It’s a nice spring Saturday in Istanbul. And it’s a weekend that work doesn’t occupy my brain. I finally have got a chance to pick up the DSLR camera for a photo walk. The destination is inevitably the famous Turkish cultural neighbourhood—Sultanahmet.
Kadıköy to Eminönü
To get there from the Asian side, I choose to take a ferry from Kadıköy, which is quite scenic on its own. Crossing the Bosphorus by boats reminds me a lot of taking ferries in Sydney Harbour. From how they operate the piers to the atmosphere once you’re on board, even the landscape looking from afar. But you can also see heritage buildings and modern ones as well as activities around the Golden Horn.
It’s a short ferry line, just one stop at Karaköy and terminates at Eminönü. Then I take a tram through a crowded tourist area to Sultanahmet.
Outside the Mosques
There, I realise that the heritage site with both Hagia Sophia and Süleymaniye Mosque, are too big to chew. Besides, it’s packed with visitors and I’m wearing shorts. So, I mostly wander outside and get inside only the Tomb of Ahmed I. Observing the environment around the area, including urban wildlife, would be enough for the day.
Now that I get a sense of the scale of the places, I’d rather prepare for the inside next time. Cannot wait. But the next one is about a trip to Gallipoli.
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