We Sail the High Seas (Turkey 35)

After our debaucherous St. Patrick's celebration, Ben woke up with a mighty hangover.

I woke up drunk.  Very drunk.

Breakfast did little to alleviate either of our sorry states, and our scheduled cruise down the Bosphorus did not sound like a promising venture, especially as we set off from the shore under dark bellied clouds.

At least Ben and I managed to lumber onto the bus.  Several of our co-revelers were forced to hop cabs and race our little buses to the Strait after sleeping through their wake-up calls.

Thank god they sold coffee on the boat or there might have been a riot.  Ben righted himself fairly soon after ingesting several cups of murky Turkish mud.  My stomach fought it out with the waves for a while before the booze wore off and the hangover headache set in.  But I was a brave little toaster. 

How is it that, on vacation, I inevitably find myself on the water?  I am drawn to it, drawn to the sea, the salt, the rock of the waves.

Somehow, we dodged the more threatening rainclouds and the captain centered our craft away from shoreline swells.  Unfortunately, our Seyhun did not narrate the voyage ~ the Other Guide plowed over him and locked himself in the booth with the microphone and, as we still couldn't understand a word the man said, most of the commentary I bring to you now was gleaned from a book.

The Bosphorus channel is 30 kilometers long and is the only outlet of the Black Sea.  A layer of fresh water floats atop the thicker salt water beneath. 

The Strait's name originates from the myth of Io, a favorite girlfriend of Zeus.  The god disguised Io as a cow to protect her from his jealous wife, Hera.   Of course, Hera saw right through this guise (being the smart goddess she was) and sent a gadfly to chase Io (the cow) everywhere she went.   Along her escape route, Io swan across the Bosphorus, thus resulting in its name, "Ford of the Cow."

This building is the Grand Mecidiye Mosque, built in 1854. 

Our little boat passed Dolmabahce Palace, which was completed around 1853.  It has 285 rooms, six staircases, 43 large halls and six baths.  Ataturk died here in 1938.  You can take a guided tour of the haram.

We slid under several impressive bridges.

This building appears to be the remains of the Italian Summer Embassy.  In the 1960s, the building was abandoned and is slowly falling to pieces here on the shore.

As you might guess, Bosphorus-adjacent land is high value property in Istanbul.  But you never know what condition these stately old houses might be in when you float past.

Here is the Rumeli Hisari (European Fortress), which was integral to Mehmet the Conqueror's preparation for the siege of Constantinople.  The fortress was completed in 4 months and 20 days.    It was later used as a prison for foreign diplomats, prisoners of war and wayward Janissary soldiers.  Now it is a museum and the site of an old mosque on the property is used as an open-air Shakespeare theatre.

The Kuleli Naval Officer's Training School supposedly stands on the site of a reform school established by the ex-prostitute Byzantine Empress Theodora.  Supposedly, many of her victims threw themselves out of the windows rather than submit to the regime of the convent. 

Although intermittent raindrops dances on our heads, the diesel fuel played games with my touchy stomach and the frigid sea winds nibbled our bones, none of us would have missed a moment of the cruise.

And other than our boat's greasy exhaust, the Bosphorus smelled just fine, thanks.   When in Istanbul, take the cruise.  Even if you are drunk and hungover.

Comments

[CatsPlay]

I can't recall ever having woken up the next morning drunk in my life - impressive! What a lovely array of palaces and the like along the river!

[Vera]

I love boat trips. Whenever I am on holiday and there's a chance to do one, I do. Yours sounds fantastic. It seems that one has an impressive view along the Bosphorus.