Why not visit Asia?

It's Thursday, so why not take a leisurely cruise up the Bosporus and have lunch in Asia?  You're right. We'd be idiots not to do it.  The public ferry runs a trip up to the Black Sea once a day (1 1/2 hours each way) and has a well-timed lay-over of 3 hours in a tiny Asian fishing village.  Okay, it hasn't been 'just' a fishing village in a century, but Anadolu Kavagi is on the Asian side of the Bosporus where it meets the Black Sea. 

Shameless plug of the day:  Rick Steves is our god.  Seriously.  Over the years, we've found his sage advice to be priceless.  Today, it was simple:  sit on the left hand side of the boat each way.  You see the European side on the way north and the Asian side on the way south, when the light is better for pictures.  The young couple from St. Louis seated across from us on the return trip were, likewise, Steves-ophites and readily admitted that they were on the port side because of his advice.  Savvy kids, they.

This cruise really gives you a feel for how massive this city really is.  While the coastline of both shores is lined with multi-million dollar waterfront mansions (yalis), the 30 story office buildings continue, inland, for 3/4 of the trip north.  There are only two bridges that connect the continents right now, but a third is under construction--literally, at the point where the Bosporus meets the Black Sea.

The 'fishing' village is a weekend summer favorite for Istanbul residents and the restaurants base their day's work around the arrival of the ferry. Today, as we approached the dock, dozens of restaurants tried to catch the passengers' attention.  The favorite was EASILY the place that had the entire staff standing at the water's edge waving a dozen different flags from around the world.  No, we didn't dine there.

 

 

After a lovely lunch of fried mussels--with tar-a-tor sauce (incredible), cold meze and grilled red mullet (fresh from the Black Sea), we opted for the only thing that wasn't 'shopping' in town:  a hike, that was dishonestly described as 'moderate', up to the Koros Castle ruins.  The 'moderate' was a lie.  It might have been wiser not to have had a large lunch first.

Embarrassing American moment of the day:  At the ruins, I approached a Japanese couple (at least they were SPEAKING Japanese to each other) and crudely asked them to take our picture.  You know the rest of the story.  The guy says, 'No problem!' and, having posed us, said, 'Say cheese!'.  It's not the sort of idiom I learned in French class.  I'm sure he lives in Hyde Park.

After a late afternoon return and brief nap (we're on vacation.  don't judge.), we dined at a tiny basement restaurant (Gulhane Sark) and had the most memorable meal (so far) of our trip.  The owner (Anatolian) loved to talk politics and the state of Turkey and its farmers--and his views of their president.   They don't have a problem with voter turnout because you pay a fine if you don't vote! Terry was in heaven.  I strongly suspect we'll eat there again before we leave.  On the way back from dinner, we stopped and spent 15 minutes just sitting between the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque, both brilliantly illuminated, watching the dancing waters of the great fountain--easily overwhelmed by the city's welcoming hospitality and vitality.  Street vendors passed by selling grilled corn on the cob and wedges of watermelon.  Who wouldn't love this place.