Rick Steves' Europe
Travel Bites 929: Istanbul, the Great Port on the Bosphorus
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Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus Strait that separates Europe and Asia.
Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus Strait that separates Europe and Asia. To begin to understand the city, take an intercontinental sightseeing cruise up the Golden Horn inlet, under the Galata Bridge, past its cruise terminal, and over to its Asian side.
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Rick Steves' Europe
Travel Bites 929: Istanbul, the Great Port on the Bosphorus
Clip | 5m 53sVideo has Closed Captions
Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus Strait that separates Europe and Asia. To begin to understand the city, take an intercontinental sightseeing cruise up the Golden Horn inlet, under the Galata Bridge, past its cruise terminal, and over to its Asian side.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship[upbeat music] Istanbul is one of the great cities on Earth, period.
For thousands of years, this place, where East meets West, has been a crossroads of civilizations.
Few places on Earth have witnessed more history than this sprawling metropolis on the Bosporus.
Turkey bridges Europe and Asia.
Its largest city, Istanbul, straddles the Bosphorus Strait.
Part of the city's in Europe, and part in Asia.
The Golden Horn inlet, long a strategic harbor, is crossed by the Galata Bridge.
It connects the bustling new town and the old town with its fabled palace and mosques.
After a cruise on the Bosphorus, we'll explore the Grand Bazaar, wander down the Istiklal Caddesi Boulevard, then finish in Asia with a visit to Uskudar.
Inspiring monuments showcase 2,000 years of Istanbul history-- its ancient Roman and early Christian Byzantine period, its centuries as the capital of the Muslim Ottoman empire, and its birth as a modern nation in the 20th century.
[turkish music] While today the city is a vast megalopolis of over 15 million people sprawling along both sides of the Bosphorus, its oldest citizens actually remember when it had only a million people.
In other words, the vast majority of the city is new.
And its historic points of interest are mostly corralled into a relatively compact old center.
The starting point for many travelers is Istanbul's state-of-the-art cruise terminal, with its ingenious collapsible walls.
It adds to the city's population whenever ships are in port.
A far-sighted infrastructure investment, all the buses and taxis are underground to efficiently move the crowds.
In season, massive cruise ships pour thousands of tourists smoothly into the city for a busy day of sightseeing and shopping.
When ships sail, the security and customs walls fall down, and Galata Port transforms into a delightful public promenade 600 yards long.
Late in the day, the people watching mixes with the commotion of the busy harbor to make it a Turkish paseo like none other.
The Bosphorus is churning with boat traffic of all sorts.
This narrow and strategic strait is a bottleneck, busy with freighters, including lots of Ukrainian and Russian ships, since this is the only route between ports on the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
And tourist boats doing their maritime do-si-do dance around the serious cargo ships and ferries.
For more of a mini-cruise, it's easy to hop a sightseeing boat for a relaxing sail up the Bosphorus.
Yes, an intercontinental cruise.
It's a chance to see Istanbul from the water and get the lay of the land, with Europe on one side and Asia on the other.
Small, historic towns, marked by their minarets, are now engulfed in the sprawl of modern Istanbul.
The boat passes an Ottoman emperor's hunting lodge, palaces of the nobility, and homes of wealthy locals-- locals who can afford the Bosphorus waterfront, some of the priciest real estate in all of Turkey.
And anyone can enjoy the inviting beachfront parks.
The dramatic Bosphorus Bridge was the first bridge ever to span two continents.
And the Rumeli fortress was built by the Ottomans five centuries ago.
Back in the old center, the Galata Bridge spans the strategic inlet called the Golden Horn.
For centuries, this easy-to-defend bay provided the city a protected harbor.
1,000 years ago, long before there was a bridge here, a mighty chain was stretched across the mouth of this inlet.
This gave the Byzantine Empire its safest harbor, which provided the city a critical key to both trade and military power.
While just a few years ago its shoreline was an industrial wasteland, today, the Golden Horn is cleaned up and lined by inviting parks.
After a determined effort by the city and lots of investment, the people of Istanbul now share a delightfully green and welcoming people zone-- the Golden Horn.
Back at the Galata Bridge for fast food, Istanbul style, you can grab a fishwich just off the boat-- mackerel, fresh from the guys who caught it, at one of the venerable and very tipsy fish and bread boats.
And, as the sun sets, on the bridge, you can enjoy panoramic views of Istanbul's old town, an iconic place for more fast fish-- [shouting] --or a nice dinner, with a view of the harbor action.
[boat horn] There are lots of tourists in Istanbul, and it's interesting to note that about half of them come from other Muslim countries.
