Almost 9 Kilometres in Istanbul s Newfound Land(scape)

Abstract

On Saturday, September 30, 2017 we left our placein Koşuyolu and took a rather stuffed minibus to the historical seaside neighborhood Üsküdar. The weather was around 19°C. The night before, we were warned ofshowers, but apart from an extremely overcast sky, there was no rain. [distance: 0 km; elevation: 49 m; time: 10:55]. To cross tothe Europeansideof town, we took the ferry and in 7 minutes set foot on Beşiktaş. Pondering what a French cartographerhad told me about İstanbul’s Asian-European sides being only a construct of political interests and not actual geographical borders, I wondered how else I could refer to these two partsof this city. We boarded bus number 25E to Sarıyer. Passing under the first and then the second suspension bridges felt like time travelling in the city’s urban development.