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Istanbul is a city that spans great
bodies of water, joining the continents
of Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus.
Although to most people "Old
Istanbul"
means the historic European peninsula
with Topkapi
Palace, Hagia
Sophia,
the Blue
Mosque and Byzantine
Hippodrome,
the first known settlement in this
area was actually at Chalcedon (Kadiköy)
on the Asian shore.
Today the Asian districts of Istanbul,
including Üsküdar (Scutari), Haydarpasa,
Kadiköy and other districts along the
eastern Sea
of Marmara shore, are more
than just residential suburbs.
Much
of the city's growth is eastward on
the Asian side. The burgeoning business
center at Kozyatagi,
the Istanbul
Park auto racetrack and Sabiha
Gökçen
Airport at Kurtköy, are
important Istanbul destinations in
their own right.
For most visitors to Istanbul, however,
the Asian shore is a place to visit
for a few hours or a day-trip.
Take
a ferry from
the Eminönü
ferry docks to Üsküdar,
visit its historic mosques and
its lively shopping districts for
a few hours, then float back to the
European side, having taken an intercontinental
cruise in a day!
Go north from Üsküdar
by bus or taxi to Beylerbeyi to
visit the gem of an Ottoman
palace of that
name. More...
Go south from Üsküdar to
the Asian railroad terminus at Haydarpasa
Station and, across the
bay from the station, the bustling
suburb of Kadiköy. (Haydarpasa and
Kadiköy have their own ferry
service to Karaköy, by the way.)
Farther southeast along the Sea
of Marmara shore are some of
Istanbul's nicest garden
suburbs: Fenerbahçe,
Suadiye, Bostanci, and Pendik, reachable
by suburban train (banliyö
treni) from Haydarpasa
Station,
or by fast seabus
catamaran ferry from
Kabatas or Yenikapi.
The Princes
Islands in the Sea
of Marmara are also reachable
from Bostanci, and from Pendik a car
ferry sails to Yalova on the Marmara's southeastern shore.
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