As winter melted into summer, this is what my daily walk to class (and to Bebek) every day. This is from the point near the entrance to campus over the Bosphorus.
Sigh...paradise, right? This site and the path to Bebek was required for my first Istanbul mini-adventure: the Rumelihasari.
Rumelihisari translates to "The Fortress of Europe" and was built by Mehmet the Conqueror before his conquest of Constantinople in 1453. It was from this site that he launched his attack on the city. The fortress itself is built on the narrowest point of the Bosphorus, making it an excellent strategic fort as well. The outside was built of stone and resembled the typical conception of what a medieval castle looks like. I had been wanting to explore this place ever since I moved there in February. On my first attempt, I discovered (on a Wednesday) that the place is closed on Wednesdays. The inside was cool, letting you climb up the stairs to see all the parts of it. The striking thing about the place (from a safety standard) was that most of the stairs did not have any rails or ways to keep you from falling. Here are some of my favorite pictures from Rumelihisari (by the way, my neighborhood, Rümelihisarüstü, is named after this fortress).
Çamlica
In the afternoon on the same day as I visited Rumeli Hisari, I visited Çamlıca. Çamlıca is the name of a large hill (and consequently governing district) on the Asian side of Istanbul. Çamlıca is the highest point in Istanbul and from here one can see the entire rest of the city (from Topkapi in Beyoglu to the skyscrapers in Levent to both bridges crossing the Bosphorus). No bus (that I could find) goes directly to Çamlıca. I took a bus to the Asian side and got off near the entrance. From there, I hiked up almost a mile (all uphill) to the top of Çamlıca. By the time I had reached the top, I was quite hungry. There was a place at the top which served kumpir. Kumpir is basically a Turkish stuffed potato. It had cheese, sour cream, and several other types of ingredients. I LOVED kumpir because they put bulgar in it (truthfully I could probably make it in the US but I haven't tried). After my lunch meal, I walked the rest of the way to the park. The park overlooked an amazing view of Istanbul. I am glad I was able to come see it. Here are some selected pictures from the place:
Princes' Islands
On another day, I took a day trip to the Princes' Islands and specifically to the largest island, Büyükada. The islands are a short ferry ride from Istanbul. The ferry ride to the island itself was a treat. From the water, I got to see the historic peninsula. On the other side we passed the island where Abdullah Ocalan (former leader of the PKK) is being held. The approach to the islands is really pretty too. I only really had time to go on the largest island, even though there are several other islands available to visit. As I stepped off of the boat, there was a little town near the harbor full of overpriced restaurants.
Büyükada, itself, is a very touristy place, so this is not surprising. The island has traditionally been an important place in Turkish history (royalty were exiled here and Leon Trotsky from the USSR lived here when he was exiled from the Soviet Union). There are many ornate houses on the island because it became a retreat for the wealthy during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Motorized vehicles of any kind are strictly prohibited on the island and so the only way to get around is by walking, bicycling, or taking a horse drawn carriage. I decided to walk. The island itself has two peaks. The furthest one from the ferry is where I went. The monastery at the top was called Ayios Nikolaos. The hike to the top was really tough (the hill was pretty steep). I actually had to stop a few times and sit down. Stupidly, I had forgotten to take water with me.
I was rewarded handsomly by the view at the top of the mountain. There was also a pretty church to go inside. I actually was very lucky. At first the Greek monks were not going to let me enter because I was wearing shorts. The inside was very ornately decorated, like many other Greek Orthodox churches. I also took some amazing pictures from the top of the mountain
From the top of the mountain, I hiked back down and found a private beach nearby. I was going to go swimming, but then I found out that it cost something like 20 Lira to swim there and decided that I didn't need to swim that badly. Instead, I ate lunch at one of those local restaurants. I then walked about half way back towards the ferry before I realized that I had left my wallet at the place where I ate lunch and had to go all the way back to get it. Then, I made my way back to the ferry and came home. Honestly, the islands were very pretty, but it would have been more enjoyable if I hadn't been alone. I think I would like to come back and visit again with company. I will say, I did enjoy going and seeing the island (as it was quite beautiful) and I got a lot of exercise walking all over the place!
Sunday Brunch
The last of my little day trips was more of a morning trip. As a side job, Elif tutors Turkish people in English. Elif happened to mention me to one of her students and said that I would be available one morning for breakfast if she wanted to have the opportunity to talk to a native English person (she had never had the opportunity). I was more than happy to have an excuse to go to the Asian side of Istanbul, meet a new person, and have free food. :) It was nice of Elif to suggest it to her student and to invite me along. After an hour of traveling (traveling to the Asian side is always a hassle), we made it to their home. Did I also mention that I had to get up at 7:30am? Grrr...
Anyways, we got to their home and the woman had a really nice leisurely sunday brunch prepared for us. At first she was rather quiet and only talked to Elif. I think she was nervous, but Elif prodded her a bit and told her not to be. I decided that it would be my job to try and help the situation, so I started asking her questions. Basically, any question I could think of (from the instruments on the walls in their house to what she did for a living to her likes/dislikes, favorite foods, etc). I was doing anything I could to get her to speak English. Overally, she came out of her shell a little bit but didn't talk to me too much. I hope Elif didn't think it was too much of a waste to have me there. Surprisingly, her husband spoke perfect English. I guess he didn't want to teach her or didn't have the time between his job and other things in life. I actually had some sympathy for the woman. After living in her country and being in many situations where I couldn't understand what was going on and people pushing me to speak (it was good for me but often nervewracking and awkward), I could really understand where she was coming from. All in all, I was happy with the experience because of the free food and I had fun meeting one of Elif's students.
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