It rains a lot in Istanbul in the winter, and it can be challenging to find something fun to do for active boys. This is one of our favorites:
The climbing place (Boulder Istanbul) is a continent away, or to be more specific, just across the water. Istanbul is divided in two by the Bosphorus Strait, the western side is in Europe and the eastern side Asia. We take the ferry to Kadikoy on the Asian side and climb around in this bouldering heaven for as long as we want, usually until fingers and toes are sore and tired. Then we find our favorite restaurant and fill our hungry bellies, before we take the boat back across to Europe.
The boat trip back was the highlight of my day on our first visit. It was a very cold and rainy day, but just as we left the shore to go home, the sun appeared and we had a magnificent sunset behind the silhouettes of Istanbul's skyline of beautiful mosques and palaces. The boat was crammed with people as usual, and all of a sudden a man started belting out an arabesque serenade while playing his guitar. He had a beautiful voice but sang only this one song before he quietly puts his guitar back in its case. I am ready to start applauding and show my appreciation for this unexpected concert, but no-one else moves a muscle. Everyone is quiet, and I start to wonder if it only happened in my imagination. As the ferry approaches the landing, another kind of singing starts to grow. The whole back of the boat is filled with excited football supporters on their way to the Sunday night match. As they line up to get off the boat, their sining gets louder and more passengers show their enthusiasm and join the chorus. It gets louder and louder, and at some point it feels as if the ferry itself is rocking to the rhythm of happy cheers. Next to me is an elderly couple singing along, and the wife gets so excited she pulls out her husbands credit card, which has the football team's logo (Besiktas) on it, and waves it high up in the air like a banner for the next generation to see.
