Touring Asian Side of Istanbul

We had a lovely breakfast in the World Cafe before we walked to the Peninsula Hotel which was about a 15 minute walk from the port.

We met our guide outside the hotel. She is of Jewish heritage and has been living in Istanbul since she was 16 years old. She had a very strong personality and opinions about Turkish Politics and it's leaders. She is a documentary film maker and has had many friends put in jail due to their political stance.

We took the ferry across the very busy Bosphorus. There were ferries, cargo ships, fishing boats and private yachts sailing in all different directions.

The city of Istanbul is divided into the European and Asian sides by the Bosphorus.

When we reached the Asian side, we made our way to a mosque which was unique because it was built by a female who was the daughter of a Sultan.

The mosque was closed for cleaning so we walked through a small market and then viewed another mosque from the outside before heading back to the first mosque where the cleaning had been completed.

After touring to interior of the mosque, we hopped in a very small cab-there was 6 of us in a car the size of a Ford Focus-it was hilarious!

The cab dropped us off in a residential area where there was a synagogue surrounded by barricades and policemen.

We walked through the neighborhood viewing churches, houses and a communal garden.

We stopped by a tea shop before catching a public bus which took us back to the ferry.

We took another ferry across the Bosphorus and walked back to the ship.

This was a very interesting tour which gave us an alternate viewpoint of politics and culture in Turkey.Read more