Tuesday 22 September
Today we got a public ferry on the Bosphorus to the end of the line near the Black Sea which took about 1 hour.
Istanbul near the Bosphorus
From the ferry there was a view of the restaurant under the bridge where we had lunch the day before, along with all the keen fishermen with their lines hanging over the bridge into the Bosphorus.
Restaurant under the bridge at the Bosphorus
It was a beautiful day to be cruising on the Bosphorus with views to the east and west as we crisscrossed to each ferry terminal.
view from the ferry on the Bosphorus
seagull
Lunch again, there was a choice of sardines, sea bass and gilt head bream. I chose gilt head which was delicious. Desert generally does not interest me but we had a desert ?? kana feh (not sure if this is correct but check the photo) which tasted of sesame seeds and was like a baked custard.
desert
At the top of the hill was the ruins of a Byzantine castle (Yaros Kalesi) with a view to the Black Sea and near the fishing village of Anadolu Kavağı.
Dinner was in the rooftop restaurant in the hotel next door and we had a vegetarian Turkish meal. Afterwards we lounged on the big cushions in the outside smoking area with a beautiful view across Istanbul and the Bosphorus, chatting to guides Genghis and Erica.
rooftop view of Istanbul at night