Macera ve Manzara

A while ago, I emailed a Middle East Music Ensemble friend asking for suggestions for places to visit in Istanbul.  She replied saying that I should come to her wedding.  Esra and Barış had their formal state ceremony today in Maltepe, on the Anatolian side.  Five hours earlier, Rachel and I set out on our first adventure (macera) in Anatolia.

I should mention that public transportation here is amazing.  Everything (trains, busses, or ferries; private or public) cost the same amount, which, with a super duper device called Akbil is 1.30YTL and .85YTL for a transfer.  Chicago and San Francisco could learn something from this city.

We took a sea bus from Beşiktaş to Üsküdar:

But I had bus directions from Kadiköy, so we took the ferry back to the European side.  We ended up in Kabataş and walked back to Beşiktaş in order to catch the bus to Kadiköy that we'd gotten on after the soccer game.  We got to walk by Dolmabahçe Palace:

Something was wrong with this guard's outfit:

We got to Kadiköy:

And stopped for a late lunch/early dinner:

We got on the bus to Maltepe, though I freaked out a little bit, thinking we might be going the wrong direction.  When we finally got to Maltepe, I found more reasons to be stressed.  What had been described to me as a giant blue building was nowhere to be found.  Thirty minutes and two helpful direction-givers later, we crossed under the train tracks and ended up on the waterfront just in time.  There was the Maltepe Evlendirme Dairesi:

The hall looked a little strange from the outside:

The group before us filed out, and we took our seats.  

Esra (who looked absolutely beautiful) and Barış came out and sat in white chairs:

The man in red asked them some questions while Bittersweet Symphony played on repeat in the background:

And it was over in about 20 minutes.  The two families stood behind red tape, and the guests lined up to congratulate them:

After all this, Rachel and I were quite tired and decided to go home.  But when we got to Kadiköy, we saw this:

We got some tea at a place on the waterfront and enjoyed the view (manzara):

With newfound excitement, we decided we wanted to ride one of the older ferries:

So we did, passing by a pretty building:

We ended up in Karaköy, on the European side right across from the old part of the city.  We found a cafe with live music and sat down:

This was a very confusing experience.  They changed our plates three times as we ate the massive amount of fruit we didn't order.  We asked for the check, and they gave us more tea.  Our waiter kept speaking to us in Spanish.  Some dude watered the sidewalk with spring water.  But a good time was had by all (including all the other waiters who were sent to "clear up" the confusion).  We're supposed to come back again.  And we took identical pictures with the Blue Mosque in the background:

Then we went home.