March-28-2012
Published on 1-April-2012 by Ray Fried
Istanbul is a city of over 13 Million people. It is partially located in Asia with another part in Europe. The two parts being separated by the Bosphorus, a waterway connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. This Bosphorus separates Europe from Asia in the region of Turkey. As such, locals refer to the Asian Side and the European side when describing locations. We actually lived and worked on the Asia side but attended church in the European side - a distance similar to what we travel from our home in Liberty Lake, WA. to our church in Post Falls, ID.
In many ways, Istanbul reminded us of living in Seattle except Istanbul is 20 times larger! Weather, rain, and temperatures during the months of Jan~March (when we were here) are similar to that of Seattle.
We depended on trains for the compute to work. At the times we were going to/from the office, the trains were always full - however we (especially Twyla) were almost always offered a seat. The people are very polite here. Some (but few) were inclined to try to communicate with us.
Boat travel is really very convenient in Istanbul. Ferries are frequent and fast. Some are of Catamaran design.
The photo below is of a train depot near the ferry dock.
Of course there are taxis and also a "shared taxi" called a "dolumuş". These are rather expensive if you plan to ride any distance as fuel cost are the equivalent of about $8.00/gal!