Istanbul Half Day Bosphorus Cruise Tour

highlights

Spice Bazaar Located just behind the Yeni Mosque in Eminonu, the Spice Bazaar was built in 1660 by the architect Kazim Aga at the behest of Sultan Turhan. It gains its Turkish name, Misir Carsisi (Egyptian Bazaar), from the fact that it once received income from taxes levied on Egypt. The English name hails from the days when the Bazaar specialized in the sale of herbs and spices, medicinal plants, and drugs. While the color and aroma pervading the covered hallway may since have faded to some extent, a small number of shops do still stock the traditional products. In addition, you will find sacks and shelves groaning with dried fruits and nuts, teas and infusions, oils and essences, sweetmeats, honeycombs and aphrodisiacs.

Bosphorus Cruise (aprox. 1hr 30 min. on the boat) Passing through palaces of Ottoman, Dolmabahce and Beylerbeyi, ancient wooden houses, modern villas to the opening of the Black Sea. Rumeli Fortress comes next. Situated on the Tracean side of the Istanbul Bosphorus, it was built by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror in1452 to prevent from north reaching Byzantine.
The Bosphorus is approximately 30 km long, and at its narrowest point the Anadolu and Rumeli fortresses face each other across it. Here the width of the strait is about 800 meters. On the surface, the Bosphorus flows like a river from the Black Sea to the Marmara. This current gets much stronger and becomes truly dangerous around the fortresses. Below the surface current, there is another current flowing in the opposite direction. These currents have always constituted a threat for the ships crossing the strait. The Bosphorus is like a narrow valley and it has an average depth of 50 and a maximum depth of 110 meters. Because of the currents and the different temperatures on various levels, the Bosphorus is a paradise for fish. The fish migrate between the Black Sea and the Marmara according to the season. These fish, peculiar to these waters, are caught during the migration seasons. Nowhere else can one find such fine-tasting fish. Until recent times, the settlements along the Bosphorus were quite limited due to the strong currents and the lack of roads. They consisted of a few villages, some imperial palaces and the mansions of the wealthy. In the 19th century the embassies started to build their summer residences here. Today the shores and the hills are developing as residential districts. There are numerous fish restaurants and cafes on both sides of the Bosphorus. Modern villas intermingle with the relatively few old wooden seaside mansions that have been preserved. One of the most beautiful sights in the world, the Bosphorus is a strait winding between two continents and joining two seas. The Black Sea is connected to the Aegean through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. It offers a different beauty each season, and in spring it is adorned with the pink flowers of the Judas trees.