Bosphorus Cruise

I hope everyone is having a relaxing break and is getting excited for Istanbul! 5 days!

Although I am excited about the whole experience in general, one thing that I am most looking forward to is the Bosphorus Cruise. The cruise takes place through the Boshporus Strait which separates the European and Asian sections of Turkey. We will all be able to say that we were in two places at once!

 While on the cruise we will be able to see many amazing sights and landmarks, including six Ottoman palaces.The first palace that we will see from the water is the Topkapi Palace, which we will have already seen the inside of on one of our previous days. We will also get to see Selimiye Barracks where Florence Nightingale worked. Some of the other palaces that we will get to see include the Dolmabahce Palace, which we also get to visit another day, the Ciragan Palace, the Yildiz Palace, and the Beylerbeyi Palace. We will also get to pass under the Bosphorus Bridge, opened in 1973. We will also get to see Cengelkoy, a picturesque Bosphorus village.

From our ferry we will be able to see the Rumeli Hisari, or the Fortress of Europe which was built in 1452 under orders of Mehmet the Conqueror. Bosphorus University shares the hillside with the fortress.  The sixth palace that we will get to see on our Boshporus Cruise Kucuksu Kasri, the Sweet Waters of Asia.



Rumeli Hisari

I am excited for the Bosphorus Cruise because we will be able to see a variety of sights and get a brief overview of that area of Turkey. Although this is more of a sightseeing adventure rather than an indepth study of these locations, it allows us to see different aspects of the past and various types of architecture. We will be able to see the modernization of the area by comparing the older sights to the newer structures.