Cruising the Bosphorus Strait. Turkey.

 Now if you think that was the ship we cruised the Bosphorus Straits, you're wrong.  We took something that was about 50 years old and just managed to stay above the water line.  The ship in the above photo is one of the many cruise lines that stop off at Istanbul.  This is the option for those who like to sun their ass on a ship while cruising the Mediterranean.  I do know that MSC do a cruise from Sydney to Venice which stops off at Istanbul.  Now that would be a good cruise.

Our cruise was 1 & 1/2 hours up the Bosphorus, and back again.  Stopping off at a couple of ports and finally stopping at the port of Anadolu Kavagi.  As we cruised along the straits we passed the Dolmabahce Palace which we went to yesterday, followed by the Ortakoy Mosque, Beylerbeyi Palace, Goksu Pavilion, finally arriving at Anadolu Kavagi.

Anadalu Kavagi is a nice little seaside port which caters 100% for the tourists who wish to come here and climb to the ruins on top of the surrounding hills.  The place is surrounded by steep walled mountains and over 100 fish restaurants.

 The photo above is looking at the Mosque that overlooks the Galata Bridge and the port where we left from for the cruise up the Bosphorus.

 As we travelled up the straits we got our first glimpse of the Yoros castle which sits above the seaside port  we were heading too. 

 Peter took this photo with the Black Sea in the distance atop of the Yoros Castle.  The climb to the top took about 20minutes.  It was a hot day to be climbing up to the Castle. The view was quite spectacular with the many ships making their way up and down the Bosphorus Strait and heading for ports as far a field as Odessa in the Ukraine.

 Yoros Castle sits on a hill surrounded by steep bluffs overlooking the Bosporus. It is just north of a small fishing village called Anadolu Kavağı, on Macar Bay, and the entire area is referred to as Anadolu Kavağı. This section is one of the narrowest stretches of the Bosporus, and on the opposite shore sits an area called Rumeli Kavağı, which formerly held a fortification similar to Yoros Castle. (Anadolu and Rumeli were Ottoman terms for the Anatolian and European parts of the empire).

Strategically set near the confluence of the Bosporus and the Black Sea, the future site of Yoros Castle was settled by the Phoenicians and Greeks prior to the Byzantine period for trading and military purposes. The Greeks called the area Hieron (Sacred Place). The remains of temples, including Dios, Altar of the Twelve Gods, and Zeus Ourios (Zeus, granter of fair winds) were discovered in the area, dating to centuries BCE.

Yoros Castle was intermittently occupied throughout the course of the Byzantine Empire. Under the Palaiologos dynasty during the decline of the empire, Yoros Castle was well fortified, as was the Rumeli Kavağı on the opposite side of the Bosporus. A massive chain could be extended across the Bosporus between these two points, cutting off the straits to attacking warships, similar to the chain across the Golden Horn which was used to defend Constantinople during the last Ottoman siege by Sultan Mehmed II.
Byzantines, Genoese, and Ottomans fought over this strategic fortification for years.

It was first conquered by Ottoman forces in 1305, but retaken by the Byzantines shortly thereafter. Bayezid I took the castle again in 1391 while preparing for his siege of Constantinople. It was used as his field headquarters during the construction of Anadoluhisarı, one of the more important castles for the siege. In 1399 the Byzantines attempted to take back Yoros Castle. The attack failed, but the village of Anadolu Kavağı was burned to the ground. The Ottomans held the fortress from 1391–1414, losing it to the Genoese in 1414. The forty-year Genoese occupation lent the castle its moniker of Genoese Castle.

Upon Fatih Sultan Mehmed’s conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the presence of the Genoese at such a strategic location posed a threat to the new Ottoman capital. Within a few years, Sultan Mehmed drove the Genoese out. He then fortified the walls, and constructed a customs office, quarantine, and check point, as well as placing a garrison of troops there. Bayezid II (1481–1512) later added a mosque within the castle walls.
Cossack raids had plagued the Ottoman Empire throughout its long history. In 1624 a fleet of 150 Cossack caiques sailed across the Black Sea to attack towns and villages near Istanbul. They struck villages inside the Bosphorus, and Murad IV (1623–1640) refortified Anadolu Kavağı to defend against the fleet. It would prove instrumental in securing the region from seaborne Cossack raids.
Under Osman III (1754–1757), Yoros Castle was once again refortified. Later, in 1783 Abdülhamid I added more watchtowers. After this period, it gradually fell into disrepair. By the time of the Turkish Republic, the castle was no longer used.

 That's Len in the distance walking back down the trail to the port.

 Len waiting for the boat to leave and head back to Istanbul.

The photo above shows one of the many historical sites that litter the shoreline of the Bosphorus Straits. It's really amazing how many Mosque's and religious sites of other denominations are located in this part of the world.

Tomorrow is the day when we start our ride out of Istanbul and head north to Bulgaria.  I think I've got the route planned OK, and we shouldn't have a problem in the world.  Like a walk in the park.  The only bad thing about tomorrow is that I have to get up by 4.45am to leave nice and early and beat the mayhem of city traffic.

If you ever get the chance to come and see Istanbul, you won't be disappointed.  I'm not sure where we'll end up tomorrow or access to the net over the next couple of days.  No need to worry, our weekly update will be posted next Monday.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.