Day 11 - Istanbul Day Two:Worship and Asia

Today, we’ll travel with the locals as we visit sites across the Golden Horn and the Bosporus.

We plan to jump on the Besiktas tram and travel down the hill and across the Galata bridge.

Exiting on the Karakoy side, we take a underground tram, called the “Tunel” up the hill and come out on Istiklal Caddesi (Independence Ave) in the area called Beyoglu. This is more modern district of Istanbul built during the 19th century and is the most “European” section of the city.

We wander up the street and attend Sunday worship at Union Church of Istanbul.
After worship, we’ll have lunch at a local “lokanta”. If weather is good, we might visit the Galenta Tower.
After lunch, we’ll descend the “Tunel” and take a scenic ferry across the Straits of Bosporus to Kadikoy, the Asian side of Istanbul and leave most of the tourists behind. Don’t miss the historic Maiden's Tower (Kız Kulesi) along the way.
Once past the ferry terminals, the cobbled streets are lined with bookstores, art galleries, jewelers, cake shops, clothes stores, and cafes. Here, we will walk the narrow lanes and visit a historic Greek Orthodox Church, remembering the “Council of Chalcedon” which was held here in 451AD.

We’ll cross back over when we’re done, arriving at the Eminönü ferry terminal and taking the tram back up the hill.

In the evening, we hope to meet with PCUSA mission partners in Istanbul at our hotel.