Hi! Hope you are having a great start of the year 2015.
For the first post of the year, I'll be sharing more about my time in Istanbul. Here it goes.

If you ask me what's my favorite thing about Istanbul, I will surely answer that the energy of the city. This energy comes from a great extent from the Bosphorus, the strait that splits the city in two, one part in Asia and the other one in Europe.

The original sense of the word Bosphorus, in Turkish Boğaziçi, literally means "throat", and if you see a picture of how it looks from space it definitely resembles one. The Bosphorus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, which is then connected by the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea, and thereby to the Mediterranean. This strategic location has also been regarded as a "key to conquer the world".

However, my perception of the connection between the Bosphorus and Istanbul is quite different. To me, the lives of Istanbul's people are directly linked to the strait, a source of energy and health.

In chapter 6 of Orhan Pamuk's book "Istanbul: memories and the city" he personally describes what the Bosphorus represents in his life. One of the phrases he uses for describing the excursions with his mother and brother on a boat through the Bosphorus, was really beautiful. It goes like this: "Facing the defeat, the collapse, the oppression, the bitterness and the poverty that rot this city from the inside, the Bosphorus represents in the deepest part of my mind sensations of union to life, enthusiasm for living and happiness".

He goes on explaining why you can't compare the Bosphorus to the canals of Amsterdam or Venice nor with the rivers that split Rome and Paris in two. He states that the strait has a current, waves and is deep and dark. As a matter of fact, each and every single time I observed the Bosphorus I truly felt that I was facing an indomitable waterway.

Hagia Sophia and the historic peninsula as seen from a ferry.

 You can try to understand the influence of the Bosphorus on the city just by observing it.
 Some of the moments which I cherish the most from my time in Istanbul are discovering different views of the Bosphorus from various points of the city. For example, one afternoon I took a walk from Cihangir all the way down to Findikli and as I strolled through the dark and empty streets of this part of Beyoğlu, I saw the most incredible views of the Maiden's Tower and from the Asian side.

My everyday morning walks to Taksim square are so memorable because everytime I turned my back, I could see the Bosphorus' waters shaking the ferrys that were crossing from one continent to the other, the larger ships that transport gas, oil and other goods slowly transitting towards the Marmara Sea and the little fishing boats stationed at the shores. It was almost a sense of security, always knowing that wherever I looked, it would be there, giving me the energy that it gives to this city.  

Mysterious Istanbul during the first hours of the day.

Taking the ferry from one continent to the other or to any of the towns and villages located on the Bosphorus permits you to appreciate the city and its complexity from without. What passes in front of your eyes is all the history, the buildings and the people in their daily activities that shape Istanbul and make it what it is.

 Pamuk also narrates in chapter 6 about the so-called "civilization of the Bosphorus", a term created by the writer A.Ş. Hisar to describe the environment and life in the city, or how he perceived both during his time (the first half of the last century). According to Pamuk, Hisar feels nostalgic about a way of living that has already disappeared and will never take place again.

Pamuk himself says in his book that what he saw as a child growing up in the city has also disappeared, something that allows him to remember with great pleasure how the landscape looked like. Important to mention is of course that the yalis, or wooden mansions built on the shores of the Bosphorus, were burnt down mostly in the 60s and just a few remain to our days. This happened after the decay of the Ottoman empire and how part of its splendour was lost forever during the creation of the Turkish republic. The city's new wealthy people installed themselves in Taksim or the surrounding areas of Beyoğlu, thus forgetting the areas that were closer to the water.

Dolmabahçe Palace, the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire until its dissolution.

Crossing the Bosphorus in a ferry.

Discovering the Bosphorus.

A yali on the shore of the Bosphorus.

The villages on the Bosphorus.

Entrance to the Black Sea.

The town Sariyer, home to mostly working-class or retired people.

On board of the ferry, you discover the lush green areas and the coastline of the Bosphorus.

The pulse of Istanbul is undoubtedly unique thanks to the Bosphorus and what it means for the people of the city. Fishermen and vendors on the Galata bridge that come everyday to the shores of Eminönü and Karaköy to work, working-class people that eat their meals with this view, authors that draw inspiration from the landscape and the rural areas along the coastline, in fact, the whole city is connected forever to the Bosphorus and finds in it a source of life and unending energy.

As Pamuk puts it in the last words of chapter 6: "Life can't be so bad. When you at least can go for a walk along the Bosphorus".


Astrid.

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