Bosphorus Dinner Cruises

Best of both worlds in Istanbul

So do Turks consider themselves Asian or European?” I casually ask our host Adnan Aykac over lunch at Matbah Restoran, in Istanbul's Ottoman Hotel Imperial, which serves authentic cuisine from the Ottoman era.

Aykac, General Manager (Northern and Eastern India) for Turkish Airlines, appears momentarily taken off-guard but recovers quickly: “Oh, we are both,” he smiles, “though the younger generation today think of themselves as European.”

He couldn't have put it better. Turks have always had the luxury (or is it confusion?) of mixed heritage: European and Asian, though one is tempted to think that it is more of the latter than the former. But there is no doubt what the youngsters consider themselves to be. They dress, eat, speak and behave more like the Europeans do.

Indeed, Istanbul, or at least the modern part of it, appears more like a European city than the throbbing port city of an ancient country, which is what it actually is. Make no mistake, if you expected head-scarves, women with hijab or men with flowing beards, you'd be disappointed.

Turkey is a secular, progressive and modern country with Muslims accounting for more than 95 per cent of the population. The credit for this secular ethos goes to the founding father of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, but that's another story.

The sights and smells of Istanbul can be from any city in Western Europe. The broad, clean pavements lined with bistros, the familiar signs of a consumer culture such as McDonalds and Burger King or the night-clubs and pubs that dot Istiklal Street off Taksim Square where hip youngsters sway to a mix of Turkish and Western music with free-flowing beer…. it is the Turkish name-boards and the never-too-far-away Bosphorus that remind you that this is Istanbul.

The Bosphorus Strait — which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, which further offers a gateway to the Mediterranean — is what made Constantinople, as Istanbul was known in history, a strategic city. Today, the Bosphorus neatly divides Istanbul into Anatolia (the Asian part) and Rumelia (European part). Ruled for centuries by the Romans, Istanbul was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 and was ruled by them till the early part of the 20{+t}{+h} century when it was declared a secular republic by Ataturk.

bosphorus dinner cruise and Turkish night show | Europe Forum ...

We were planning to do boat cruise on Bosphorus and also wanted to see Turkish dances and we came across one great activity that offers both of them in one programme. We booked it right away on Dances of Colours web page, www.dancesofcolours.com Different Turkish dances and of course the bell dancer were all fantastic; it was a very nice and interesting night for us. We joined Turkish night show on bosphorus it was great by its belly dancer, and some other show, Dinner was also good. It was excellent to see bosphorus and program at the same time. We enjoyed it a lot.

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