Bosphorus
A traditional and unforgettable boat excursion along the Bosphorus is a must for a complete Istanbul trip, the curling strait which separates Asia from Europe and connects the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea. Best way to see the Bosphorus is to board one of the passenger boats that regularly zigzag along the coastline.
If you start from Eminonu you can see the silhuets of Hagia Sophia and Sultanahmet on one side of the Golden Horn and the Galata Tower on the other side. After passing the Galata Bridge, you will see the magnificent Topkapi Palace on the right just at the entrance of Bosphorus.
During the journey along the Bosphorus you can see the glorious Palace of Dolmabahce; farther along the hills of Bosphorus rise the green parks and imperial pavilions of the Yildiz Palace. On the sea shore edge of the parks stands the famous Ciragan Palace, refurbished in 1874 by Sultan Abdulaziz, and now restored as a grand hotel (Kempinski). For 250 meters along the Bosphorus coastline the palace's ornamental marble facades reflect the swiftly moving water. At the next stop along Bosphorus, Ortakoy, artists exhibit their art works in a streetside gallery every Sunday. The variety of people creates a lively and cosmopolitan scenery. In Ortakoy, you can visit a church, a synagogue and a mosque that have existed side by side for more than 400 years - a tribute to Turkish tolerance at the grass roots level. The Bosphorus Bridge, lying over Ortakoy, one of the world's largest suspension bridges, overshadows Istanbul's traditional architecture and links Asia to Europe over the Bosphorus.
The Beylerbeyi Palace lies across Ortakoy on the Asian side of Bosphorus. Behind the palace rises the Camlica Hill, the highest point in Istanbul with a magnificent view of the Bosphorus. On the opposite coast, Arnavutkoy with its wooden Ottoman villas create a contrast with the luxurious modern apartments of its neighbor, Bebek. A few hundred meters farther along stand the fortresses of Rumeli Hisari and Anadolu Hisari. The fortresses face each other across the coasts of Bosphorus as sentries guarding Istanbul. The Goksu Palace, graces the Asian coast of Bosphorus next to Anadolu Hisari. The second bridge between the two continents is the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge (FSM) passes the waterway just past these two fortresses.