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NewTravel Bites 971: Passeggiata and Rome After Dark
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Clip | 3m 59s | Join Romans for the beloved evening passeggiata. (3m 59s)
NewTravel Bites 970: Jewish Rome and Monti
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Clip | 5m 6s | Rome’s ancient Jewish community shares its extraordinary story of endurance and resilience. (5m 6s)
NewTravel Bites 969: Rome's Colorful Trastevere Neighborhood
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Clip | 4m 23s | Across the river, Trastevere invites travelers into intimate lanes. (4m 23s)
NewTravel Bites 967: St. Peter’s and Vatican City
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Clip | 4m 45s | Cross into the world’s smallest country to explore magnificent St. Peter’s Basilica. (4m 45s)
NewTravel Bites 966: Borghese Gallery’s Baroque Masters
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Clip | 3m 2s | Rome’s fabulously wealthy patrons transformed collecting and commissioning art into dazzling display (3m 2s)
NewTravel Bites 965: Art in Rome’s Churches
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Clip | 2m 45s | Step into Rome’s often unassuming churches to discover masterpieces in their original settings. (2m 45s)
NewTravel Bites 964: Rome’s Back Street Riches and Piazzas
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Clip | 4m 4s | Rome’s public spaces transform an ordinary morning stroll into a memorable sightseeing adventure. (4m 4s)
NewTravel Bites 963: Testaccio: A Roman Food Tour
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Clip | 5m 40s | In earthy Testaccio, a lively food tour through a neighborhood market provides a delicious taste. (5m 40s)
NewTravel Bites 962: Catacombs and Early Christianity
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Clip | 5m 29s | A bike ride along the ancient Appian Way leads underground into Rome’s catacombs. (5m 29s)
NewTravel Bites 961: Pantheon: Rome’s Perfect Temple
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Clip | 1m 33s | The best-preserved temple of ancient Rome showcases engineering genius. (1m 33s)
NewTravel Bites 960: Imperial Rome in Art
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Clip | 3m 18s | Trajan’s Forum, the Circus Maximus, and Rome’s National Museum reveal the empire at its peak. (3m 18s)
NewTravel Bites 959: Colosseum and Caracalla Baths
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Clip | 3m 28s | Rome’s colossal engineering comes alive at the iconic Colosseum. (3m 28s)
NewTravel Bites 958: Eating Like a Roman
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Clip | 2m 23s | A convivial Roman meal celebrates seasonal ingredients and regional specialties. (2m 23s)
NewTravel Bites 957: Capitoline Hill’s Ancient Treasures
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Clip | 3m | Rome’s historic Capitoline Hill brings ancient Rome vividly to life. (3m)
NewTravel Bites 956: Its Birth Story
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Clip | 4m 4s | Tracing the story of Rome in a nutshell. (4m 4s)
NewTravel Bites 955: Paris: A floodlit tour
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Clip | 2m 10s | The fabled “City of Light” is also the city of flood light. (2m 10s)
NewTravel Bites 954: Paris’ Other Great Museums
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Clip | 5m 35s | After Versailles, the Louvre, and the Orsay, Paris’ less famous museums are also worth a visit. (5m 35s)
NewTravel Bites 953: Versailles, Europe’s Palace of Palaces
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Clip | 3m 40s | This ultimate royal palace is Louis XIV’s lavish explosion of baroque bling. (3m 40s)
NewTravel Bites 952: The Orsay Gallery
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Clip | 3m 8s | The paintings of the Orsay take you from 1848 to 1914. (3m 8s)
NewTravel Bites 951: Paris's Louvre Museum
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Clip | 5m 38s | The Louvre—with masterpieces from Ancient Greek to Renaissance and Romantic—is a must to visit. (5m 38s)
NewTravel Bites 950: Paris: Boulevards, Les Invalides, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees
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Clip | 5m 38s | Grand boulevards like the Champs-Élysées connect great sights with edible memories. (5m 38s)
NewTravel Bites 949: Paris: Haussmann buildings and grand boulevards
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Clip | 1m 37s | The elegance of Paris is no accident. Broad boulevards, grand monuments, people-friendly greenbelts. (1m 37s)
NewTravel Bites 948: Eating French Cliches at a Parisian Bistro
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Clip | 3m 55s | Grab a seat for lunch to enjoy a kir, French onion soup, escargot, croque madam, steak tartare. (3m 55s)
NewTravel Bites 947: Paris’ Marais neighborhood
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Clip | 4m 6s | The Marais is a hub of Parisian history and culture—with its Jewish Quarter, and Bastille prison,. (4m 6s)
NewTravel Bites 946: Shopping for Dinner on Paris’ Rue Cler
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Clip | 4m 6s | Paris’ most inviting market street is Rue Cler. (4m 6s)
