Princess Island
Jul 18th, 2022, 11:14 AM
#2
You mean the Princes' islands? If you only have three days, and you are taking a ferry ride up the Bosphorus, not worth it, given how much there is to see in Istanbul.
My take on my visit:
"Next day I again turned my back on Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar and boarded a packed ferry for the Princes' Islands, so called because inconvenient or disobedient scions of the imperial family were exiled there. While preferable to execution, I found one guide that says that they were blinded first, depriving them of a last sight of Istanbul. And Istanbul seen from the water has to be one of the world's greatest cityscapes.
I had chosen to visit the third of the four islands served by the ferry, Heybeliada, thinking it would be quieter. The big but empty waterfront cafes and rows of horse-drawn carriages waiting for custom suggested the island was usually popular, but not the day I visited. No cars are allowed on the islands, so the locals use the carriages too - or walk or cycle. I started by walking uphill to the Halki Palace Hotel, which Lonely Planet said had a good view from the swimming pool. Not so early in the season, though - the pool was empty, and I ate lunch in lonely state in the dining room.
Hunger satisfied, I strolled more slowly back down to the waterfront, admiring the old wooden houses, in various states of repair, lining the dusty street. After some hard and not particularly successful bargaining I climbed into one of the carriages for a tour of the island. I felt a little guilty as the driver took his two horses up the hills at a gallop, but enjoyed rolling through the pine forests. "
My take on my visit:
"Next day I again turned my back on Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar and boarded a packed ferry for the Princes' Islands, so called because inconvenient or disobedient scions of the imperial family were exiled there. While preferable to execution, I found one guide that says that they were blinded first, depriving them of a last sight of Istanbul. And Istanbul seen from the water has to be one of the world's greatest cityscapes.
I had chosen to visit the third of the four islands served by the ferry, Heybeliada, thinking it would be quieter. The big but empty waterfront cafes and rows of horse-drawn carriages waiting for custom suggested the island was usually popular, but not the day I visited. No cars are allowed on the islands, so the locals use the carriages too - or walk or cycle. I started by walking uphill to the Halki Palace Hotel, which Lonely Planet said had a good view from the swimming pool. Not so early in the season, though - the pool was empty, and I ate lunch in lonely state in the dining room.
Hunger satisfied, I strolled more slowly back down to the waterfront, admiring the old wooden houses, in various states of repair, lining the dusty street. After some hard and not particularly successful bargaining I climbed into one of the carriages for a tour of the island. I felt a little guilty as the driver took his two horses up the hills at a gallop, but enjoyed rolling through the pine forests. "
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