Istanbul: The City That Sits on Two Continents
You can stand on one side of the Bosphorus in Europe, and see Asia close enough to wave at. Istanbul doesn't just connect two continents — it lives comfortably in both at once.
The call to prayer from Sultanahmet Mosque still catches me off guard every time, echoing across rooftops as ferries cut white lines through the Bosphorus below. Istanbul rewards getting lost more than almost any city I've filmed in — a wrong turn off Istiklal Street just as easily leads you to a 400-year-old hamam as a hidden meyhane serving raki and grilled fish until midnight.
Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque get the crowds, and they earn them — but the real Istanbul is in the Kadıköy fish market on the Asian side, in the tea gardens along the water where old men argue over backgammon for hours, and in the simit vendors who somehow remember your order after one visit.
Take the ferry across the Bosphorus at sunset if nothing else. Watching two continents change color at the same time is worth the whole trip on its own.
Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque get the crowds, and they earn them — but the real Istanbul is in the Kadıköy fish market on the Asian side, in the tea gardens along the water where old men argue over backgammon for hours, and in the simit vendors who somehow remember your order after one visit.
Take the ferry across the Bosphorus at sunset if nothing else. Watching two continents change color at the same time is worth the whole trip on its own.
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