Istanbul is the only city in the world that is located on two continents – Europe and Asia.  It was once the center of the world as the second capital of the Roman Empire.

It also has 7000 mosques!  This sighting was the first of many we saw or visited.

We were waiting for our boat to cruise the Bosporus Strait when we saw this vessel- a water vacuum cleaner.

The Bosporus Strait, the narrowest in the world, connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. The Sea of Marmara connects with the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas.

The Bosporus Strait is natural with a length of 31 kilometers and a maximum width in the north of 3.7 kilometers. The narrowest point is 700 meters wide.

There is our boat!

We were offered a Turkish snack called Simit.  It is kind of a pretzel-bagel often served for breakfast. It was served with hot tea. Turkey is famous for coffee but residents drink way more tea per capita than coffee.

Most of the historical highlights are on the European side of the Bosporus Strait.

Those highlights included mosques and nineteenth century Ottoman palaces.

This building was the second palace from the Ottoman period. It is now a hotel.

This is the Bosporus Bridge built in 1973. It was the first bridge between the continents.

This bridge, from 1989, goes between the shortest distance between the two continents. I wonder why they didn’t build that one first.

There are now three bridges and an underwater tunnel for cars and trains. 

That is a very large Turkish flag!

The Rumeli Fortress  was completed in six months, beginning in 1452) by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror as preparation for a siege against Constantinople (the former name of Istanbul).

The 53 day siege resulted in the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire in May 1453. After conquering the city, Mehmet made Constantinople the new Ottoman capital. 

We left the boat and walked to The Spice Market, also called the  Egyptian Market. 

It dates back to 1663. 

Istanbul was the final destination on the Silk Road and a distribution center throughout Europe. 

Spice trading with Venice began in the 13th century and eventually included spices from India and Southeast Asia.

As we were finished in the market, we enjoyed watching the antics of the men in the ice cream booth. Think Seattle’s Pike’s Place Market but with ice cream instead of fish.

The market is adjacent to the New Mosque.

Also nearby was the Galata Tower. When built in 1348, it was the tallest building in Constantinople.  After the Turkish conquest in 1453, the tower was allowed to survive and was turned into a prison. 

It was from the roof of the tower that Herarfen Ahmed Celebi strapped on wings and jumped making the first intercontinental flight. He left the European side of the city and flew to the Asian side of the city in 1638.

The tower’s roof was destroyed during a storm in 1875 and remained that way for many years. In 1965, the roof and interior were reconstructed and opened to the public. It has been a museum since 2020.

That evening we went on a Kebob Dinner Tour. The company was great and our food was delicious.

The options were many and I chose this picture from six that I took of various courses.

I was able to try raki – a strong liquor similar to oozo in Greece.  I liked it very much but I like black licorice.  Randy doesn’t, so he didn’t. The picture shows my beer, my raki and my tea. Sheesh!

It came up in conversation that my birthday had been the previous day.  The couple we were sitting with informed the waiter and they sang and brought me a celebratory rice pudding dessert.  It was one of the best things I ate on the whole trip!

We returned to the port and went again into the cleanest bus loading and drop off area we have ever been in anywhere. Istanbul, in general, is very clean. 

We concluded day one of our two day stay in Istanbul on September 26, 2023. 

Next Up: Day 2 in Istanbul visiting the Blue Mosque and St. Sophia