Urban Oasis: Istanbul's Anadolu Kavagi

When Cagatay's grandfather came to visit about a month ago, his sister suggested that we take a mid-week afternoon excursion to Anadolu Kavagi, a little fishing village located on the Asian side of the Bosporus. It's pretty far north on the coast and has (so far) escaped the merciless urbanization that Istanbul has undergone. I've heard that Anadolu Kavagi can be quite crowded on the weekends, but on a late Thursday afternoon, it was nearly empty and gloriously serene.

There's not all that much to do but sit at one of the waterfront restaurants and eat and drink. So that's what we did. At one point, we took a stroll around town, but since "town" is only about three streets, it didn't take us long.

Turks generally enjoy sitting around the table, making dinners a lengthy process. We probably arrived there at 4:30pm and stayed until it was dark. This meant, of course, that we got to see the sunset, a rare treat in Istanbul. Usually, day just passes colorlessly into night here -- there's almost never the red/pink/orange/purple sky you see at home, and I'm not sure why that is. The same was true in Anadolu Kavagi and the sunset wasn't particularly colorful, but the light was such a strong orange in the latest part of the afternoon, shimmering off the the ferry building. It was just so tranquil, and I imagine this day will remain as one of my favorite memories of here.