Took a ferry from near Galata Bridge to the Asian side of Istanbul. It’s a good, inexpensive way to see Istanbul from the water.
I did a two hour boat tour of the Bosphorus waterway two days ago but I wanted to go to the Asian side by boat.
There are lots of cargo ships, tankers mostly, anchored south of the Bosphorus Strait waiting their turn to go up the Bosphorus and into the Black Sea.
Took the tram to Galata Bridge. There’s a lot of fishermen there catching fish about four inches long and they keep them instead of throwing them back. Europeans have some good small fish recipes so maybe that’s why they keep them.
Near Galata Bridge is the Spice Bazaar. Got to taste several spice blends in one shop. Bought some Ottoman spice that’s supposed to be good on grilled meat. Cost about $5.
Galata Tower is an old watch tower. It has walls about 9 ft thick. It’s a stout building on a hill providing a great view of Istanbul. You can see the tower in the photo with the two fishermen.
You can go up it and there’s a balcony that encircles it near the top. I walked to the tower but I saw that there was the usual line to buy tickets and that the line wasn’t moving so I didn’t bother going up.
And finally, had dinner at a restaurant called The Ottoman Kitchen. It was a few minutes walk away from the guesthouse.
Had the pottery kababs with my dinner companion, Tabby. That’s what I named him or her. The food was good but the conversation was lacking. Tabby only wanted kababs, no small talk.
Really, I’m not a cat person but he or she was a nice little beggar.
Mike's Site 
Leave a comment