Cruising the Bosphorus
Today I have to kill the entire day before my flight to Kuala Lumpur at 0135 tomorrow morning. I stayed indoors after breakfast to attend to admin before checking out at 1130.
My rough plan was to hop on one of the ferries. At one station, they were going to Hydarpasar which I had just been a couple of weeks ago. At the next station, it was the Princes Islands which I had been twice. But there was a multistep ferry going to various places on the Bosphorus of which the only I could remember was Arnavutkoy.
I didn’t know where that was or what attractions would be there. But on the Istanbulkart, it didn’t matter. It would be cheap anyway. The stops on the Turyol-operated ferry (probably on behalf of the local authority as I paid on the Istanbulkart) turned out to be several points on the European side of the Bosphorus eg. Bebek, Emirgan, Istinye, Buyukdere, Arnavutkoy before turning at Sariyer before the third bridge on the Bosphorus. The journey took 1h30.
I checked on the map as we approached Sariyer and we were two-thirds of the way through the Bosphorus. One-third further and we would be at the Black Sea. Despite that, there were still lots of suburbs and towns, some of which looked expensive with lots of nice boats in marinas and beautiful restaurants.
At Sariyer, I rushed out and paid for another fare back in, so that not to miss the boat. As it turned out, the crew had a 20 min break before we were allowed to reboard. I don’t think I missed much not exploring at Sariyer or any of the other stops.
Total cost of the two rides was TRY2.65 and TRY1.95 making TRY 4.60 or USD0.80! That’s the cheapest 3h cruise you can buy in the world, perhaps!
I had previously done a Bosphorus Tour cruise and it was shorter, turning back after the second bridge. But it did go over to the Asian side I think. But that would have cost more if I remember correctly.
It wasn’t the best day to be on the water; in fact it rained a bit on the ride back. But it was a good way to kill the day.
On the return trip I finished early by hopping off at Besiktas around 1345 for lunch and a lookaround. The beautiful chicken kebab in a restaurant came with so many sides for only TRY33 (USD6).
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- Dolmabahce Palace from the water.
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- Asian side near the first bridge.
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- Not the most beautiful day for cruising the Bosphorus, the strait separating Europe and Asia. Asia on the left and Europe on the right.
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- Istanbul’s affluent suburbs by the sea. Many nice pleasure crafts, waterfront homes and waterfront restaurants. tag
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- Istanbul’s affluent suburbs by the sea. Many nice pleasure crafts, waterfront homes and waterfront restaurants. tag
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- Istanbul’s affluent suburbs by the sea. Many nice pleasure crafts, waterfront homes and waterfront restaurants. tag
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- Istanbul’s affluent suburbs by the sea. Many nice pleasure crafts, waterfront homes and waterfront restaurants. tag
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- Rumelihisarı, a historical palace museum.
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- Istanbul’s affluent suburbs by the sea. Many nice pleasure crafts, waterfront homes and waterfront restaurants. tag
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- Final stop on the ferry is Sariyer, about two-thirds of the way to the Black Sea.
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- Final stop on the ferry is Sariyer, about two-thirds of the way to the Black Sea.
Bath time
The weather had turned from grey to windy and cold. I had left my polar fleece jacket in my pack at the hotel. Well, the perfect way to warm up the internal temperature was to go to a Turkish Bath.
I found a local non-touristy one with reasonable prices:
- Hammam entry TRY50 (30 mins) for USD8
- Kese pouch scubbing TRY15 (10 mins) for USD2.60
- Foam massage TRY 15 (10 mins) for USD2.60
- Oil massage TRY50 (30 mins) for USD8
After three hours, I walked out feeling warm despite other on the street being wrapped up. I tramed to the hotel to retrieve my bag before walking to Sultanahmet for the airport bus. It was another quick trip to the Istanbul’s New Airport.
My thoughts on Istanbul’s New Airport
Having had three landings and departures at Istanbul’s new airport, I think I’m in a position to comment on it:
Observations:
- Turkish Airlines is the main airline there; it seems almost exclusive until you see the odd other airlines if you’re lucky.
- The extra security check-point into the building is a hassle if arriving by bus as a queue may build up. Walk to another entrance where there aren’t any bus passengers and it could be much faster.
- Check-in kiosks are not well-distributed; some Turkish Airlines check-in rows don’t have them.
- Arrival and departure immigration is fast! Well done!
- Water fountains are nearly non-existent. I saw one on my third departure in the concourse underneath the ISG lounge
- In one of the large areas near the boarding gates, there were only two toilets. There were no toilets in the area before that either. The queue in the male toilet was out the door, and that’s quite unusual. It’s common to see queues for female toilets in other places but never for men’s where there are urinals available.