Across the Bosphorus: Discovering Istanbul's Asian Side

Places

Aug 3

After spending our first few days exploring the European side of Istanbul, we packed our bags and crossed the Bosphorus to experience the Asian side. Same city, but a completely different feeling.

Staying at the Bosphorus Palace Hotel

Our home on the Asian side was the Bosphorus Palace Hotel in Çengelköy, and the hotel itself was an experience.

It had this beautiful old-world richness, with ornate gold details, antique touches and an almost regal feeling throughout. We stayed in a suite, were welcomed with champagne and had our bags carried upstairs, which definitely made the arrival feel a little extra special.

Downstairs was my favorite part. It sat lower toward the water, almost underground, with spaces opening right along the Bosphorus. During our stay, there was even a wedding rehearsal dinner happening there, which naturally had Pishoi peeking around and the two of us daydreaming about the potential for an intimate Istanbul elopement.

One morning, Pishoi woke up for sunrise and found the waterfront already lined with fishermen, the bridges in the distance and, of course, Istanbul's cats nearby eating very well from the morning's catch. 😂

Wandering Çengelköy

One of the best parts of staying here was being able to walk right out into Çengelköy.

We spent a lot of time around the waterfront and surrounding streets, wandering through shops and markets, stopping at restaurants and cafés, and coming back to the square to eat and explore.

It wasn't about checking off another attraction. We got to wander, eat, shop and experience a little piece of everyday Istanbul.

Kadıköy After Dark

At night, we also explored Kadıköy, which showed us another side of the city entirely.

The streets were alive with restaurants, bars and pubs packed with people. We had noticed that alcohol wasn't served everywhere we visited in Turkey, so Kadıköy's nightlife definitely stood out.

It was fun seeing how quickly Istanbul could change from quiet fishermen along the Bosphorus in the morning to busy streets and nightlife after dark.

Colorful Kuzguncuk

Kuzguncuk was already on my list before we arrived, mostly because of the colorful streets I had seen in photos.

We wandered through colorful homes, little cafés, produce stands and neighborhood shops, with cats around nearly every corner. It was charming, colorful and one of those places where simply walking around was the experience.

Çamlıca From Above

From there, we made our way to Çamlıca Mosque, sitting high above Istanbul on Çamlıca Hill.

After exploring the mosque, we continued walking up the hill and stopped for coffee at a café with breathtaking views across the Bosphorus toward the other side of Istanbul.

Seeing the city from that high up really put its size into perspective. The water, bridges and buildings seemed to stretch forever.

We eventually reached the park at the top, where families and couples were sitting together, kids were running around and everyone seemed to be doing exactly what we were doing: taking it all in.

So we found a place to sit and did the same.

I think that's what I loved most about our time on the Asian side. It wasn't one big attraction that made it memorable.

It was champagne at a beautiful old hotel, fishermen and very well-fed cats at sunrise, wandering neighborhood shops, nights out in Kadıköy, colorful streets, coffee overlooking Istanbul and having nowhere we needed to be for a little while.

The European side introduced us to some of Istanbul's most famous landmarks.

The Asian side gave us a chance to simply live in it for a little while.