Turkey Trot - Bosphorus Cruise

Turkey Trot - Overview
Turkey Trot - First Class
Turkey Trot - Are We There Yet?
Turkey Trot - Ephesus
Turkey Trot - Mary's House and Basilica of St. John
Turkey Trot - Swissotel Efes
Turkey Trot - Taking the Bus and Priene
Turkey Trot - Putting on the Ritz
Turkey Trot - The Blue Mosque
Turkey Trot - Topkapı Palace
Turkey Trot - Hagia Sophia
Turkey Trot - Carpets and Grand Bazaar
Turkey Trot - Dolmabahçe Palace and Taksim Square
Turkey Trot - Bosphorus Cruise
Turkey Trot - Turning Blu
Turkey Trot - Getting This Turkey Home

Our three nights at the Ritz were done and it was time to move to our final hotel for the trip, the Radisson Blu Bosphorus.  P and our driver came to pick us up and transfer us to our new hotel. Though the simple route would have been to drive down the the hill and along the Bosphorus until we reached the hotel, traffic was such a mess that we ended up taking a longer, but ultimately faster route.

As the hotel's name suggests, it's right on the waterfront and even has a small dock.  After a quick lunch and setting our luggage in our room, we boarded our private yacht (never thought I'd say that!) for a tour of the Bosphorus Strait.

Yes, that's my yacht. Why do you ask?

Our new hotel was in the Ortaköy area of Istanbul and this is known as the Ortaköy Mosque, though officially it's the the Büyük Mecidiye Camii (Grand Imperial Mosque of Sultan Abdülmecid).  It was built 1854-1856 and was designed by the same father-son team that designed Dolmabahçe Palace, which is just a few miles away.  This mosque was just a short distance from our hotel and we were glad the calls to prayer were only broadcast during normal waking hours!

Ortaköy Mosque

The mosque is not far from the Bosphorus Bridge, one of two suspension bridges crossing the Bosphorus Strait and thus linking Europe and Asia. (Ortaköy is on the European side.) When it was completed in 1973, it was the fourth longest suspension bridge in the world at 5,118 feet but now it ranks only 22nd. It has 6 lanes + 2 emergency lanes.  During rush hour four lanes go in one direction and two lanes in the other. During normal hours three lanes go in each direction.  Around 180,000 vehicles cross daily.

Ortakoy Mosque and the Bosphorus Bridge

The cruise offered us a unique perspective of various types of housing and we also passed by some marinas with very pretty boats.

Istanbul's version of San Francisco's Painted Ladies?

And, of course, there's a Starbucks.

Starbucks in Turkish is .... Starbucks

This is Rumelihisarı, or Ruleian Castle.  It was built in the early 1450s by Sultan Mehmed II, before he conquered Constantinople.  It's built on the narrowest point of the Bosphorus so it could control the sea traffic both for tolls and for preventing aid to the city when it was under siege.  Its name means "Fortress on the Land of the Romans" as the area was under the control of Constantine and the Roman Empire before the Sultan laid siege and took control of the city.  Today it's a museum and an open-air theater for concerts and festivals.

The three towers were named after the viziers who oversaw
their construction.

This is Kuleli Military High School, the oldest military high school in Turkey.  It was founded in 1845.

Kuleli Military High School

It was a lovely day for a cruise and we enjoyed being out on the water and enjoying the sun.  I could get used to this whole private yacht thing!