Exploring the other side

As I said, I'm living on the Asian side of Istanbul whereas the majority of sites are on the European side. This past weekend was supposed to be rainy but Saturday started off fine so I decided to head over to the other side by ferry. My host dad dropped me off at the ferry in Kadiköy and I managed to buy an akbil which is a piece of plastic that you put money on and you can use to get on buses, local trains, ferries, etc. for a bit cheaper than just buying an individual ticket I think. I say managed because I thought I could just get them at the ticket window but I had to go to a stand down the road to get one. You also put a small deposit on it that you get back once you return it.

I was trying to get to Emınönü which is near the Aya Sofya and such but ended up further north in Beşiktaş. I asked a guy waiting at the ferry station if the ferry went to where I wanted and he said they all went to the other side- the one that was just departing as I was talking to him went to where I wanted but the next one also but just more left. I had doubts if I was following my original plan, but that's what traveling is for- unexpected adventures! This was the view out across either the Golden Horn where was my intended destination or the Asian side still.

The ferry was surprisingly quick and pretty fun. I could see how in the summer it would be really nice- winter it can get chilly! I sat upstairs both times. There were quite a lot of people. I found myself wondering what they were doing, which side they lived on. I noticed many single women travling by themselves and also surprisingly modern, rock, punk, and slightly less, bohemian looking folks- all were younger of course. The older folks all looked how I pictured traditional Turkish people. I got hot tea on my way back- only maybe 30 cents for a small glass. You can order or there's a guy that comes around during the short trip.

I was having trouble getting oriented once we docked as I didn't remember where Beşiktaş was on the map so I just asked around to get to Aya Sofya- which the nice guy at the bookstore said 2 buses and across a bridge. Only then did I know for sure I wasn't where I was planning on going. I wandered around some more and went uphill on this really nice looking street with high-end designer stores. I found my way back here later on my way back to the ferry and saw some fashionable and rich looking people going into them- if only!

I also made my way to this nice park- would be nice when it's warm out although there was a couple there that I asked to point out where we were on a map for me.

I debated about going to Taksim which was somewhere I wanted to explore but it was going to be too far to walk and I also wasn't sure which direction haha. Another day. I saw this park too that was empty and quite a number of hotels. The one across from this park had security checks on all the cars coming in- must be special.


I did see the other soccer stadium for one of the 3 biggest soccer teams.

I went into a pretty nice Hilton hotel and asked for a map as I really wasn't sure where I was. The map didn't help that much haha. There is the Dolmabahçe palace in Beşiktaş which I was going to visit and saw actually but I wasn't sure where to go in...and it was getting cold so I headed back to the ferry. I got a simit which is a seasame covered pretzel basically. There are stands all over that sell it.

There is a really cool way to get around in Turkey called Dolmuş- a van that kinda looks like a taxi that you share with other people (the word means full). There are designated stops (there was one right by the ferries) or you can flag one down if there's room. It's much cheaper than a taxi. To get from the ferries in Kadıköy to the apartment in Kiziltoprak, it's about a 30 minute walk or less than 2 liras in a Dolmuş- I opted for the latter. You let the driver know where you want to go (on the windshield is the route) and pass your money via other passengers to him. I also stopped in a store to buy some snacks just to say I went to the store today :) It was a good adventure, albeit not the one I planned- but often the best things are unexpected ones. I will try again on a better weathered day- and I found the correct timetable so I will know which ferry goes where according to the time (the ferry station on my side didn't indicate where the approaching ferry was going unlike the other side).