Rumeli Hisarı

This Sunday, a couple of exchange students and I decided to grab ourselves some delicious Turkish brunch and check out a fortress on the shore of the Bosphorus - Rumeli Hisarı. We took a taxi to brunch (although in heavy traffic we decided to get out and walk the rest of the way) at a cafe right next to the fortress. It was delicious, per usual. 

After we stuffed ourselves with cheese, olives, and balkaymak, we headed to the fortress. It was used during the Ottoman Empire to guard the entrance to the Black Sea through the Bosphorus. The structure is exactly what you think of when you think fortress. Stone walls, with turrets interspersed, and a beautiful inner grounds with an amphitheater. 

You could pretty much climb anywhere you wanted. There were small staircases (without rails) that wound around the sides of the structures. You can see one in the photo below. There were guards around, but they didn't really care what you did. When you climbed up, there were beautiful views! In many of the photos, you can see one of the few bridges across the Bosphorus. Anything across the strait is Asia. 

In this photo, you can see the amphitheater. It was beautiful and really well preserved. 

There is a fortress cat that plays with the guards and hides in all the nooks and crannies of the buildings. She was so sweet! Here she is playing with us:

After walking around the fortress, we decided that we should head back to campus. There are no dolmuş in the area where the fortress is, so we just started walking back in the direction of campus. We walked about 4.5km until we found a minibus and took it back to Sarıyer. It was a sunny, breezy day, so the walk was beautiful. Most of the shore of the Bosphorus is a concrete sidewalk which, although maybe not totally environmentally sound, makes for amazing walks. 

I can't wait to explore some of the other neighborhoods between Sarıyer and the Center. There's so much history and beauty just hiding on the shores, you just need to find it!