Istanbul, Turkey: Kadıköy {in Asia}

Actual date of this event: 5 April

Luke and I went to Asia, did you know? Allrightallrigthallright, we went to an itty bitty portion of Asia, that really doesn't represent Asia at all, but we were on the soil, so it totally counts! Yeah?

We spent half a day on the Asian side of Istanbul. We hopped on a ferry at Eminönü and floated our way to Kadıköy. It was really nice to make this journey because we were able to get new views of some of the major sights.

{Topkapi Palace}

{Blue Mosque}

{Hagia Sophia}

When we arrived and hopped off the boat, my head was swirling. They were sooooo many people going in every direction and at every speed. It was a bit overwhelming! We survived, but I just wasn't expecting it.

We decided to find the quietest side street, so we could figure out where we needed to go. We had our tummies set on having Turkish pizza for lunch at Halil Lahmacun. It was really interesting... in a good way... and also cheap which is always a plus!

After we ate, we determined there wasn't really anywhere else to go, so we wandered around a bit. We really only stayed in a tiny portion of Kadıköy, so I am not at all claiming to know the area. During our time in Asia (haha), we stopped for a few drinks. Did some people watching. Made up our own way to play backgammon (I won). Warded off some beggars. Watched some football (soccer) on the TV. Warded off more beggars. Basically acted like we belonged as much as possible except my blonde hair was still a big give away.

Once we started to get hungry, we went back to the port to see when the last departure back to Eminönü was. I am so glad we did because the last departure was 30 minutes later at 8pm! I really think we read the timetable incorrectly though... that seems really early, especially for a Saturday! Anyway, it was pretty neat taking the ride back. We didn't get to see sunset, but the sunlight disappeared along the way, so we watched the lights appear on the buildings and mosques. The Bosphorus Bridge looked really cool all lit up. We didn't get great pictures though because the boat was rockin' and neither of us really knows how to properly use a camera. :-(

I wish we could have spent more time on the Asian side. There isn't too much for tourists, but there are a few things. It was nice to see a different side of Istanbul than where we spent most of our time though.

Other Istanbul Posts: Galata Tower, Beyoğlu, The Mosques, Hagia Sophia & Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace, The Bazaars & Galata Bridge, Kariye Museum & Theodosian Wall, Bosphorus & Golden Horn, Kadıköy

RANDOM FACT:
A cluster of nine islands, called Princes' Islands, lies off the coast in the Sea of Marmara. To visit these islands, one needs to take a ferry from Kadıköy. (This was something else I wanted to do while in Istanbul, but we did not have time.)