Across the Golden Horn Bay by Eminönü-Ayvansaray Ferry

Today my program includes a walk along the north-western walls of Constantinople. The best way to reach them is by taking the Lini Haliç Hattı Usküdar-Eyüp ferry.

The marina is located behind the Galatsky Bridge and the Eminenyu bus station (on the map). After sailing from the pier, do not miss the opportunity to appreciate the beauty and size of the Sulaymaniyah Mosque, which is located on the high side of the bay.

Sailing under the metro bridge from the port side, you can see the Suleyman Subaşı Camii Mosque, built in 1571.

After the Ataturk Bridge, you can see the Yavuz Selim Camii Mosque, built in 1522 by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in memory of his father Sultan Selim I, who died in 1520.

The mosque is surrounded by a garden on an artificial terrace, reinforced with stone walls with massive buttresses.

Just behind the mosque begins the Greek quarter of Phanarion (Fener), dominated by a huge red brick building known as the" Great School of the Nation " (Özel Fener Rum Lisesi). It is the oldest Greek Orthodox school in Istanbul, founded in 1454. The current building was built in 1881-1883 at the expense of the Greek banker Zarifis, and the locals received the nickname "Red School" (Kırmızı Okul).

Then we see the equally grandiose building of the Imam Hatip Lisesi Lyceum (Istanbul Imam Hatip Lisesi). This is a secondary school with an in-depth study of Islam based on Sunni principles, its graduates become preachers and imams. The school was founded in 1951, a new building was built in 2016, and a year later it was named after Recep Tayyip Erdogan. I must say that under the current President, his personality cult is being strongly implanted in Turkey, which has already eclipsed Ataturk.

Near the Balat marina, there is a hydroaviation terminal (Burulaş Haliç Terminali) and a helipad (Burulaş Helitaksi Sisli). Here you can book a helicopter ride over Istanbul or go to the Marmara Islands by seaplane.

The next interesting object on the left side is the remains of the old Galata Bridge (Eski Galata Köprüsü), built in 1912 and damaged in a fire in 1992. After the fire, a new bridge was built, and sections of the bridge after repairs connected the districts of Balat and Haskey. However, the bridge interfered with the movement of ferries and was dismantled in 1916.

Our ferry heads to the eastern shore, to the Hasköy pier. It is home to the most interesting museum of transport industry, created by Rahmi M. Koch . Koç Müzesi).

From the ferry you can see the marine part of the museum, which includes even the most real submarine S338.

On the west bank, opposite the museum, is the Ayvansaray district, the northeastern part of old Constantinople. The area was settled in the 4th-5th centuries AD and had its own defensive wall, after the construction of the city walls by Emperor Theodosius, it became part of the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

Ayvansaray pier is not the end point of the route, the ferry goes to Eyüp Pier, but I disembarked here and started my walk through the little-visited tourist spots along the northern walls of Feodosia.