The "New District"

We took the tram all the way to the end of the line to the north side of the Golden Horn in the New District of Istanbul (“new” is relative - way back when this was a Genoese and Venetian area, and the area where foreigners settled). This is the most European part of Istanbul and we were right on the Bosphorus River which splits European and Asian Istanbul. The Dolmabace Mosque was there so we decided to go in (our first mosque visit).

Then we took an underground funicular to the top of the hill and Taksim Square which is the start of Istiklal (Independence) Street. This is the heart of the New District.

We walked the length, down hill. The street is lined with shops, restaurants, bars, markets, and little alleys go off in every direction, again filled with restaurants and markets and shops. One street was the fish market street with vendors selling fish and restaurants specializing in seafood.

There is also a Greek Orthodox Church, a Roman Catholic Church, Dutch, Russian and Swiss consulates.

Part way down the street we came upon some sort of political rally, and there were a whole lot of riot police standing around watching. We decided to keep moving. At the other end of the street there is another funicular, but we decided to keep walking on the streets - more little restaurants and shops. We ate lunch about half way down the hill. Unfortunately a lot of the streets are cobblestone - great to look at but murder on the feet!

Then we walked across the Galata Bridge which spans the Golden Horn. We started on the top level where the cars, the tram, and all the fishermen are. We figured there were about 400 fishermen and they appeared to be catching anchovies. Each line would have 6-8 hooks and pull in many little fish each time. Halfway across we went down to the lower level which is restaurants one after another after another. We stopped to have a beer at one and watch all the water traffic. Ferries go all day long taking commuters between the European and Asian sides. The water was busy all the time we sat there, and today is Saturday, not even a work day.

Below is a picture of the bridge. See the fisherman on top and all the restaurants below?

From there we walked to the train station, famous because the Orient Express Train used to arrive here.

Then we took the tram to the Grand Bazaar - Oh WOW! We walked in and as far as we could see ahead were shops and people and people and more people. And all the vendors want to be your BFF and sell you leather, ceramics, jewelry, rugs, food, whatever. We walked there a little while, but decided our feet had had it for today, so we limped back to our hotel.

Tomorrow morning at 9:00 our official tour begins. We’ll be in Istanbul until Tuesday, but we have 5 days at the end after our tour to explore some more. I think we could spend a month here or a year and never see everything!

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