Lale Surmen Aran - Rick Steves Tour: Bosphorus Cruise, Istanbul

Rick Steves Walks and Tours eBooks are straightforward, self-guided walking tours throughsome of Europes most popular destinations, designed for easy reference on your mobile deviceor eReader. Tours and Walks are available for must-see locations throughout London, Paris,Rome, Florence, Venice, Amsterdam, Budapest, Vienna, Athens, and Istanbul.

Rick Steves Tour: British Library, London

Rick Steves Tour: British Museum, London

Rick Steves Tour: National Gallery, London

Rick Steves Tour: National Portrait Gallery, London

Rick Steves Tour: St. Pauls Cathedral, London

Rick Steves Tour: Tate Britain, London

Rick Steves Tour: Tate Modern, London

Rick Steves Tour: Tower of London

Rick Steves Tour: Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Rick Steves Tour: Westminster Abbey, London

Rick Steves Walk: Bankside, London

Rick Steves Walk: City of London

Rick Steves Walk: West End, London

Rick Steves Walk: Westminster & Whitehall, London

Rick Steves Tour: Carnavalet Museum, Paris

Rick Steves Tour: Eiffel Tower, Paris

Rick Steves Tour: Louvre Museum, Paris

Rick Steves Tour: Orsay Museum, Paris

Rick Steves Tour: Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris

Rick Steves Tour: Pompidou Center, Paris

Rick Steves Tour: Versailles

Rick Steves Walk: Champs-Elyses, Paris

Rick Steves Walk: Historic Paris

Rick Steves Walk: Left Bank, Paris

Rick Steves Walk: Marais District, Paris

Rick Steves Walk: Montmartre, Paris

Rick Steves Tour: Appian Way, Rome

Rick Steves Tour: Borghese Gallery, Rome

Rick Steves Tour: National Museum of Rome

Rick Steves Tour: Palatine Hill, Rome

Rick Steves Tour: Pantheon, Rome

Rick Steves Tour: Pilgrims Rome

Rick Steves Tour: Roman Colosseum

Rick Steves Tour: Roman Forum

Rick Steves Tour: St. Peters Basilica, Rome

Rick Steves Tour: Vatican Museum, Rome

Rick Steves Walk: Heart of Rome

Rick Steves Walk: Trastavere, Rome

Rick Steves Tour: Accademia, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Ca Rezzonico, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Correr Museum, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Doges Palace, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Frari Church, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Grand Canal Cruise, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: St. Marks Basilica, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: St. Marks Square, Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Venices Lagoon

Rick Steves Walk: Three Walks in Venice

Rick Steves Tour: Accademia, Florence

Rick Steves Tour: Bargello Museum, Florence

Rick Steves Tour: Duomo Museum, Florence

Rick Steves Tour: Medici Chapels, Florence

Rick Steves Tour: Museum of San Marco, Florence

Rick Steves Tour: Uffizi Gallery, Florence

Rick Steves Walk: Renaissance Florence

Rick Steves Tour: Anne Frank House, Amsterdam

Rick Steves Tour: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Rick Steves Tour: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Rick Steves Walk: Amsterdam City Center

Rick Steves Walk: Jordaan District, Amsterdam

Rick Steves Walk: Red Light District, Amsterdam

Rick Steves Tour: Hofburg Imperial Apartments, Vienna

Rick Steves Tour: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Rick Steves Tour: Ringstrasse Tram, Vienna

Rick Steves Tour: St. Stephens Cathedral, Vienna

Rick Steves Walk: Vienna City Center

Rick Steves Walk: The Castle Quarter, Prague

Rick Steves Tour: Athens Acropolis & Acropolis Museum

Rick Steves Tour: Ancient Agora, Athens

Rick Steves Tour: National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Rick Steves Walk: Athens City Center

Rick Steves Tour: Bosphorus Cruise, Istanbul

Rick Steves Tour: Chora Church, Istanbul

Rick Steves Tour: Grand Bazaar, Istanbul

Rick Steves Tour: Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

Rick Steves Tour: Istanbul Archaeological Museum

Rick Steves Tour: Topkapi Palace, Istanbul

Rick Steves Walk: Historic Core of Istanbul

Rick Steves Walk: Istanbul New District

Rick Steves Walk: Istanbul Old Town Backstreets

From Eminn in Downtown Istanbul to Anadolu Kava

In addition to separating two continents, the Bosphorus Strait serves as Istanbuls main highway. A never-ending stream of vesselsfrom little fishing dinghies to gigantic rusted oil tankers to luxury cruise shipssails up and down this strategic corridor, day in and day out. The Bosphorus is one of the busiest waterways in the world; churning ship engines and clanging horns are Istanbuls constant soundtrack. This carnival of commerce is the only outlet to the Mediterranean for Russia, and the only route to any sea for the other countries on the Black Sea: Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Georgia.

Cruising the Bosphorusa experienceis the best way to appreciate the massive size and scale of 15-million-strong Istanbul, and a convenient way to see many of its outlying landmarks. And since virtually all of Istanbuls key attractions are on the European side, a cruise may be your easiest opportunity to set foot in Asia (the last stop on the cruise is the fishing village of Anadolu Kava , on the Asian side).

In Turkish, the Bosphorus is Bo azii (boh-ahz-ee-chee), which means pass or strait. This 19-mile-long waterway curves like a snake as it connects the Black Sea in the north with the Sea of Marmara andeventuallythe Mediterranean in the south. Istanbuls various districts line up along the bays, and the coastline is peppered with cute neighborhoods. Many of these areas, once separate communities, have been incorporated into Istanbul as the town has sprawled from north to south over the last several decades. Today Istanbul extends pretty much all the way up to the Black Sea. But a few neighborhoods in the north retain a village-like quality, where men still fish for a living.

The Turks view the Bosphorus as much more than just a body of waterto them, its a sacred inheritance. Locals take joy in it, and can sit for hours on a bench by the Bosphorus just watching the beautiful scenery as a United Nations of boats drifts past.