Here's what you'll see on your Bosphorus cruise, leaving Istanbul's Galata Bridge at the mouth of the Golden Horn:
Topkapı Palace (Europe)
Palace No. 1: You motor out of the Golden Horn past Topkapı Palace, covering the hill at the tip of Saray Burnu (Palace Point). More...
Maiden's Tower (mid-Bosphorus)
A 12th-century Byzantine fortress occupied the tiny islet where the 18th-century Kız Kulesi (also called Leander's Tower) now stands. A tower here may have served as a customs post. Featured in the James Bond movie From Russia With Love, the tower now houses a restaurant.
Üsküdar (Asia)
The largest Asian district, directly across the Bosphorus from Istanbul and Beyoğlu, Üsküdar (Scutari) was once ByzantineChrysopolis, the "City of Gold." Byzantine armies mustered here for expeditions into Asia along the fine Roman roads that started here. Ottoman armies did the same.
Üsküdar is now an important commercial and residential district of greater Istanbul. The large four-towered rectangular building south of Üsküdar is the Selimiye Barracks (1828, 1842-53) which served as a military hospital during the Crimean War (1855-56). It was here that Florence Nightingale worked to establish the practices of modern nursing and hospital care. More...
Dolmabahçe Palace (Europe)
Palace No. 2: The façade of this great Ottoman palace (1853) is nearly a quarter of a mile (400 meters) long. More...
Çirağan Palace (Europe)
Palace No. 3: Finished in 1874, the marble palace of Çirağan(CHEE-rah-AHN) has a tragic history. Sultan Abdül Aziz died here (1876) under suspicious circumstances a few days after he had been deposed. His nephew Murat V and family were imprisoned here in squalor by Abdül Hamit II. In 1910, when in use as the Ottoman parliament building, the palace was totally destroyed by fire. Fully restored, it now houses meeting rooms and suites for the neighboring Çirağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul Hotel.
Yıldız Park & Palace(Europe)
Palace No. 4: The swath of green forest behind Çirağan is Yıldız ("Star") Park. At the top of the hill, hidden in the trees, is the Şale ("chalet") Kiosk, a 50-room alpine chalet favored by the secretive Sultan Abdül Hamit II. Smaller "kiosks" (small palaces) are set elsewhere in the forest. More...
Ortaköy & Mecidiye Mosque (Europe)
You've probably seen photos of the Mecidiye Mosque (1854), the graceful Ottoman baroque mosque standing by the western pylon of the Bosphorus Bridge. The quaint Bosphorus town of Ortaköy is now filled with chic galleries, cafés, boutiques, bars and clubs—a good place to stop for a drink or a meal if you tour the Bosphorus on land. More...
Bosphorus Bridge
Ever since the Persian emperor Darius built his bridge of boats acoss the Bosphorus in 490 BC, rulers of Istanbul have dreamt of a bridge between Europe and Asia. It was opened in 1973 on the 50th anniversary of the Turkish Republic and put an end to decades of car-ferry traffic delays. Tolls paid for it in record time, and another bridge, the Fatih, was built to its north.
In 2017, a third bridge, the Yavuz Sultan Selim, was opened closer to the Black Sea. In 2016 the Eurasia Tunnel, a vehicular tunnel beneath the Bosphorus, connected Old Istanbul in Europe with Kadıköy on the Asian Shore.
Beylerbeyi Palace (Asia)
Palace No. 5: Like Çirağan Palace a work of Sultan Abdül Aziz, Beylerbeyi is smaller but no less impressive. More...
Click here to continue with the Northern Bosphorus sights.
Here's information on the various ways and boats to take a Bosphorus cruise. More...
—by Tom Brosnahan
A TurYol boat cruises past the Blue Mosque (left) and Aya Sofya (right) on its way up the Bosphorus.
The quarter-mile-long (400-meter) façade of Dolmabahçe Palace.
Great views
Very accurate information, and the Bosphorus bridge was noticeably pretty
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