City of Istanbul - Page 2 of 3 - If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul. ~Alphonse de Lamartine

Rumeli Feneri Castle

In the North end of Istanbul, near a village near the Bosphorus‘s Black Sea end named “Rumeli Feneri”, there’s a Medieval Genoese castle: the Rumeli Feneri Castle.

Rumeli Feneri literally means “Greekland Lighthouse” in the Turkish language. The village is named after a historical lighthouse still in use which is located on the European side of Bosphorus’ Black Sea entrance in Istanbul, Turkey. Rumeli (or Rumelia) is the former name for the Turkish lands in Europe. The lighthouse was built by the French in order to provide safe navigation for the French and British warships entering the Istanbul Strait from the Black Sea during the Crimean War (1853-1856).

Istanbul in 1967 (video)

A beautiful and interesting video showing Istanbul in 1967. The time that there were no intercontinental bridges, no skyscrapers, no traffic jams, and much fewer people.

Snow in Istanbul?

Most Europeans and Americans think that Istanbul is an Arabic city in the desert. Simply, it’s not. It’s cold, humid, rainy, and even snowy in winter. Rain is also common in late spring and June.

St. Anthony of Padua Church

St. Anthony of Padua Church is the largest church of the Roman Catholic Church in Istanbul. It is located on İstiklal Avenue (see notes 1) in the historic Beyoğlu (Pera) district, the social and cultural center of Istanbul.

It is also known as the Sant’Antonio di Padova Church, S. Antonio di Padova, St. Antoine, or locally as Sen Antuan.

Olympos ancient city (Antalya, Turkey)

Olympos is an ancient Lycian city, its ruins lie at the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, in the borders of Antalya province, in a river valley near the coast. It was presumably taking its name from nearby 2,375 meters height (7,792 feet) Mount Olympos (or Mount Olympus – Turkish: Tahtalı Dağı, Timber Mountain), one of over twenty mountains with the name Olympos (Olympus) in the Classical world.

Uzunya Beach

Uzunya is a small and beautiful cove in the north of Istanbul, near the Black Sea. It has a beautiful beach, one of the best beaches in Istanbul actually. There’s also a restaurant on the beach.

I went there during a training road bike ride. It is a good place for a train ride because it has a steep road, and very little car traffic.

Cycling through the Black Sea shore

Dalia Beach, near Black Sea, Istanbul (featured)

I went for a training ride yesterday with two friends. We headed up to the north and cycled through the Black Sea shore. We climbed a lot.

First, we headed to Kısırkaya, where the road has a lot of short-but-really-steep (up to 20%) climbs.

Cycling to Karaburun

Karaburun Coast, Istanbul-Black Sea (featured)

Karaburun is a small village in the northeast of Istanbul, near the Black Sea. Me and two friends cycled there and swam in the sea.

Maiden’s Tower

Since the medieval Byzantine period, 200 meters off the shore of the Salacak district in Üsküdar, at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus, a tower lyes on a small islet: The Maiden’s Tower (Turkish: Kız Kulesi).

It is also (mistakenly) known as Leander’s Tower (Tower of Leandros), which comes from one of many legends about the construction. Mistakenly, because the legend of Hero and Leander took place in the Dardanelles, not in the Bosphorus.

A bike ride on a sunny but windy day

1st day of April… It was windy but sunny and warm. I jumped on my bike and ride it to the North, to the Black Sea.

Rumeli Lighthouse (Turkish: Rumeli Feneri, aka Türkeli Feneri), a historical lighthouse still in use, is located on the European side of Bosphorus‘ Black Sea entrance in Istanbul, Turkey. Rumeli (or Rumelia) is the former name for the Turkish lands in Europe. It is across from the Anadolu Feneri lighthouse, which is on the Asian side of the strait at a distance of 2 nautical miles (3.7 km).