From Asia to Europe

A very unique fact about Istanbul is that it is the only city in the world that is located in two continents. To the east, Asia. To the west, Europe. And the dividing line between the two is the Bosphorus Strait.


To get from one side to the other you have a couple of options. You could drive by car across one of the two bridges (yes, there are only two bridges to get across! And the traffic is insane!) or you could take a ferry. Since there is no chance I will be competing with native Turkish drivers, I choose the ferry for my ventures from Asia to Europe.


And incredible number of buildings line the Bosphorus. It truly is impressive how much they can fit in such a small space. While on the narrow streets I really worry about being hit by cars...they drive so close to eachother and people. Personal space, people. We Americans need a good 3 feet of personal space! :)
The picture below is one of the two bridges. This bridge is the Bosphorus bridge, or Old bridge as they call it. The other bridge is further north and is called The New Bridge by many...eventhough it was built in the 1980's. I guess that wasn't THAT long ago.


I did notice, while crossing by ferry for the first time, that there are jellyfish in the water. At first I thought they were thin plastic bags, but after seeing MANY in the form of circles I concluded they must have been jellyfish. Now, I don't know exactly how bad it is to be stung by one, but I don't think I will count on swimming across the Bosphorus to save my life.