06 August 2013

Rumelihisari

One of the days my friends E&M were here I took them to Bebek, a district in Istanbul along the Bosphorus, to see The European Fortress (Rumelihisari or Rumelian Castle). I've been to Bebek before but never Rumelihisari and I recommend that, if you go, go on a week day. The first time I went to Bebek I went on a Saturday and I don't even want to talk about how long it took. The Tuesday traffic was soo much easier.



Rumelihisari was built in the 1400s to control sea traffic and also to cut off aid to Constantinople during the Turkish siege of the city. Today it's a nice place to climb around and affords a fantastic view of the Bosphorus strait.





And climb around is apt. It's actually pretty cool in that it's what you do there...clamber up and down and around the fortress walls. In my experience such activities are usually discouraged at historic sites but not here.




Of course me being me I had a nice sit and listened to music while E&M did the clambering. Stairs...especially uneven crumbly stairs that have no handrails are not on my bucket list. I want to live to do everything on the bucket list! Like you know, write a bucket list...





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