Upper Bosphorus Adventure: From Küçüksu to Yoros

1. 01
   History

   Walk Around the Waterfront Pavilion

   Explore Küçüksu Pavilion, whose present stone structure was completed in 1856–57 for Sultan Abdülmecid by architect Nikogos Balyan. This two-story, rectangular pavilion has no harem-selamlık division; instead, it is arranged around a central hall with corner rooms. Its sea-facing façade is covered top to bottom with rococo reliefs.

   Küçüksu Kasrı garden gate, Istanbul, Turkey
2. 02
   Nature

   Slow Down Between Two Streams

   Pause at the historic promenade area between the Göksu and Küçüksu streams, once one of the city's best-known leisure grounds and described in Western sources as the 'Sweet Waters of Asia.' Beside the pavilion, the 1806 marble fountain and the prayer platform commissioned by Mihrişah Valide Sultan still remain.

   Mihrişah Çeşmesi square, Küçüksu, Istanbul, Turkey
3. 03
   History

   Measure the Narrowest Point of the Bosphorus

   See the exterior of Anadolu Hisarı, built by Bayezid I in the early 1390s at the narrowest point of the Bosphorus and one of the oldest Ottoman structures in Istanbul. It consists of a tall square-plan tower and surrounding walls. In 1452, Mehmed II added an outer wall with four towers, closing the passage together with the fortress on the opposite shore.

   Anadolu Hisarı waterfront street, Istanbul, Turkey
4. 04
   Food

   Taste Yogurt at the Pier

   Stop at Kanlıca Pier to try the neighborhood's famous yogurt, long associated with a dusting of powdered sugar. The pier area is just a small square and a few rows of tables. When the ferry arrives, the square fills up; when it departs, everything goes quiet again, following the clockwork rhythm of Bosphorus villages.

   Kanlıca ferry pier front, Istanbul, Turkey
5. 05
   Photography

   Scan the Bosphorus from the Tower

   Visit Hıdiv Pavilion, built in 1907 by Abbas Hilmi Pasha, the last Khedive of Egypt. Designed by Italian architect Delfo Seminati, it is one of Istanbul's clearest examples of Art Nouveau. The elevator in its tower was among the city's first steam-powered elevators, and the grove behind it is now open for walking.

   Hıdiv Kasrı garden entrance, Istanbul, Turkey
6. 06
   History

   Listen to Ten Spouts at Once

   Visit İshak Ağa Fountain in Beykoz pier square, built in 1746 by Customs Superintendent İshak Ağa. Locally known as Onçeşmeler, it has ten continuously flowing spouts, with the two in the center made wider than the others. Its baroque composition of eight marble columns, twelve arches, and cross vaulting makes it a rare square fountain on the Bosphorus shore.

   İshak Ağa Çeşmesi, Beykoz pier square, Istanbul, Turkey
7. 07
   Culture

   See the Factory's Second Life

   Explore Beykoz Kundura, a leather and shoe factory founded in 1810, transferred to Sümerbank in 1933, and closed in 1999. Since 2005, the site has been used as a film and TV production set. It also contains a cinema hall and an oral history archive based on interviews with the factory's workers.

   Beykoz Kundura main entrance, Istanbul, Turkey
8. 08
   Local

   Watch the Fishermen at the Last Pier

   Spend time at Anadolu Kavağı pier square, the last settlement before the Bosphorus opens into the Black Sea. The square is framed by fishing boats, piles of nets, and a few rows of tables. It comes alive when the ferry arrives and empties when it leaves. The uphill road to the castle begins here.

   Anadolu Kavağı ferry pier front, Istanbul, Turkey
9. 09
   History

   Frame Two Seas in One Shot

   Climb to Yoros Castle, standing on the hill above the Bosphorus mouth facing the Black Sea. A Greek inscription written in brick letters on one of the towers points to the Byzantine period. The Genoese held the site from 1348 onward, and Bayezid I took it in 1391. Excavation and restoration have continued here since 2010.

   Yoros Kalesi entrance gate, Anadolu Kavağı, Istanbul, Turkey

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