NewTravel Bites 945: Two Grand Parisian Churches: Notre-Dame and Sainte-Chapelle
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Clip | 2m 28s | Paris’ two most popular churches are the beloved Notre-Dame and the exquisite Sainte-Chapelle. (2m 28s)
NewTravel Bites 944: The Eiffel Tower
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Clip | 2m 15s | Paris’ Eiffel Tower, a muscular symbol of France’s Industrial Age, has been entertaining since 1889. (2m 15s)
NewTravel Bites 943: Paris’ River Seine
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Clip | 4m 35s | The Seine River defines Paris’ Right and Left Bank. (4m 35s)
NewTravel Bites 942: The Regeneration of London’s Industrial Heritage
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Clip | 6m 23s | London’s once abandoned industrial corners have morphed into popular people and culture zones. (6m 23s)
NewTravel Bites 941: The British Library
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Clip | 2m | London hosts the national archive with 12 million books and one Treasures Room. (2m)
NewTravel Bites 940: A Proper Afternoon Tea
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Clip | 2m 6s | Afternoon tea is a great British tradition and London does it with style. (2m 6s)
NewTravel Bites 939: London’s East End Food Tour
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Clip | 4m 40s | London’s happening East End survives and thrives just beyond a tsunami of skyscrapers. (4m 40s)
NewTravel Bites 938: London’s Victoria and Albert Museum
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Clip | 4m 34s | “Albertopolis” is the corner of London built by and celebrating the vision of Prince Albert. (4m 34s)
NewTravel Bites 937: The Tower of London
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Clip | 2m | The Tower of London entertains and inspires. (2m)
NewTravel Bites 936: St Paul's Cathedral, London’s Pride
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Clip | 2m 37s | St. Paul’s Cathedral is architect Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece, the greatest dome in Britain. (2m 37s)
NewTravel Bites 935: The City of London
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Clip | 3m 34s | London’s historic core is called “The City.” (3m 34s)
NewTravel Bites 934: Britain’s National Portrait Gallery
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Clip | 2m 35s | The National Portrait Gallery is the perfect place. (2m 35s)
NewTravel Bites 933: London’s Westminster and Whitehall, Home of Britain’s Government
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Clip | 8m 40s | The core of royal London. (8m 40s)
NewTravel Bites 932: Istanbul's Grand Main Drag, Istiklal Caddesi
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Clip | 4m 38s | The best way to feel the pulse of urban Istanbul is to explore its teeming main boulevard. (4m 38s)
NewTravel Bites 931: Whirling Dervishes
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Clip | 2m 24s | Mystic Sufi monks whirl themselves into a meditative trance as they embrace the poet Rumi’s wisdom. (2m 24s)
NewTravel Bites 930: Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar
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Clip | 3m 27s | Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar remains enchanting, perplexing visitors with its maze-like network of lanes. (3m 27s)
Now PlayingTravel Bites 929: Istanbul, the Great Port on the Bosphorus
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Clip | 5m 53s | Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus Strait that separates Europe and Asia. (5m 53s)
NewTravel Bites 928: Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace
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Clip | 5m 14s | Here we find the storybook image of the Ottomans—sultans, eunuchs, harems. (5m 14s)
NewTravel Bites 927: Hagia Sophia, the Great Church of Constantinople
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Clip | 3m 6s | This magnificent church-turned-mosque offers the visitor an opportunity to be inspired. (3m 6s)
NewTravel Bites 926: Islamic Art, Ramadan, and the Blue
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Clip | 4m 57s | Istanbul offers a chance to better understand Islam. (4m 57s)
NewTravel Bites 925: A Turkish Bath in Ottoman Splendor
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Clip | 3m 9s | The splendor of Istanbul’s Ottoman Empire is best experienced in a hammam. (3m 9s)
NewTravel Bites 924: Istanbul when it was Constantinople
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Clip | 4m 36s | For thousands of years, this place, where East meets West, has been a crossroads of civilizations. (4m 36s)
NewTravel Bites 923: A Leisurely Day on a Burgundian Canal
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Clip | 5m 39s | A crack-of-dawn trip to the bakery before breakfast on our barge. (5m 39s)
NewTravel Bites 922: Burgundy: Wine, Vineyard, and Chateau
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Clip | 3m 3s | France’s famed Côte d’Or, or “Golden Slopes,” is all about fine wine. (3m 3s)
NewTravel Bites 921: Barging: A Barge Cruise in Burgundy
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Clip | 6m 3s | France’s Burgundy, with its inviting canals and iconic vineyards. (6m 3s)
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