8/29 Thursday
We
decide go on a cruise up the Bosporus, on a hop-on-hop-off ferry boat that runs
up past the huge bridges that cross the straits, and makes about six stops,
including two on the Asia side. It’s our opportunity to visit a new continent.
The tickets are only about $6 each, for a good five hours of boat ride.
The
ferry cruises close to the shore, giving us a very nice view of several palaces
on the waterfront, and also of the fortress ruins. There’s commentary over the
loudspeakers, in Turkish and English, but it’s too hard to understand.
At
several spots, locals come to swim, men and boys, at least. The water doesn’t
look very inviting. There’s a strong current and a lot of debris, and
jellyfish. But it must feel pretty good on a hot day.
As
we turn around and cruise along the Asia side, we see beautiful waterfront
villas and swanky homes, lots of yachts, lots of money. There doesn’t seem to
be much else going on near the water. We debark at our first stop on the Asia
side, where there’s a small palace and café, and a little farther down the
street, a small town. It’s kind of a let-down as we walk along a dusty back
street looking at a big empty lot. The palace on the water isn’t open for
tourists, but a photographer is using it as the background for a wedding
couple. Well, at least we are in Asia. Yippee! We stop in the café and have a
soda and a piece of pastry, then go over to the pier to get back on the next
ferry.
We
make the second Asia stop, where there’s a park at the landing and little more
of a business district for a few blocks. The ferry just runs up into the pier
with the bow covered with tires for stopping, then a couple guys pull out a
stairway, low tech stuff. At the park, kids are swimming and guys are working
out in this funny grown-up playground with gym equipment instead of swings. On
the lawn, three guys in black slacks and white shirts, likely hotel workers,
have each put down a piece of cardboard and are fast asleep under the trees.
It’s all very nice, but it’s hard not to to note that for the most part, the
women don’t share any of this public life. In the areas near the universities,
of which there are several, the streets are crowded with a cosmopolitan mix of
people, men and women, and young people sit in mixed groups at the cafes and in
the parks. But more likely, the people we interact with in the stores or
restaurants are all men.
There
are restaurants and cafes on the water, and a spot where the locals fish, and
some tourist shops. I’m looking high and low for postcards. I haven’t seen any
yet in all our wanderings. One man who has a souvenir shop tells me “No
postcards, Internet, internet.” That’s sad. We stop for some tea while we wait
for the ferry. There’s a guy in the cobblestone street in front of the café
talking to the sky. He has a coffeecup on the ground in front of him. We can’t
understand him, but he’s some kind of panhandler. He’s going on for fifteen or
twenty minutes, when the waiter comes out and obviously suggests he move along.
Then he picks up the guy’s coffeecup and takes it, returning it filled with
tea. The guy thanks him and walks away.
1 Video Included
Istanbul Ferry Ride
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