Istanbul - Asian side

5/19/2012 - Our next adventure was to cross the Bosphorus Strait and see the Asian side of the city.  The bridge is a toll bridge.

The map shows our crossing of the Bosphorus Strait.  We took the first large exit, and circled underneath the bridge, then drove to an area alongside the water.

This view from the bridge is looking north west at the eastern side of Istanbul, the side that is in Asia.

 We passed quickly through the toll gates, and the cars were moving quickly too.  Good system.

 This shows a long line of covered waiting areas alongside a bus pullover.

 As we entered the mostly residential area, the signs clearly outlined what was permissible and what was not!

 Clearly, no trucks and large vehicles.  It is okay to walk, ride the bike, have a horse drawn carriage or drive your tractor.  What??

This is from the Asian side of Istanbul, looking back at the European side.  Busy traffic on the water.

 This is the ironwork around the "polis".  I looked it up and the name is "Polis Karakolu" and these buildings are small neighborhood police stations.  Pretty fancy, I think.

 And safe with the gold spikes coming out of the top of the fence.

 The paving stone for the area. This was a little park.  The tour guide wanted us to exit the bus and look around, across the river, and enjoy the view.

 Beautiful bridge and a view of the other side.

 Plenty of cute things in this little park.  I am referring to the golden retriever!

 Hotels and cafes line the river.  Enough looking around and the tour guide was pleased that we could now say that we had been to both the European and Asian sides of Istanbul.  I'm very pleased too!

 Back on the bus for more new sights.  This is the fancy grab bars in the bus.

 This is a residential area. The area is mostly residential and people cross the bridge to go in to the main part of the city.

 This is looking south from the bridge at the Bosphorus Strait.

We drove back to the center part of Istanbul to continue our big city tour.