Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

1 SIGHTS Few visitors to İstanbul have heard about the ferry route up and down the length of the Golden Horn (Haliç). Until recently, this stretch of water to the north of the Galata Bridge was heavily polluted and its suburbs offered little to tempt travellers. All that’s changing these days, with the Haliç suburbs being gentrified and beautification work, including the creation of many parks, being undertaken along both sides of the waterway. The ferry trip to Eyüp offers magnificent views of the imperial mosques atop the Old City’s hills, glimpses of the historic city walls and panoramas of ancient suburbs including Fener, Balat and Ayvansaray. On the opposite shore, vistas include Ottoman mezarlıgıs (cemeteries) and the remnants of Ottoman arsenals and naval docks. 1 Üsküdar to Kasımpaşa After departing from Üsküdar on the Asian side, the ferry stops at the Haliç iskelesıs (Golden Horn ferry docks) at Karaköy and Eminönü . The Karaköy iskele is on the northern side of the Galata Bridge, before the large Kadıköy iskele . The Eminönü iskele is on the western side of the Galata Bridge behind a car park next to the bus station. From Eminönü, the ferry passes underneath the Haliç Metro Bridge and the Atatürk (aka Unkapanı) Bridge before stopping at Kasımpaşa on the opposite side of the Golden Horn. This area is where the Ottoman imperial naval yards were located between the 16th and early 20th centuries, and some of the original building stock remains. The palace-like building to the left of the iskele is the 19th-century Bahriye Nezareti ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; f Kasimpaşa) , where the Ministry for the Navy was once based. It is currently undergoing a major restoration. On the hill above is an 18th-century building with a clock tower. This was originally the Naval Academy but was converted to a hospital in the 1850s; French soldiers were treated here during the Crimean War. There are plans to