Turkey for Christmas - Part 11

The Bosphorus

We're back in Vapi today after an overnight flight from Istanbul to Mumbai. The temperature is pleasant, the pollution is visible, and sunset is 6:06 rather than 4:45.

Our last day in Istanbul was cloudy, chilly, and breezy -- a good day to spend indoors.

We started at the Carpet Museum, then walked down the hill into Gülhane Park to the Museum of the History of Islamic Technology & Science, where, not too surprisingly, the Arabic contribution to astronomy and mathematics was highlighted. While the museum bemoaned the fact that Arabic math ended up being attributed to European popularizers, they minimized the fact that a lot of this math (e.g. the concept of zero) originated in India, but is credited to Arabic scholars.

The main walk through Gülhane Park.

After spending about 3 hours standing on stone floors, we walked down to the waterfront and took a two-hour cruise on the Bosphorus. It was nice to be sitting in a relatively warm place.

The tour boats just barely fit beneath the Galata Bridge.

It seems that there's a mosque on the water every km or so.
The Dolmahbaçe Mosque is just to the right of the Kabatas ferry pier.
(And, yes, there are problems taking pictures through windows.)

The sultans liked to build summer palaces along the Bosphorus.
This is the Dolmabahçe Palace.

A hilly neighborhood behind yalis (villas) on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. 

One of two bathing pavilions (men and women) at the Beylerbeyi Palace.

The Kiz Kalesi (Maiden's Tower) where the Bosphorus meets the Sea of Marmara.

After the cruise, we walked back to our hotel through the narrow streets near the Suleymaniye Mosque.

The markets and bazaars are not for people who can't handle crowds!