A fun Bosporus Cruise this morning. Also visiting two unique neighborhoods, the Fener and Balat districts.
Day 13, Sunday, July 5: Istanbul
Steve and I extended our stay in Istanbul by two days. We had a 6+ hour long excursion today. From our group there were four of us, Melissa and Jes joined us. (Nick who also stayed for an extra day, decided to attend a food tour.) We had a local guide who – telling the truth – wasn’t too much interested in the group, giving us the absolute minimum information. It felt strange especially after the excellence we experienced from our CEO, Flavia.
Nine more people joined our little group around 9 am at a different hotel than ours. Together we walked though the Spice Bazaar – this time in dry weather.
From 10 am for almost two hours, we took a lovely cruise on the Bosporus. From the boat, we got a glimpse of the two sides of Istanbul – Europe and Asia.
We passed under iconic bridges, and enjoyed seeing the beautiful buildings on both sides of the river (and the lovely breeze coming from the water).
Around noon, we took a tram to the Fener and Balat neighborhoods, located next to each another. Historically, Fener was the center of the Greek community, Balat became home to the Jewish population. Both neighborhoods have a rich history, and are on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Here we discovered a new side of Istanbul.
We started the walking tour by going through a little park towards Fener district’s remarkable Saint Stefan Bulgarian Orthodox Church. We noticed people relaxing in the shade of trees and cooking on special looking barbeques.
We learned from the information sign by the church that “the building was made from prefabricated iron material in its entirety.”
Briefly stopped by the remains of the old city walls.
Walked the narrow – and often very steep – streets of Balat, where laundry hung between balconies and from windows, and where many cafés offered relaxation to visitors.
The colorful houses and stairs have become recognizable symbols of this neighborhood, creating a very special atmosphere.
We climbed the steep street towards the red-brick Greek Orthodox College, which looked like an impressive castle.
Our walking tour ended in Fener by visiting the Church of St. George, an Eastern Orthodox cathedral, where we could admire historic icons and ornate religious work.
We ended the day, together with Melissa and Jes, at a rooftop terrace restaurant close to our hotel. Said our goodbyes to them, as they were leaving early next morning. Steve and I had one more day to continue exploring Istanbul.
