Over the last couple weeks, I have gotten the chance to knock a few more things off my Istanbul bucket list, including trying a hamam.

Another bucket list item to check off was Rumeli Hisari - we have seen in it from the water on Bosphorus cruises. And we've seen the signs pointing into the direction of the fortress, but never wandered there.

This weekend, we decided to hit two birds with one stone - check out Rumeli AND visit Kale Cafe, which both local friends and Anthony Bourdain recommended.

Rumeli Hisari was a fortress built by the Sultan Mehmed II when the Ottomans were trying to take Constantinople. It is right across from another Ottoman fortress built the century before, strategically located on the narrowest point of the Bosphorus .For being a fortress on the water, it was built pretty speedily - in 4 months time. It must have worked because the next year, the Ottomans took Constantinople.


Today, there isn't much to see in the fortress itself. You can walk along the walls for great views of the Bosphorus, see the ampitheatre with the one minaret that remains of the mosque. That's about it. In itself, it may not be worth a trip to this part of town for people further away.


But for us, it was close by and the breakfast at Kale Cafe made it worth the trip.  Traditional Turkish breakfast usually consists of tomatoes, cucumbers, tulum/feta cheese, olives and bread. And I love this breakfast. Add to it more types of cheese - including fried cheese & cheese soaked in honey - traditional Turkish eggs (menemen), chai and delicious puffy bread and it gets even better. The idea is easy - you order breakfast and anything else you want on the side (hence the menemen). They come round every 10 minutes or so offering fresh chai and you can sit back, relax and enjoy the views of the Bosphorus bridge and waters.

I have an obsession. Okay, well I really have lots of obsessions, including (but not limited to): dark chocolate, Glee, singing aloud in the car and the Bosphorus.

As I have mentioned before, the Bosphorus is my favorite part of Istanbul. We have a fantastic view of the water from our apartment and I love seeing the different "faces" of the Bosphorus each day. Some days it is grey, some days it is blue, some days it is foggy, some days it is eerily calm.

The Bosphorus seems to me like a life line through Istanbul. It is such a huge part of people's lives. The parks on the water are always crowded with families and friends on weekends, enjoying picnics, each others companies and the view. There are fishermen off all kinds of bridges and seawalls throughout the city trying to catch something more than the usual 4 inch fishies. Ferries dart across the Bosphorus all day making it important to people going from Europe to Asia.

Other than these, my obsession with the Bosphorus comes from the effect the view has on me. No matter what mood I'm in, the views of the water are so calming. Whether its sneaking a quick glance in during the middle of my work day, or sitting outside for a drink after dinner, I always find the quiet my mind needs when I look into the beautiful blues of the Bosphorus.

Here are some of my all-time favorite "faces" of my obsession:

Everyday, sunny Bosphorus

Foggy Bosphorus

The morning after a snow Bosphorus

The Bosphorus "highway"

The stormy Bosphorus

Bosphorus at night

The first time I went to Ortaköy was before we even moved to Istanbul. I tagged along with Paul on a 48 hour visit in order to confirm that I could indeed live in Turkey. While we were here, we got in a Bosphorus boat cruise and made a pit stop in Ortaköy. We were greeted by the hustle and bustle of Istanbul on tiny streets packed with restaurants, jewellers/artists selling their goods and people taking it all in.




Since then I have been hooked and it is a favorite place to take visitors when they come into town. On the weekends, they have some great street vendors selling art, jewelry, books and more, in addition to the usual stores there.

Ortaköy also is a great place to have a meal and enjoy  the views. Whether you sit down at Mado or the House Cafe, or grab a kumpir to go and sit by the water, you won't be disappointed by the atmosphere. There's even a guy selling mussels if you want something "fresh" and slimy (I may be biased as a non-seafood eater, but there's something fishy about this).




But, like I said, the best part of it is the view. Right up on the Bosphorus and right under the Bosphorus bridge, you get a fantastic view of the ships, water, bridge, birds and everything else that makes the Bosphorus so unique.

One time some Turkish school girls interviewed me outside of Aya Sofia for a school project and they asked me what my favorite thing about Istanbul is. Without skipping a beat, I answered the Bosphorus. (This was followed by snickers on their end. I'm still not 100% why, but probably something like you crazy American).

I am mesmerized by the water and every day it looks different. It is almost like it is living with a new looks for every day, season and weather.

One of the best ways to enjoy the Bosphorus is a sunny day on a boat cruise. Tourists can take an easy cruise using the public ferry's Nostalgic Bosphorus Cruise (info can be found here) - there are both short options that take about 2 hrs and go from Eminonu to the second bridge and back OR a 6 hr option that goes almost to the Black Sea with a stop in Asian for lunch.

This weekend, for a friend's last weekend in town, we did our own boat cruise - complete with a stop for taking a dip in the water.