#onecitytwocontinents

[ibrahimgulers]

#Günaydın ⛅ #GoodMorning . . . #skyscraper #explore #discover #nature #travelgram #natureporn #beautifuldestinations #Europe & #Asia #continents #city #OneCityTwoContinents 🙏 #Istanbul #Turkey #boats #tekne #Bosphorus #Boğaziçi #peace #weekend #skyporn #clouds #Marmara #Sea #Deniz #EuroAsia https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn0EZX6BteA/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1slosfo5wqkep

[privateistanbulwalkingtours]

We pride ourselves in sharing #Istanbul our clients never knew and revealing it in such a magical and personal way, that the #experience will stay with them #forever. #travelagent #travelagency #travel #luxury #privatetours #privateistanbulwalkingtours #turkeyistanbultours #wonderlust #trainstation #haydarpasa #seagull #birds #birdsofinstagram #bosphorus #onecitytwocontinents #europe #asia #ferry #freedom #sky #sea #kadikoy #tripadvisor #tripadvisoristanbul #ontripadvisor #tourist #touring #travel #travellers #trip #privatetrip #luxurytours #luxurytoursistanbul #visitistanbul #visitturkey #holiday #keeptraveling #adventure #travelsome #travelsomewhere #instagood #instaday #traveldiary #traveldiaries (at Private Istanbul Walking Tours)

[samberenyi]

Asia and Gallipoli

I usually hate clichés especially in writing, they just speak to me of laziness and lack of creativity but at the moment I just can’t seem to sidestep the phrase time flies when you’re having fun, because well that’s exactly how I feel, where has my time here gone. Today is my last day in Turkey, already, five days gone in the blink of an eye (yes, yes another cliché, bit of tongue in cheek now, oh shit, again…). The last few days have been a mix of different things, exploring more of Istanbul, sitting around the hostel and getting out of the city. On Friday I wandered down to the Golden Horn River and found myself a ferry to go across the Bosphorus to the Asian side of Istanbul. This city is the only one in the world that sits on two continents so really it would be a crying shame (damn, I really gotta stop) to not make the trek over to the other side, even just for the novelty of it. The boat took about 15-20 minutes to cross over to the Asian side and only cost four Turkish Lyra ($2 Aud). Once there I spent quite a few hours just exploring around where the boat dropped me off, taking photos and finding some lunch. The highlight was definitely these little seats that I came across, little cushions laid out on these big concrete steps right next to the water where you could sit with a great view of the water and the European side and have a little chocolate bar and Turkish tea from one of the many kiosks along the waterfront, which is precisely what I did. That afternoon back in Europe I managed to get myself hopelessly lost for about an hour before finding my way back to the hostel, tired and weary and well and truly ready for a sit down. In the evening I met up again with Matt and Jess and we went out for a walk and to find a shisha bar, when in Turkey (now I’m ripping off clichés…)? Neither of them had tried it before so it was quite a funny experience filled with good chats about all sorts of things. Yesterday I got up at horrible o-clock, about 5:30am, got myself ready for a day out then waited for a tour bus to pick me up. This particular bus which I booked a few days ago for 210 Turkish Lyra (’bout $100 Aud) was to go about five hours across to the west of Turkey to a famous war sight of great significance to Australians, Gallipoli. The journey there wasn’t anything special, though it meant I got to see more of the city, which made me appreciate the sheer size of Istanbul, and some of Turkey’s beautiful green rolling-hill countryside.  Around lunch time we arrived at a small town called Eceabat where we had lunch on the 5th storey (highest building in town) of this hotel, Turkish buffet-style. We then met our guide, an enthusiastic middle-aged guy whose name escapes me. He explained to us that our route was packed and if we went the regular way there would be a line, so instead we could go the opposite way but would have to walk, so we opted to walk and thank goodness we did. The tour started (or ended) on top of a hill overlooking the Gallipoli battlefields, which we got to in our minivan via a dirt road which wound precariously up the ridges to the peak. Once there we got out and began our decent, past bus after bus after busload of people. After some time walking I asked how long the road was and our guide said somewhere between 6-8kms. That many buses back to back, that’s how busy it was, thank goodness we walked. Along the way we stopped off at numerous burial sites both Turkish and Australian, the most significant of which (to me anyway) was Lone Pine. All of them had great views, either of the surrounding hills or the beaches below. Our guide also showed as some of the trenches where both lines, Turkish and Allied Forces, were held and where certain events during the battle took place. From Lone Pine we ventured down another dirt track to the beach right near Anzac Cove. There we visited more burial sites as well as the cove and Northern Beach, on which a ceremony for the 100th centennial will be held in just a couple of weeks with VIP’s from all over the world attending. Such a crazy place with so much history, a landscape which has seen so much grief and loss, at one point our guide even found an old bullet casing on a dirt track, woo! It was a real honour and pleasure to have a chance to visit and witness such a significant place. Lest we forget. After the battlefields we made a brief stop at the Narrows, the location the allied forces were attempting to capture so as to gain control and access to the waterways up to Istanbul allowing flow of supplies to numerous areas via water. Then it was back to town for a brief stop and off to Istanbul. Hectic day, left at 6:30am and arrived back at 11pm, tired but so worth the journey. Today I haven’t really done much, been trying to sort out a visa I need to get into Canada in a couple of months’ time, which is doing my head in but I’m sure I’ll get it sorted. Went for a bit of a walk and done a bit of packing in preparation for my flight out to Athens tomorrow, woohoo, bring on more adventures! Turkey, you have been great, much love and hopefully we shall meet again.

[monyswanderlust]

The beautiful Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge at night. #Istanbul #Turkey #Lights #Colors #Bridge #OneCityTwoContinents #Wanderlust #TheWanderlustDiaries

[privateistanbulwalkingtours]

We pride ourselves in sharing #Istanbul our clients never knew and revealing it in such a magical and personal way, that the #experience will stay with them #forever ... #travelagent #travelagency #travel #luxury #privatetours #privateistanbulwalkingtours #turkeyistanbultours #wonderlust #trainstation #haydarpasa #seagull #birds #birdsofinstagram #bosphorus #onecitytwocontinents #europe #asia #ferry #freedom #sky #sea #kadikoy #tripadvisor #tripadvisoristanbul #ontripadvisor #tourist #touring #travel #travellers #trip #privatetrip #luxurytours #luxurytoursistanbul #visitistanbul #visitturkey #holiday #keeptraveling #adventure #travelsome #travelsomewhere #instagood #instaday #traveldiary #traveldiaries (at Private Istanbul Walking Tours)

[ibrahimgulers]

#Bosphorus #Istanbul #Turkey #Asia #Europe #Continent #onecitytwocontinents #Winter

[monyswanderlust]

All you have to do is cross a bridge to go from Europe to Asia. #Istanbul #Turkey #OneCityTwoContinents #Wanderlust #TheWanderlustDiaries