We joined the dozen or so Turkish fishermen as they
cast their lines into the Bosphorus. The glaring, but
welcoming sun made picture taking more difficult, but we still got several good
photos.
I was getting tired of the rainy, gloomy days we’ve
had lately; and they do not make for good sightseeing times with visitors.
Near the iskele, street cats and dogs were laying on wooden benches and
the cold sidewalk soaking up the morning’s sunshine. I'm sure the animals also were waiting for some tasty bits to be tossed their way.
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| Three Turkish cats in Ortaköy enjoy the morning sun. |
Autumn/winter mornings in Ortaköy are quite
different from the bustling tourist season. Now, it’s quiet. There’s no one to
disturb you if you want to do some “gezmek-ing.”
Since our friend from Düsseldorf only had a few
hours to spare that morning, Ortaköy proved to be the perfect
location for a relaxing stroll and breakfast. And as we found out, the seashore
is nearly deserted of females early in the morning. Or at least, it was on this
day.
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| On the left, a Turkish man feeds the pigeons by hand in Ortaköy. |
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| A lone street dog chased through the flock of pigeons in Ortaköy. |
As I’ve mentioned before, Ortaköy is a charming
neighborhood full of renovated old buildings that are home to cafés,
restaurants, artist galleries and handicraft shops. You can have a beer with a view
of the Bosphorus Bridge, Starbucks coffee (huge newly, renovated building), delicious
Turkish ravioli (mantı) as well as a
slightly fancy Turkish breakfast at The House Café (which is what we did).
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| The busy Bosphorus in the morning. |
Ortaköy is just one of many great places in
Istanbul where you can watch the world go by whether you are with a guest or by
yourself.
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| A cute black cat surrounded by Turkish evil eyes in Ortaköy. |
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| A rather plump street cat enjoying the sunshine and park bench in Ortaköy. |
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7 comments:
I loved the photos! Would definitely go for a stroll if I'm ever in Istanbul (it's still on my bucket list, but hopefully will go visit in 2013). Great blog, I discovered few days ago, and will definitely visit u more :)
.....great photos!! I also love walking around Istanbul, but I'm there in the summers so it is always crowded. My favorite is going early in the mornings for a stroll and then out for breakfast by the water. Love the Turk's breakfast's, I then don't eat till dinner.....
I'm coming in the spring so I can hardly wait to visit again.
Thanks for sharing your story and photos.
@Agnieszka, Thanks for stopping by my blog! Nice to see a new face! Istanbul and Turkey should be on everyone's bucket list! There are so many things to do and see here! :-)
@Erica (Irene), thanks for your comments! Oh, hopefully you'll make it time for the lale season! That's always one of my favorite times in the city as it's so colorful! Turkish breakfast beats my normal bowl of cereal or yogurt any day!
what a great way to spend a few hours! love the evil eyes!
Lovely photos, Joy! Love the cats, especially the evil eye picture. Hope your nose is better. Would love to be in Istanbul and other parts of Turkey during the off season. As many times as I have been to Istanbul, I have never been to Ortaköy! Someday, inshallah. I have a big trip planned to eastern and northern (Black Sea coast) in 2014 -of course, will spend several days in Istanbul then. Would love to see any photos of random Christmas stuff you encounter in Istanbul streets - I am sure there are some strange Santas and other silliness to be found. Best, Mary
@Joyce, thank you!
@Mary, there are sooo many things to see and do in Istanbul! We have yet to get out to the Black Sea region of Turkey. Hopefully, next year! Good luck with all the trip planning!
Here's one post I did so far about Christmas things in Istanbul:
Christmas in Istanbul’s Nişantaşı neighborhood
Love off-season travelling, that is the way I normally do it - and it was a great morning!
Ann-Katrin
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