Copyright: Time Out Istanbul
Edited for the website by YKC Tüketim ve Bilişim A.Ş.

Why go to Asia when most Turks are trying so desperately to leave it behind, even if it means throwing themselves into the not-so-loving arms of tepid EU technocracy? Here are 10 reasons to visit “the other side”.

1. To take a ferry across
Aah, the wind in your hair; the blue waters below; the sun on your face; sipping your tea as you take in the most beautiful sight in the world. It’s hard to believe you’re in the middle of a metropolis. Now, if only you can avoid a seagull pooping on your head. Ferries depart from Karaköy, Beşiktaş or Eminönü in Europe to take you to Haydarpaşa, Kadıköy, Üsküdar and Bostancı in Asia. A ride across costs no more than a bus ticket.

2. Or to cross the bridge
“Look, now I’m in Europe, now I’m in Asia, Europe, Asia, Europe, Asia…” It’s okay, everybody does it, just not out loud. The two bridges are the Bosphorus (Boğaz Köprüsü) and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges, and there are road signs for you to follow in both English and Turkish – including those cutesy “Welcome to Asia/Europe” banners. Unfortunately you can’t walk across the bridges. Even suicides have to drive half-way before they get out of the car. There’s a 3 YTL toll for private cars crossing to Asia (for either bridge); no toll when crossing to Europe.

3. To witness a football game at the Fenerbahçe Stadium
Hmm… 50,000 crazed fanatics urging 11 grown men to kick a ball around a field whilst draped in blue and yellow curtain fabric. Any team fielding players with names that sound like Van Honky-Donk and Rusty the Goalkeeper is worth seeing. Fenerbahçe are defending Turkish champs and are also playing in the Champions League in Europe this year, so it would be a memorable experience to see them play top teams in this stadium. Şükrü Saraçoğlu Stadium, Kızıltoprak.

4. To motor out to the Maiden’s Tower
A delightful spot to soak in a unique panoramic view of Istanbul, sip some refreshing herbal tea, and watch a big Russian oil-tanker bear straight toward you at 40 knots. Priceless. It’s in the middle of the Bosphorus. You can get there by ferry from Üsküdar.

5. To saunter along Bağdat Avenue
Okay, so the name doesn’t sound too appealing, but the only cars packed with explosives around here are fast, red convertibles loaded with testosterone and serving as substitutes for big… umm… egos. Watch slick pseudo-Casanovas shamelessly zoom up and down the avenue with gel-plastered hair even a storm couldn’t ruffle, as they rev their motors to impress bottle-blonde teenie-boppers out shopping with daddy’s credit card. A good place to visit if you’re a shopper or an anthropologist. A great place for high-end shopping, for everything from jewelry to clothes, shoes to furniture. Bağdat Caddesi spans 10 km between Suadiye and Erenköy.

6. To visit Haydarpaşa Train Station
This majestic building on the Bosphorus is over a hundred years old and is still the main train station on the Asian side, so if you ever want to have a little adventure and jump on a train to Ankara – or even Kars – then this is where you’ll board. (0212) 336 44 70.

7. To have a night out at Laila in Kalamış
Long condemned of having to share the same venues with plebs and non-celebs, high-fliers on the Asian side now have their very own Laila where they can just be themselves and strut like peacocks in peace. During the day you can sit in one of the cafes that line the Kalamış shore and have a drink as you read your newspaper. Münir Nurettin Selçuk Caddesi 74, Kalamış. (0216) 449 92 02

8. To go bargain hunting in Kadıköy
Explore this historic district where pirates have traded their peg-legs and parrots for DVDs and fake designer labels. You can find everything from lap-top computers to a “Right Said Fred” CD with that obnoxious song you like that’s just too sexy to find anywhere (else). Best reached by ferry from Karaköy or Eminönü.

9. To sate your sanguinity at Günaydın Butcher’s and Nezih
If you laugh in the face of sclerotic arteries and salivate like a caveman upon hearing the word “meat”, then these are the places for you. Günaydın is renowned as one of the best butcher’s in Istanbul due to the quality and selection of their meat, and Nezih is rated one of the best kebab joints around (for pretty much the same reason). Their specialties are the onion kebab and yuvalama. The meat in both establishments is so good it could put a rosy hue back in the cheeks of an anemic vegan. Nezih. (0216) 411 68 75 Atatürk Caddesi 64, Kozyatağı. Günaydın. (0216) 417 92 09 Kasaplar Çarşısı, Bostancı.

10. To pay your respects at the British Cemetery
A cemetery for British troops who died during the Crimean War to help keep their empire strong, the Ottomans weak, and the Russians away. Just a walk away from Haydarpaşa Train Station, situated in the Selimiye Barracks, alongside the Florence Nightingale Museum.