My Escapes Turkey Istanbul Short Stay in Istanbul The Golden Horn

The Golden Horn

The place called "Golden Horn" is part of Istanbul historic centre.
Plenty of the old historic attractions are found here and there are lots of hotels and restaurants. Of course, I decided to get accommodated here.
Besides, the Golden Horn offers great views towards the Bosporus Strait...

In Turkish they call it Haliç or, literally translated: Altın Boynuz ("Golden Horn").

This is peninsula-like geographic formation, which belongs to inner Istanbul (it's on the Western, European part). It is a horn-shaped estuary overlooking the Bosporus Strait.

You can clearly notice the horn-shape on the map, as depicted below...

The Golden Horn in Istanbul:

It is "golden": either because of the sunlight's reflection on the water around at dusk or, because of the immense riches accumulated here (including gold!).

If you visit the Topkapi Museum, you will see some of the impressive riches (vast collections of historic artifacts, massive gold objects, gemstones...).

Plus, some of the best views towards the sea are from the yards of the Topkapi.

The Golden Horn is where much of the ancient city's districts and many of the main attractions are located. It's easy to walk around and there are modern trams and buses too.

The Sea of Marmara starts here, where the Bosporus Strait connects it with the Black Sea.

Of course - I couldn't find any better place in Istanbul to set my base, I picked the Golden Horn area strategically - I stayed at Pamphilia Hotel, which is rather cheap, but terrible simple breakfast (literally coffee with biscuits and a few fruits...).

The modern Bosporus Bridge (First Bridge) spans across the Bosporus Strait (that's sea, although it looks like a wide a river!) linking the two parts of Istanbul is the first one ever built to connect the two continents: Asia and Europe.

It has a length of 1,560 m (1,074 m above water), 33.40 m wide, with pylons stretching to staggering height of 165 m (that's as tall as a skyscraper), it's 64 m above water.

There are lots of cheap and even plenty of high-end hotels in the Golden Horn area, so you will find it convenient for visiting the attractions, including: the Blue Mosque, the Haya Sofia (Hagia Sofia) Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, the Istanbul University.

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