A beautiful sunset in Istanbul

Sunsets in Istanbul are beautiful. Here are a few photos that I took while I was crossing the Bosphorus aboard a Vapur (ferry) on a January evening. Istanbul’s ferries, locally called “vapur”, travels between two continents, between Asia and Europe. The word vapur comes from French “Bateau à vapeur”, sometimes simply referred to as “vapeur”, …

The Great Fire of Pera in 1870

On June 5, 1870, a horrendous fire in Pera which is known as “The Great Fire of Pera” today, destroyed a large part of the district. It is also known as “The Great Fire of Constantinople”. Pera, today’s Beyoğlu, located on the European side of Constantinople (now İstanbul), separated from the old city (historic peninsula of …