#14: [23-Oct-18]

#13: [20-Jun-18]

#11: [12-Apr-12]

#10: [18-Mar-12]

#7: [05-May-07]

#6: [19-Sep-06]

#8: [29-May-05]

#5: [29-Mar-04]

#4: [21-Mar-04]

#3: [06-Dec-03]

#12: [08-Jun-12] (incomplete)

#9: [03-Jul-08] (incomplete)

#2: [05-Nov-02] (incomplete)

30-Dec-2001 -- Istanbul - a city that has it all! Great views, marvelous old buildings, good weather (in the summer), good food (especially if you like meat - mmmmm), a narrow strait that separates two continents, and a tantalisingly close Confluence in the middle of the strait - so near, yet so far...

The plan was to use the GPS to try and narrow down the exact location of the Confluence, and then choose one of the regular ferry crossings to get as close to the Confluence as possible. Initial indications from part 1 of the plan were that the Confluence was slap bang in the middle of the Bosporus pretty much at the point that the Bosporus becomes the Sea of Marmara, and that a ferry to Kadıköy on the Asian side should bring us pretty close to the point in question.

30 Dec was a cold and windy day, and the Bosporus was quite choppy. So, digital camera in one hand, GPS in the other, and leaning against anything I could find so that I didn't fall off the boat, we set out from Beşiktaş on the European side bound for Kadıköy in Asia. Our route broght us close to Maiden's Tower (also known as Leander's Tower, and made famous in one of the James Bond films) but, unfortunately, it veered left before we hit the Confluence. Our closest approach to the confluence was about 790 metres. As we approached Kadıköy, we noticed some sea walls, and the ferry (naturally) wanted to get between the sea walls and the Asian coast. The Confluence was on the other side of the walls.

So, to any future confluence hunters, I suspect that, in order to get closer, you would have to take the ferry to Bostancı further down the coast on the Asian side. Such a trip should remain on the other side of the sea walls, and hence pass pretty close to the Confluence. Failing that, there are also ferries to the islands in the Sea of Marmara.