Date of visit: May 6, 2010, around 1:00 p.m.
(Continued from previous episode)
Now, the cruise has smoothly entered the Bosphorus. As expected of a port town with a long history. There were many big and splendid ships.
There was also a Japanese ship, as I recall.
And what can I say, this view is picturesque!
Dolmabahce Palace. I think I’ll go here first thing in the morning tomorrow because they are restricting the entrance here too.
We go through a big bridge, what kind of bridge is it, Wikipedia-sensei?
« The First Bosphorus Bridge (also known as the Boğaziçi Köprüsü, 1074 m long), built in 1973.
In this area, the width of the strait becomes much narrower. This topography is the reason why Istanbul has developed. When you go out to sea, you realize that this place is the key point of traffic. This is the weight of « history » that makes me shiver.
And « Rumeli Hisar », this citadel was also the base from which the Ottoman Empire fell this capital. I’d love to see it up close! But we had to make a U-turn at sea…. Well, it’s a cheap tour, I guess.
I asked Mr. Telephoto Lens to do his best.
You will come back to the city. You will go through this bridge again.
To be honest, I don’t want such a bridge in the Bosforus Strait, though I sometimes think it would spoil the scenery. But convenience is important, so it can’t be helped, can it?
We cruised on the Bosphorus Strait while looking at the city of Istanbul in the opposite direction. Well, the Ottoman Turks 600 years ago must have been looking at Istanbul and Constantinople from this direction, I was moved just thinking about it.
Even with such a goofy tourist route, I could feel the weight of history very keenly. It has been almost 20 years since I kept thinking that I felt such weight. I am so happy that my dream visit to Istanbul has come true.
さあ、まだまだこの日の観光は続きます。（次回へ続く）
