Tag Archives: boat cruise

Day 318 – Istanbul the second

Our second, and last, full day in Istanbul. Flo postponed his interview for various reasons so I could relax a bit. Trying to be back for the interview without any time for real preparations was weighing down on my enjoyment of the city.

Breakfast in our hostel was delicious again. This time, cookies and tiny slices of cake were added to the buffet which gives a great range of chocolate spread, honey, jam, two different kinds of cheese, sausage, fresh cucumber and tomato, olives and hard boiled eggs.

in the inner courtyard

in the inner courtyard

Our first visit was to the Blue Mosque. I prepared to wear hijab so I took Lina’s gifts with me to cover up as close to the mosque as possible…it was that hot already. Surprisingly, tourists are allowed to visit the mosque for free, outside prayer times. The tilework inside is pretty and it’s well worth your time but in comparison, some of the ones in Iran were even more beautiful. We shared the floor with many, mostly Asian, tourists. All of them had to cover up more and were wearing borrowed blue skirts and long cloths around head and arms. Even the men who came in shorts had to resort to blue skirts to be allowed in.

one of the 3000+ Mosques in Istanbul

one of the 3000+ Mosques in Istanbul

From here, we walked through a large part of the old town to get to the ferry terminal. Cruise tours are offered for all sorts of distances and times but most seem to be at least 4 hours, which is sooooo long. One company offers Bosporus tours which literally take you up the river for the distance of two bridges and then back down again. For our level of enthusiasm for a boat cruise that was perfect. All in all it took 90 minutes, leaving the afternoon free for other things.

I enjoyed our time on the boat, looking at Istanbul from the water. Flo decided to take an audio guide so I also got some historic tidbits about the older buildings we passed.

Variety of lamps

Variety of lamps

Once back on land, we walked through the Great Bazaar. Spices, dates and every other food imaginable are on offer alongside golden jewelry, carpets and many, many çay cups. Having kind of skipped lunch, I ate baked bits on the way and Flo had the traditional spicy kebab for the last time.

Truly tired from a full day out and about, we relaxed in our room (and blogged) until dinner time. Then, we tried another little eatery that we’ve seen around, close to our hotel, which looked like a place for us: Arch Bistro. A tiny restaurant in an ancient Byzantine arch, nowadays about two meters underground so it has a wine cellar feeling. Slow cooked food and organic olive oil was right up our alley. Completely satisfied, we stayed up till midnight to watch a frustrating football game which ended with a 0:0.

Day 310 – I sink your … city?!

Looking back towards the harbour

Looking back towards the harbour

All chores were done, the application sent – it was time to get back to that old travelling business. Nina was still supremely keen on visiting the sunken city of Simena. We could book a tour from here, but the guide book said that it is easier and cheaper to negotiate directly with the boat captains at the pier in Üçağız. We packed our stuff right after breakfast and were there before 10 am.

Negotiations went smooth and we quickly found a boat at a price that we were happy with. This year, due to lack of tourists, the locals had only licenced the larger boats, ignoring all the little ones. That meant the smallest boat we could hire was still huge, good for 8-10 people, but we had it all to ourselves. We did not bring swimming gear, and we did not really want to do much but see the ruins anyway, so we booked the “classic” tour: Sunken City, Kaleköy and back before lunch.

The first foundations visible under water

The first foundations visible under water

Now what’s the deal with the sunken city? Well, this was the site of the Lycian city of Simena, which got destroyed and submerged in the 2nd century AD. The ground sank about 6m, so a lot of the coastal buildings are now just below the surface along the new shoreline. Add to that the brilliantly clear water in the area and it makes for a pretty cool experience.

The other stop was in the hamlet of Kaleköy, where we had an hour to explore. The modern name is a remark on the Crusader fortress crowning the little island. Adding to the charm is the fact that it was build in the middle of the ancient Lycian necropolis of Simena, which was also partly submerged. Thus, we got a beautifully illuminated coastal village, with ancient sites and a fortress all in once. To celebrate, we went to one of the restaurants lining the shore and got ourselves a nice home-made ice cream.

Mediterranean-style lunch in our tent

Mediterranean-style lunch in our tent

I enjoyed the ride back along quiet country lanes. We picked up supplies for a beautiful little lunch and spread out in front of our tent to enjoy. With our to-dos sorted, the rest of the day was pleasantly filled with a mix of swimming, blogging and just generally enjoying life. To top it of, we went out that night to have another round of excellent pide in another Lonely Planet recommended restaurant.

 

 

 

 

Day 96 – Here be dragons

Komodo. For us, it was all about this island. One of those things that we both had seen documentaries about as kids with a “one day I will go there” notion in our heads.

The two days and one night on the boat encompassed more than just Komodo but we were mostly excited about the dragons.

A map of the Komodo National Park

A map of the Komodo National Park

We had what is called an “early breakfast” at 7.30am which was actually late for us. The guide was said to pick us up at 8am but he was a bit early too. A hasty breakfast with coconut-filled buns later, we were trailing behind Aco to the boat. Flo and I expected other people to join us for the cruise but it turned out that we had chartered Aco and his son Side with their modified fisher boat all for ourselves. Having the deck just for us meant a lot of space on the ride out to Rinca our first stop for the day.

Rinca, as well as Komodo island, belongs to the Komodo National Park. There are fewer dragons living on Rinca but over two thousand nonetheless. It took us two hours to get out there during which Flo and I had the provided tea, coffee and water. Once landed, a ranger took us to the ticket office where you have to pay a fee for almost everything (the park itself, visiting an island, snorkelling, trekking, camera etc. and at last, the ranger’s services) before we were taken in a guided tour. At the start, you can choose if you wanna do the short, medium or long trek and we were unanimously agreeing on the short trek. Needed the time for the long trek on Komodo, you see? Continue reading