for lunch. After lunch, I decided it was too hot to go for any long meaningful walks; all I would see would be more of the same scenery of some lovely villas. The area in town was too crowded to be enjoyable. So I hopped on the 1500 ferry back to the city, after having spent only 90 minutes here. I guess it was worth it for the boat ride, change of scenery and lunch.
On the return journey, it was less crowded so I got to see a couple of travelling salesmen peddling their wares. The first was selling a good multi-purpose peeler. The second sole this plastic device which one would screw into a lemon or an orange. The juice starts to fill the device and the fruit becomes like a small bottle of juice! It comes with an integrated flip-top lid too. It was TL5 for a pack of six so I got one 🙂
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- Leaving Istanbul we pass Topkapi Palace.
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- Stopping at the other islands of the Prince’s Island group.
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- Stopping at the other islands of the Prince’s Island group.
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- Stopping at the other islands of the Prince’s Island group.
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- I hopped off at Buyukada, the furthest of the Prince’s Island group.
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- There are no cars on Buyukada; only horsecarts and electric bikes/trikes.
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- There are no cars on Buyukada; only horsecarts and electric bikes/trikes.
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- There are no cars on Buyukada; only horsecarts and electric bikes/trikes.
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- One of many fine homes and buildings on Buyukada.
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- One of many fine homes and buildings on Buyukada.
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- The port area of Buyukada; the urban sprawl of Istanbul is still very visible.
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- From Buyukada, the urban sprawl of Istanbul is still very visible.
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- From Buyukada, the urban sprawl of Istanbul is still very visible.
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- Going back to the Ferry Terminal.
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- Arriving back at greater Istanbul, specifically Kadikoy with Haydarpasar Train Station on the right.
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- Haydarpasar Train Station at Kadikoy on the Asian side of Istanbul.
