Up the Bosphorus - Istanbul Day 4
So I know the post from the previous day was probably subpar, possibly since I am writing these posts back to back. But so be it, it is my blog, so I will write what I want and how I want it. In the end, my main goal is to be as genuine as possible, and if that means being a bit boring, then boring I shall be.
So let’s start day 4 of my trip. It started out more or less the same as the previous day. We had initially intended on making a day trip out to Bursa today but when we woke up in time for the early ferry, we realized that we were once again very tired, and as such chose to sleep in and postpone it by one day.
I woke up later on and grabbed breakfast, before proceeding to wake up Karim. We had no intentions for the day, so decided to simply start walking in a direction and see where the day would lead us. We walked up through the residential neighbourhoods, past a university, ending up in an area with a few “hipster” coffee shops and restaurants. It had been about 3 hours of uphill walking or so, and as such it was a good time to take a break for a coffee, ending up at one of the tiniest and cutest cafés I have found, something that could probably be pulled out of Vancouver or Seattle or something.
After a good rest, we continued our walk, this time heading downhill to walk along the coast, as we were approaching Üsküdar, the neighbouring area to Karaköy, which immediately faces the European side of the city. While there, we walked around the ferry docks looking for the ferry options available. It was time for an adventure at this point.
There weren’t many options, but we found a ferry that was boarding soon, headed to Asiyan, an area on the European side located further up the Bosphorus. The ferry ride was very pleasant, and gave us some nice views of all the different neighbourhoods along both sides of the river. Upon arriving, we were met with a quiet area with wide boardwalk, which was all I was looking for. It was filled with fishermen and families walking around. We picked a direction to walk, and headed off to see where our feet would lead us. It led us about 10 steps, to a cart selling some grilled corn.
You might think that corn is just corn, but this corn was so different to me. Maybe it was that I was cold. Maybe it was the little fire grilled bits. Maybe it was just the area. Not really sure what it was, but that corn hit that spot, and was exactly what I had needed at that moment in time.
We started heading in that direction, taking in all the beautiful water side villas and the neighbourhood in general. I just prefer residential areas to touristy ones, as you get the chance to just observe locals going about their daily lives. We ended up at Emirgan Sutis, a popular Turkish restaurant I know from Qatar, and which had been on my Istanbul list since then. I promise that this was not actually planned for today, we just ended up in the right place at the right time.
We started off our meal with a lentil soup, the best one I had yet in Istanbul, followed by some kebabs and tea. I had the kebabs stuffed with cheese, which I shared with a cat that had its eye on my food, and needless to say, neither of us were disappointed by the heartwarming meal. After our dinner, we decided to have a little bit of a night out at Huqqa, a lounge next door, where we had some desserts and drinks while enjoying the football match on the screen. We went for the chocolate cigars and the Mykonos Scallops, a dessert with crips, ice cream, chocolate, and other delicious yet unhealthy items. As usual, it was too much food but the presentation did not disappoint at all, as is the case with Huqqa. I will recommend this place to anyone looking for a little bit of a night out with over the top food presentations.
After a few hours, we grabbed a taxi to have an earlier night, as we wanted to catch the early ferry to Bursa for the day trip we had postponed. Overall, it was a great night full of insight on the local way of life, at least part of it, and a nice little break from the touristy areas we had been visiting the past few days.
What are your thoughts on my blog for today? Do you enjoy seeing the local way of life when you travel? Which way do you usually find the most effective to do so? Let me know in the comments below, but till then, stay positive!
