7/28/2019 Of the Three Most Distinctive Buildings on the Way Up the Bosphorus to Beykoz

1/1

Of the three most distinctive buildings on the way up the Bosphorus to Beykoz, one is a classic Ottoman imperial

hunting lodge Kksu Palace; one is much older, the castle of Anadolu Hisar was constructed by the Ottomans

during the build up to the conquest in order to secure the Bosphorus for the Turkish armies; and one is more recent,

the prominent white tower on the hill above Kanlca is Khedive Palace, built in 1907 as the holiday home of the

Khedive of Egypt. Khedive Palace is now a restaurant set in a very attractive park. Kanlca and Anadolu Hisar are

pleasant vllages with cafes on the waterfront to sit and take tea.

Along the coast are some of the most expensive houses in the city and many politicians and famous people in Turkey

have villas here. Some of the grandest of the huge wooden Ottoman seaside houses called yal can be found from

Anadolu Hisar up to Beykoz itself. As well as the obvious attraction of living by the water the large areas of forest

parkland on hillside along much of this coast make the Beykoz waterfront a peaceful retreat from the city. But the

water is the clincher: the scent of the sea coming off the Bosphorus, people fishing, the huge ships sliding by, the

sound of foghorns in the evening; no wonder the restaurants and nightclubs on the shore are the classiest in the

city, and the coast before Beykoz has its share of these - clubs such as Hayal Kahvesi or Club 29 in ubuklu,

restaurants such as Krfez or Lacivert (both near Anadolu Hisar). Much of the coast is built on unfortunately, and

the buses that drive the coast road are a law unto themselves but there are still plenty of spots on the waterfront to

eat, drink, fish or just sit. In places such as Yalky there are boats moored up selling grilled mackerel.

In Beykoz itself there is a large park on the hillside (Beykoz Korusu), and a number of attractive Ottoman fountains.

The town centre also has a village feel to it, with smallish, aging buildings, many of them houses rather than blocks

of flats, especially on the hills that climb up away from the coast. Being far from the city infrastructure such as

natural gas is taking its time to arrive, but the general peacefulness of neighbourhood and the possibility of a

Bosphorus view more than compensate. There is however very little in the way of night-life, or even evening-life, or

smart places to eat and drink this far up the Bosphorus (although one or two places are opening up now)

Beyond Beykoz, there are large areas of forested countryside, where the people of Istanbul come for picnics at the

weekend. And it is then that Beykoz suffers some of the traffic congestion that so plagues the city as a whole.

Some popular picnic spots include: The upper Bosphorus villages of Anadolu Kava, Anadolufeneri and Poyrazky. In

Anadolufeneri, the historical lighttower Anadolu Feneri can be visited. Kavak being particularly popular as the last

stop on the Bosphorus ferry cruises, where people stop to eat fish and walk up to the castle on the hill. Fener and

Poyraz are smaller but very pleasant fishing villages; The Black Sea village of Riva; where you can swim but you must

be careful as this is near the mouth of the Bosphorus and sometimes there are dangerous currents. The inland

around and between Cumhuriyet Ky, Ali Bahadr, Deirmendere, Akbaba, Dereseki and Polonezky are all popular

retreats, and new roads are being put through to service the luxury housing that is going up in places.

There are a number of tombs of Muslim saints and holy places that also attract visitors, particularly the tomb of the

saint Yua (a nephew of the Prophet Mohammed), on a hill just before Anadolu Kava.