So why go to Asia when Turks are trying so desperately to leave it behind, even if it means throwing themselves into the not-so-loving arms of tepid EU technocracy? Well here are 12 reasons to visit The Other Side:
1. To take a ferry across…
Aah, the wind in your hair, the blue waters below, the sun on your face, sipping your tea as you take in the most beautiful sight in the world… it’s hard to believe you’re in the middle of a metropolis. Now if only you can avoid a seagull pooping on your head.
Ferries depart from Karaköy, Besiktas or Eminönü in Europe to take you to Haydarpasa Kadıköy, Üsküdar and Bostanci in Asia. A ride across costs no more than a bus ticket.
2. …or to cross the bridge
“Look, now I’m in Europe, now I’m in Asia, Europe, Asia, Europe, Asia…” It’s okay, everybody does it, just not out loud. The two bridges are the Bosphorus (“Bogaz Koprusu”) and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges and there are signs for you to follow in both English and Turkish – including those cutesy “Welcome to Asia/Europe” signs. Unfortunately you can’t walk across the bridges. Even suicides have to drive half-way before they get out the car and jump. Ain’t life a bitch?
There’s a 3 million TL toll for private cars (for either bridge), no toll when crossing to Europe.
3. To witness a football match at Fenerbahce Stadium
Hmm… 50,000 crazed fanatics urging eleven grown men to kick a ball around a field whilst draped in blue and yellow curtain fabric? Trust me, any team fielding players with names that sound like Van Honky-Donk and Rusty the Goalkeeper is worth seeing. Fenerbahce are defending Turkish champs and are also playing the Champions League in Europe this year, so it would be a memorable experience to see them play top teams in this stadium. They play Manchester United in a couple of months, so get your tickets well in advance.
Located in Kadıköy. Buy your ticket from Biletix.
4. To saunter along Baghdad Avenue
Okay, so the name doesn’t sound too appealing, but the only cars packed with explosives around here are fast, red convertibles loaded with testosterone and serving as substitutes for big… umm… ego’s. Watch slick pseudo-Casanovas shamelessly zoom up and down the avenue with gel-plastered hair even a storm couldn’t ruffle, as they rev their motors to impress bottle-blonde teenie-boppers out shopping with daddy’s credit card. Good place to visit if you’re a shopper or an anthropologist. Good place for high-end shopping, for everything from jewelry to clothes, shoes to furniture.
Bağdat Caddesi spans 10 km between the districts of Suadiye and Erenköy.
5. To motor out to The Maiden’s Tower (Kiz Kulesi)
Nice place to get a unique panoramic view of Istanbul, sip some refreshing herbal tea, and watch a big Russian oil-tanker bear straight toward you at 40 knots. Priceless.
It’s in the middle of the Bosphorus. You can get there from Üsküdar.
6. To visit Haydarpasa Train Station
This majestic building on the Bosphorus is over a hundred years-old and is still the main train station on the Asian side, so if you ever want to have a little adventure and jump on a train to Ankara – or even Kars – then this is where you’ll board.
Jump on a ferry from Karaköy or Eminönü in Europe, or from Kadıköy or Üsküdar in Asia.
7. To go bargain hunting in Kadıköy
Explore this historic district where pirates have traded their peg-legs and parrots for DVD’s and fake designer labels. You can find everything from lap-top computers to that “Right Said Fred” CD with that obnoxious song you like that’s just too sexy to find anywhere (else). Besides being second-to-none in terms of shopping, Kadıköy is also a historic district (the site of the first settlement on the Bosphorus) and has a lively vibe that includes restaurants (good kebaberies), bars and cinemas.
Best reached by ferry from Karaköy or Eminönü.
8. To stroll in old Üsküdar
Grab a backpack and meander through the back streets where mosques, hamams, mosques, churches, and mosques abound. Did I mention the mosques? Üsküdar is one of the oldest and most historic districts of Istanbul and is definitely worth a little exploration.
Ferries from Besiktas.
9. To have a night out at Laila and Kalamis
Long condemned to having to share the same venues with plebs and non-celebs, high-fliers on the Asian side now have their very own Laila where they can just be themselves and strut like peacocks in peace. There are a whole bunch of other bars, restaurants and clubs in Kalamis that would also make it worth a good night’s outing on the Asian side.
Laila: Münir Nurettin Selçuk Caddesi 74, Kalamış. Tel: (0216) 449 92 02
10. To sate your sanguinity at Gunaydin Butcher’s and Nezih’s
If you laugh in the face of sclerotic arteries and salivate like a caveman upon hearing the word “meat,” then these are the places for you. Gunaydin is renowned as one of the best butcher’s in Istanbul due to the quality and selection of their meat, while Nezih’s is one of the best kebab joints around (for pretty much the same reason). Their specialties are the Onion Kebab and the Yuvalama. Seriously, the meat in both establishments is so good it could put a rosy hue back in the cheeks of an anaemic vegan.
Nezih: Atatürk Cad.No: 64, Kozyatağı İstanbul
Tel : 0 216 411 68 75
11. To pay your respects at the British Cemetery
A cemetery for British troops who died during the Crimean War to help keep their Empire strong, the Ottomans weak, and the Russians away.
Just a walk away from Haydarpasa Station, situated in the Selimiye Barracks, alongside the Florence Nightingale Museum.
12. To unwind in the Prince’s Islands
Go where cars and stray dogs fear to tread. Ride in a horse-drawn carriage if you’re into the whole clip-clop thing and don’t mind spending an hour facing a flatulent horse’s rear end. Cycle, swim, eat, check out the mansions, take photos to remind yourself that you’ve been there, done that. Once a place of exile for disgraced princes (and on one occasion, stray dogs that were rounded up in the city) these seven isles in the Marmara Sea are mostly inhabited by Greek, Jewish and Armenian Turks. Many historic churches, monasteries and synagogues are found on the islands.
Catch a boat from Kabatas or Bostanci.
