Üsküdar / Leander's Tower

The best way to get to Üsküdar is to take the car ferry which plies regularly across the Bosporus, here 2km/1.25mi from the Kabatas landing-stage (2km/1.25mi northeast of the Galata Bridge). On an islet just off the Asiatic shore stands Leander's Tower (in Turkish Kiz Kulesi, "Maiden's Tower"), 30m/100ft high, with a signal station and a lighthouse.

Istanbul's outlying district of Üsküdar, traditionally known as Scutari, on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus, is the city's largest suburb. With its handsome old mosques, winding lanes and weathered brown timber houses (particularly between the landing-stage and the large cemetery) it has preserved more of its traditional Oriental character than the Old Town of Istanbul. The town, known