On a gorgeous, sunny morning, we boarded a boat for the “tourist” cruise of the Bosphorus. A few hours long, the boat promised to take us north along the Bosphorus, all the way up to the Black Sea, with a break for lunch at the oh-so-charming Asian fishing village of Anadolu Kavagi. Let’s just say that the crowds, the endless surrounding of people, were all starting to wear on me at this point, but we managed to enjoy the cruise in spite of it. On the way up I decided just to observe and didn’t touch my camera (I’m pretty sure I was turned off by the tourist paparazzi, always swarming at the edge of the deck), but after a pretty great lunch of fried mussels, we hopped back on board (with better seats, I may add), and I decided to take a few photos…
Leaving the fishing village of Anadolu Kavagi, which is also famous for the ruins of Yoros Castle. Rather than hike all the way up there, Jeremy and I ate mussels. It’s all about priorities.
With the Bosphorus being the major artery between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, there is constant shipping traffic. It’s pretty cool imagining where everything’s going…
I was struck by these power lines I first noticed while we were eating lunch. How many places in the world can you see power lines that bridge two continents?
Couldn’t resist. Our ferry captain gave these two a nice sendoff with the horn…
A brief pause at Kanlica…
The second bridge to span the Bosphorus, the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge…
On our last day in Istanbul, we ventured over to the Chora Church. While everyone visits the Hagia Sophia for its grandeur, history, and mosaics, the Chora Church is the one with the truly stunning display of mosaics.
The light inside the nave…the kind that fills you with awe. I can’t even describe the way it made the mosaics shimmer.
It’s hard to believe that everything that looks like gold…is, well, real gold.
Again, the light. Sigh.
Well, that’s about it from Istanbul. Hope you enjoyed my little travel essay! Next week it’s back to weddings…
