Two to Travel: Cruising the Bosphorus

Friday — April 23: Part I

I was surprised to see A&M already in the breakfast room when I went up about 30 minutes before our appointed meeting time. It turns out that they had a really lousy night. Music blaring all night from a store across the street (the same song over and over again) + a street performer playing his flute well into the wee hours of the morning + an overly-warm room = the perfect formula for a sleepless night. The hotel’s going to move them into a room facing the Bosphorus. That should take care of the noise problem at least.

As for me, I slept like a baby, thanks to A&M insisting on switching rooms with me yesterday. Only complaint — my room was also incredibly hot. It seems the AC has not been turned on yet. Unlike A&M’s room, however, I had a window that I could open to cool things off a bit.

On a positive note, breakfast, which is served on the 7th floor of the hotel, was good. An extensive selection of hot and cold items; lots of fruit and bread choices. And a view, albeit hazy, of the Bosphorus.

The early morning hour means that we have the breakfast room to ourselves.

View from the breakfast room.
(taken later in the day when it was not as hazy)

On another positive note, our ranks have increased by one. A&M’s son, Hakan, has joined us from Ankara where he’s going to the university. He arrived late last night and will be with us through the weekend.

April 23 is celebrated as “National Sovereignty Day and Children’s Day” in Turkey. (For more info, see this post.) It turns out that this was the perfect day for a drive along the European shore of the Boğaz (Bosphorus) as car traffic was light, at least in the morning.

From one end of the Bosphorus to the other.

Driving past the many landmarks that overlook the Boğaz, we made our first stop at Rumeli Hisarı (the Fortress of Europe), or more specifically, at the portion of the fortress that is now a museum (free to MüzeKart holders; otherwise 2TL, or about $1.25).

Rumeli Hisarı
(photo from Wikipedia)

The fortress was built in 1451-1452 on the orders of Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror) in preparation for the siege of Constantinople. Turning the construction of the towers and crenellated walls into a competition amongst his generals, Fatih managed to have the fortress completed in a mere four months. Together with Anadolu Hisarı, the twin fortress on the opposite shore that was built in 1393-1394 by Sultan Bayezit I, Rumeli Hisarı was designed to control sea traffic at the narrowest portion of the Boğaz. When Fatih Sultan Mehmet conquered Constantinople less than a year later, the fortress’s reason for being evaporated. Instead, it was used first as a toll booth, and later as barracks, a prison, and even an open-air theater.

“Hisarlar” — a miniature by Nusret Çolpan.
(from Wikipedia)

With a full day planned, I didn’t have time to roam the walls all the way to the top of the fortress this time. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my first-ever visit here.

After leaving the fortress, we enjoyed a brief spring-day stroll before continuing our drive to the point where the Boğaz opens up to Karadeniz (the Black Sea). By this time, we were all getting a bit hungry. So, on the way back, we stopped at the historic Sarıyer Börekçisi for a quick bite to eat. The börek (baked, flaky pastry that comes with a variety of fillings), was good, but perhaps a bit more greasy than we would have liked. And the portions were immense; word to the wise, order to share.