Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

redevelop the shipyards here into a huge complex including shops, hotels and restaurants, although locals seem sceptical that this will go ahead in the near future.

1 Kasımpaşa to Hasköy As the ferry makes its way to the next stop, Hasköy, you can see the fascinating Western District suburbs of Fener and Balat on the western (left) shore. Fener is the traditional home of the city’s Greek population and, although few Greeks are resident these days, a number of important Greek Orthodox sites remain. The prominent red-brick building with domed tower on the hill is the Phanar Greek Orthodox College, the oldest house of learning in İstanbul. The school has been housed in Fener since before the Conquest, but the present building dates from 1881–83. Sadly, it currently has a total enrollment of only 50 or so students. From this point, there are good views of the Yavuz Sultan Selim Mosque on the ridgeline and the Gothic Revival Church of St Stephen of the Bulgars on the waterfront, which has distinctive gilded copolas. The next suburb, Balat, was once home to a large proportion of İstanbul’s Jewish population, but is now crowded with migrants from the east of the country. Passing the derelict remains of the original Galata Bridge on its way, the ferry then docks at Hasköy . For centuries a small, predominantly Jewish village, Hasköy became home to a naval shipyard and a sultan’s hunting ground in the Ottoman period. Today it has two sights of interest to visitors, the Rahmi M Koç Museum, which is located directly to the left of the ferry stop (Hasköy İskelesi); and Aynalıkavak Kasrı, a short walk away. The splendid Rahmi M Koç Museum ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ; Rahmi M Koç Müzesi; % 0212-369 6600; www.rmk-museum.org.tr; Hasköy Caddesi 5; museum adult/student/child under 7yr ₺ 15/6/free, steam-tug cruise ₺ 5/3/free, submarine adult/student ₺ 7/5, planetarium ₺ 2; h 10am-5pm Tue-Fri, to 6pm Sat & Sun Oct-Mar, to 7pm Sat & Sun Apr-Sep; f Hasköy) is