Asiatic Side, Bosporus Attractions
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By boat through the BosporusThe best way of seeing the Bosporus in all its beauty is to take a trip from Istanbul on one of the coastal boats which ply along its length, calling in alternately at landing-stages on each side and thus affording a constantly changing panorama.
Istanbul - Beylerbeyi Palace
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.
Cannon Hill
Past Cengelköy, Kuleli, Vaniköy and Top Dagi (Cannon Hill; 130m/427ft); famed for its view over the whole of the Bosporus, to Kandilli, on the promontory opposite Bebek Bay.
Anatolian Castle
The Anatolian Castle is also called Güzel Hisari (Beautiful Castle). The picturesque castle from which the place takes its name was built by Bayazit I in 1395 as an advanced post directed against Constantinople.
Cubuklu, Turkey
Cubuklu, in Beykoz Bay. In Byzantine times there was a monastery of the Akoimetoi (the "Unsleeping Ones") here, in which monks, in successive groups continued in prayer day and night.At the head of the bay lies Pasabahçe, with its beautiful gardens. Near the shore is a Persian-style palace built by Murat III.Beyond this is Beykoz, at the north end of Beykoz Bay.
Joshua's Hill
To the north of Cubuklu is Yusa Tepesi ( Joshua's Hill; 195m/640ft), known to the Europeans as the Giant's Grave, an important landmark for vessels coming from the Black Sea. The road passes behind the palace of Mohammed Ali Pasa along the wooded and well-watered Valley of Hünkâr Iskelesi, once a favored estate of the Byzantine Emperors and Sultans. On the summit of the hill is a mosque, with the "Giant's Grave" and a *view extending over the whole of the Bosporus (though Istanbul itself is concealed) and part of the Black Sea.Beyond the conspicuous palace of Mohammed Ali Pasa and the mouth of the Hünkâr Iskelesi Valley are the promontory of Selvi Burun and the little Bay of Umur Yeri.
Anadolu Kavagi,
Anadolu Kavagi, the last station on the Asiatic side, an authentic Turkish village in Macar Bay, between two promontories with abandoned forts. On the northern promontory are the picturesque ruins of the Byzantine Castle of Yoroz Kalesi, known since the 14th century as the Genoese Castle. In antiquity the promontory and the strait (one of the narrowest points in the Bosporus) were called Hieron (Sacred Place), after the Altar of the Twelve Gods and a Temple of Zeus Ourios, granter of fair winds.Beyond Macar Bay lies the wide Keçili Bay, bounded on the north by the Fil Burun promontory.
Anatolian Lighthouse
Anadolu Feneri (Anatolian Lighthouse), on a low cape by the village of the same name, situated on the cliff-fringed coast with an old fort.
Kabakos Bay
Kabakos Bay, with basalt cliffs in which countless sea-birds nest, and the steep-sided promontory of Yum Burun, at the northern entrance to the Bosporus.
