Beyoğlu is the part of Istanbul on the European side and north of the bay known as the Golden Horn. We went up there twice, once with public transportation and once on a bus tour.
1Istanbul - Beyoğlu View from the tram on Galata Bridge of Topkapi Palace across the Golden Horn
2Istanbul - Beyoğlu Mosaic in the Kabataş underground station. From here, there is an underground cable car up to Taksim Square.
3Istanbul - Beyoğlu The wheel pulling the cable for the Kabataş-Taksim funicular
4Istanbul - Beyoğlu Trees at dusk in Taksim Park
5Istanbul - Beyoğlu We enjoyed some tea in an outdoor café in Taksim Park, overlooking the Bosphorus Bridge
6Istanbul - Beyoğlu From Taksim Square, we caught the old tram which runs down İstiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue)
7Istanbul - Beyoğlu İstiklâl Caddesi, a pedestrian street, runs from Taksim Square down to Galata
8Istanbul - Beyoğlu We were tempted by the mezes (appetizers, rather like Spanish tapas) in a side-street restaurant, the Maya, so we settled in for the eveing.
9Istanbul - Beyoğlu We were served a delicious meal by Mustafa, our waiter, who was really nice with us -- especially after Siv was so nice to him.
10Istanbul - Beyoğlu The historic İstiklal tram runs the length of İstiklal Caddesi
11Istanbul - Beyoğlu İstiklal Caddesi by night. After having eaten and drunk both copiously and well, we walked back down the avenue.
12Istanbul - Beyoğlu At the southern end of İstiklal Caddesi, another funicular runs down to Tünel, from which it is a 1-minute walk to the tram back across the Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn and on to our hotel.
13Istanbul - bus tour Another day, we walked down to Aya Sofia and took a bus tour, in order to take in the layout of the city. We came to know this part of the city quite well, roaming it in search of the nicest restaurants.
14Istanbul - bus tour View of the Bosphorus Bridge from the bus
15Istanbul - bus tour Crossing the Galata Bridge, where there are always men fishing, with a view of the Bosphorus to the right.
16Istanbul - bus tour Taksim Square is the heart of modern Istanbul and is quite a bit uphill from the coast.
17Istanbul - bus tour Republic Monument at Taksim Square, the northern end of İstiklal Caddesi. The towers and dome on the left are the Greek Orthodox church, Aya Triada Kilisesi
18Istanbul - bus tour Odd the way the paint was peeling on these buildings
19Istanbul - bus tour The rooftops of Istanbul
20Istanbul - bus tour Süleymaniye Mosque seen while crossing back over the Golden Horn on Ataturk Bridge
21Istanbul - bus tour Hillside graves near Eyüp, as far north as the bus tour went
22Istanbul - bus tour The city wall of old istanbul, built in the 5th century, stretches for about 7km along what was then the western edge of the city.
23Istanbul - bus tour Along the wall of Theodosius II are many towers. In between the wall and the road are gardens.
24Istanbul - bus tour Identical apartment blocks just inside the wall
25Istanbul - bus tour Fresh produce for sale from gardens along the wall
26Istanbul - bus tour Fresh fish for sale in a market at Kumkapi, on the Marmora Sea