Evening in Bostancı: Where the Sea Pulled Back

1. 01
   Exploration

   Pause at the City's Old Boundary

   Start at the three-arched cut-stone bridge over Bostancı Creek, built in 1523–24 by İhsan Ağa. In the Ottoman period, crossing here meant entering the city: the bridge also functioned as a derbent, a checkpoint controlling entry and exit. Evliya Çelebi even records an incident here from 1651.

   Bostancıbaşı Köprüsü, Istanbul, Turkey
2. 02
   Culture

   Read National Architecture by the Seafront

   Continue to Bostancı's station mosque, built in 1914–15 by Architect Kemalettin. He was a founder of the First National Architectural Movement and also led the restoration of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. This small mosque is one of the rare examples of the movement on the Asian-side shoreline.

   Bostancı İstasyon Camii, Istanbul, Turkey
3. 03
   History

   Calculate How Much Shorter the Pier Became

   At Bostancı Pier, explore a 1912–13 structure designed in the First National Architectural style, with broad eaves, Bursa arches, and a small dome. Its real story is about distance: when it was built, it stretched about 135 meters from the shore into the sea, but landfill in the 1980s reduced that distance to 80 meters.

   Bostancı İskelesi, Istanbul, Turkey
4. 04
   Local

   Walk on Land Taken from the Sea

   Finish on the Caddebostan coastal path near the pier side, where the evening crowd fills the route with runners, dog walkers, and cyclists. Much of the ground beneath you was reclaimed from the sea in the 1980s; during the same landfill works, Byzantine-era harbor remains in the area were also destroyed. This is Kadıköy's longest uninterrupted shoreline.

   Caddebostan Sahil Parkuru, Istanbul, Turkey

Check opening hours before you go. Hours, access conditions and weather can change.