Our last full day in Istanbul and we decided to do the waterways. There are five Islands that surround Istanbul and they are called the Princes Islands. We caught the metro to Taksim Square where you will find a block of hotels including the Grand Hyatt and the Intercontinental. We walked through a very modern city, so different to the old part of Istanbul.
Frequently throughout the day you see the older men dragging carts around, either full of fruit and veggies or just a a means of transporting goods. This picture is on a bit of an angle, but it was also a very steep hill.
Andy posing next to a painted flower pot - yes we love the hat, it is good for keeping the sun off.
I can assure you I resisted the urge to buy one of these bedspreads, but this type of thing is very common.
Some of the streetscapes on this side of the harbour.
We even found the local David Jones, yes this one is for you Lizzie!
At the top of this section we came across a town square. A rather nice fountain
A statue highlighting Ataturk's reign.
And I know I have mentioned the fact that Istanbul seems to be overrun by cats, as they say at least you know they will keep the mouse population at bay. But this pampered pooch is actually sleeping on a hand knitted wrap ... hmmmm
A mini tram that just runs around the shopping centre
Yes, we did take one or two wrong turns, but what a wonderful stadium.
And enticingly we can see the sea in the distance. It did take a few up hill and down dale measures to get to it though!
We then wound our way down to the ferry and caught the ferry and enjoyed the view as it stopped at four of the five islands. Yes, I thought it was the fifth stop so we missed the final island. Finally we make it to Kabatas Ferry Terminal
The cost of the ticket was about $2.50
And we got a window seat.
This is a great view of Topkapi Palace from the other side, with the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia in the background.
On each bend there appears to be another monumental building.
Note the two cruise liners in the background. We saw them when were were is Kusadasi.
I cannot believe the number of houses in Istanbul, but after all they do need to house 24 million people. The official number is 18 million, but hearsay says that with the illegal immigrants 24 is more like it.
A bit hard to see, but there were at least 10 ships anchored off the coast waiting to load cargo.
More skyline dwarfing the two cruise ships.
This impressive building is actually empty upon closer inspection - it is being renovated
And we haven't even reached the second stop yet. Here we are at Kinaliada - the second Island
This is definitely the long and the short of it!
White deck chairs are in vogue here.
Close inspection reveals very rocky beaches - no wonder deck chairs are popular
Next stop Burgazadasi
Note the mansion in the hillside surrounded by crops. The main industry of turkey is agriculture so one of the guides told me
More beautiful homes on this island.
And more!
Our next stop was Heybeliada and this is where we got off. We had been on the ferry for 1.5 hours at this point.
A really sleep seaside village that is a popular stopping point for locals.
One gorgeous mansion here.
A little marina here!
Bike riding is one of the highlights along with horse and cart rides.
This was certainly no sedate pony ride. This driver flew around the corner.
A beautiful new home here.
And right next door. One of the original houses in very bad condition.
This is a crowd of over 200 waiting to get back on the ferry at our second stop back. I was glad we already had a seat.
We were very tired at the end of our big day on the water, but what a wonderful memory.
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