Exploring local travel methods: The Ferry

While I was in Istanbul, my main objective was to take the ferry to Asia. Traveling on my own this became a task I had to figure out alone. I did some google searches, I looked on the maps, but everything on the ferry website was in Turkish, with no maps, just written locations. I searched the locations on my iPhone map and tried to find which port had anything close by I wanted to see (book shops, restaurants, a notable mosque, or museum) I worked on this for two days.  When I finally got the courage to try myself it was after 7pm at night and I was leaving the next day.  Moral of the story: look things up before going, this is a lesson I have never learned. 

Interestingly enough, there was a brand-new ferry location near my hotel (Michael and Ece told me about it), so, I decided to just walk to it. According to what I could decipher on the website they were open until 11pm and it was about 8pm at this time. I wandered the streets, looking ridiculous, peering down at my map to see where I was every few blocks and I found the commuter ferry!

The dock was surrounded by little shops and amazing little restaurants with men standing outside of them trying to lure people to dine. 

The next problem was, I don't speak Turkish, and other than "thank you" and "discount" I really didn't know any of it. At all. Thankfully after struggling with the ticket machine, I discovered there was a button for many languages. Apparently, I wasn't the only traveler unfamiliar with Turkish as two Russian women attempted to communicate with me in Russian and German, I explained to them in both languages, I only speak English and I was sorry.  I hope they found their way. 

I bought my ticket and waited for the ferry to arrive and go to Eminonu, it was the only stop at this location. I thought I saw this name on the other side, so in reality, I did not completely understand where it was going, I just knew it was possibly going to the other side of the Bosporus. I watched anxiously on the iPhone to see where I was going and when I ended up in Eminounu, I feared I made a mistake. Suddenly every fear I ever had came popping in my head. " You don't really know where you are going." My brain kept telling me, "You are going to get stuck somewhere if you keep going. You'll never get home. You'll end up trapped on the other side. You are literally going to get stuck in Asia." 

I quieted these voices and sat back down. There was no map, except my phone telling me where I was going. There were no normal routes posted on the ship that I could find, I did look. Also, there was no announcement I could hear. Even if there were, I don't speak Turkish. I began to think it was the dumbest thing I've ever done. 

The ship came back on, motors churning below me, and it took off. My only thought was, "what if it goes back to where I started?" but it did not. I watched on my phone as the ship took its course across the Bosporus and into Asia. I went out to the deck and watched the buildings and water. It was a beautiful night and the weather was perfect. 

I made it across. I stepped into Asia. I realized I did it myself and a sense of pride, and happiness, some relief washed over me as I saw where the Ferry back to where I came from was clearly marked.