Istanbul - Surroundings

At the foot of the northern slope of Mt Bulgulru, about 14km from the center of Istanbul stands the Beylerbeyi Palace which was built in 1865. The terraced garden enclosed cedars and yews, magnolias and lime trees.

Next to the Faith Forest is Maslak Kasirlari which the main buildings is open to public as a museum and a cafe in the conservatory. The park is planted with various deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs which enclosed yew, roses, rhododendrons and Magnolia grandiflora. The oldest trees include limes, alder, nettle trees, oaks, horse chestnuts, field maples, Austrian pine, sycamores and hornbeam.

Pendik, a few kilometers southeast of Kartal (until recently a town in its own right but now a district of Istanbul), lies on an attractive though densely populated bay on the north side of the Gulf of Izmet. In antiquity it was called Panteichion and was a fortress on the road from Kalchedon (Kadiköy) to Nikomedeia (Izmit). It was here, in the sixth century, that Belisarius (d. 565), Justinian's Byzantine general, spent the rest of his days after falling from grace.

The Summer Palace of the Khedive was built in 1900 and the tower is one of the landmarks on the Ariatic side of the Bosporus. From the main gate, there is an avenue lined with silver lime and horse chestnuts. In front of the palace is a rose garden with colorful groups of hydrangeas on both sides. The palace has converted into a hotel now.