Half-Day Black Sea Cruise

Assalaamu Alaykum world.  This is the Half-Day Black Sea Cruise that was taken on April 8, 2014. It sails down the Bosphorus Strait on the Asian side, goes under two bridges, and visits Anadolu Kavagi which is on the European Side before sailing back to Istanbul on the European side.  One of the bridges that the boat goes under is called "Suicide Bridge" (real name is Bosphorus Bridge) due to the number of people who jump from the bridge when ending their lives.

Anadolu Kavagi is a fishing village at the beginning of the Black Sea.  The boat was supposed to leave in the morning but didn't leave until an hour later and to top it off, the boat did not go to the Black Sea like we and the other passengers had been told and led to believe, even the brochure we were given in Erboy Hotel said we would see the Black Sea.  Thus there was a lot of anger and disappointment.  We passed Rumeli Fortress and also Maiden's Tower.   This will be divided into three appropriate sections.

Asian Side:

Norwegian Cruise Ship at Istanbul

Cinn says he saw a dolphin in the Bosphorus Strait but I didn't see it.  Lunch was served onboard the ferry on the bottom deck which we ate down there before reaching Anadolu Kavagi.  I didn't even know there were dolphins in Turkey.    My grandmother's camera had old batteries and the batteries we bought in Turkey got used up real fast even when the flash was not on so Cinn had to use my Turkey cell phone to take pictures.  

There's a floating nightclub in the middle of the Bosphorus Strait.  You have to take a boat out to get there and I think it's reservations only. It's on the European side of Istanbul.  I was saying to Cinn how those people would be screwed if for some reason the ferries couldn't reach them in the event of a hurricane hitting the area.  

The next eight pictures are of the first bridge we went under.  It's called Bosphorus Bridge but its nickname is 'Suicide Bridge'.  According to the tour person, it’s famous for suicides and that’s why it has the nickname Suicide Bridge. One of two bridges we went under on the way the cruise.

European side of Istanbul

 View of the European Side

Turkish Flag

Second bridge and Rumeli Fortress approaching on the left

The next few pictures are of Rumeli Fortress which is on the Asian side of Istanbul.  The second picture has nothing to do with Rumeli Fortress.

Anadolu Kavagi:

The next several pictures are of Anadolu Kavagi.  It's a small fishing village that is now a tourist attraction.  Cinn drank Turkish Coffee while we waited for our boat to leave.  We sailed back to Istanbul on the Asian side. The boat we were on sat out at sea and then we had to wait for the first boat to leave so we could get on.  For some reason they didn’t open the second dock.  There’s a masjid and a school on the island along with a cafe.  The kids in the school were practicing their music.  There were also stray dogs around and stray cats.

The next four pictures are of the women's ablution area of the mosque on Anadolu Kavagi.  Wudu is the ritual ablution Muslims do five times a day before prayer every day.  I sat outside since women can't go to the mosque when on their menstrual cycle.

European Side: