Year 5, Day 171 “Living the Dream”. Saturday, 10/18/2025 – Day 12 of 30 day trip to Rome, Italy with a Mediterranean cruise and a transatlantic cruise back to Bayonne, NJ. Day 7 of 10 night Greece, Turkey, and Italy cruise on Odyssey of the Seas – Istanbul, Turkey day 1 of 2. 2:30pm – overnight. It is a cloudy day today. Going to be a high of 70 with no sun. Low of 60 in the evening. Istanbul is a city in Turkey. It spans two continents, Europe and Asia. The city is divided by the Bosphorus Strait. It the only city in the world to be situated on two continents, blending influences from both sides. The European side is to the west of the strait, and the Asian side is to the east. Turkey has had many names. Some of the most popular are Byzantium, Constantinople, and Stamboul. At 7am we are in the Windjammer Buffet and it is dark outside. We are slowly making our way to Istanbul. I am not sure where we are. The journey is through two straits where we need to go 10 miles per hour. Captain Marek Slaby announced he has never been to Istanbul. From Kusadasi, we traveled from the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. We did this by traversing the Dardanelles, also known as the Hellespont, strait. This is a narrow waterway that connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. We passed under the Çanakkale 1915 Bridge. This bridge is the largest suspension bridge in Turkey and is located at the narrowest point of the strait. From the Sea of Marmara we entered the Bosphorus strait. This waterway runs directly through Istanbul and separates the city into its European and Asian sides. Our ship sailed through the Bosphorus. It passed under three large suspension bridges. These were the Bosphorus Bridge, the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, and the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge. Then we arrived at the Galataport, the cruise ship port of Istanbul. On our way there we spent a little time in the casino and visited the shops. We spent no money in either place. Which means we walked out of the casino even.
We have another excursion booked for today. It is “Cruise on Bosphorus and Shopping”. In order to get off and on the ship here in Istanbul we were provided Landing cards. The captain warned us not to lose them. That you do not want to be involved with the port officials. Jokingly he said and if you do. We will be back next year to get you. At least I hope he was joking. We boarded our tour bus at 3:10 pm. The buses were in the terminal building. This Cruise terminal is new since 2021. The bus took us to the old city.
We then boarded the boat for the river tour. Officially called the Republic of Türkiye, it is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia. There is also a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. 85 million people live in Turkey. 20 million are in Istanbul. Generally people only speak one language and that is Turkish. Local currency is the Turkey Lira. There are 3,200 mosques here in Istanbul. We will always be on the European side of the city today. We crossed over a bridge into the former city of Constantinople. Many many people were fishing. Bluefish, European pilchard, Atlantic bonito, and needlefish are the main migratory fish that pass through the strait. The city is swarming with people. The food smell is yummy. The river looks dirty. We boarded the boat and sat up top outside. The waterway is very crowded. Where we start both sides are in Europe. We cruised down past our docked cruise ship. Look at those skinny towers in the mosque pictures They are minarets. In Islamic religious architecture, these towers serve a specific purpose. A muezzin, or crier, calls the faithful to prayer from these towers five times each day. We passed many boats cleaning the river. The Bosphorus – is one of the most active and most polluted sea-straits in the world. Turkey controls the strait. The Bosphorus connects two continents—Europe and Asia. It has always been a vital trade route.
I understand that the European side of Istanbul is more crowded. It is especially congested in the popular tourist areas. However, it has a more extensive public transportation network. Several metro lines connect different parts of the city. Tram lines also provide connections across the city. The Asian side, on the other hand, is less crowded and more relaxed. There are huge flags everywhere. The Turkey national flag is a red flag featuring a white crescent and star on its emblem.
The Ezan, also known as the Azan (call to prayer), summons the faithful to the mosque for prayers. The Ezan is chanted six times a day.
Our last stop is the Grand Bazaar for shopping. American Express is very rarely used. The Bazaar will be closed tomorrow/Sunday. It was very very crowded. Our guide warned us about pickpockets. We had one and a half hours free time to walk around. We tried some pistachio Turkish delight. It was very tasty. It seemed as though it was a repeat of the same stores all the way through the shopping district. Lots of silver, gold, spices, lamps, and leather.
On the way back to the ship going over the bridge both sides were packed with fishermen. The traffic is horrendous here. A ten minute ride took us 50 minutes.
Cruise Compass Day 7 of 10 – Odyssey of the Seas Istanbul, Turkey – 2:30pm to overnight
Things to ponder today! Have to leave you thinking.
Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4o5yM9I Wood 3 in 1 Chess Backgammon Table: Look at this great table. Can’t wait to set it up in our balcony area. This board game table includes a backgammon board and a chessboard. Chess pieces are included.
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