Bosporus Ferry -- Whew! I Made It Across!
Riding a speedy Bosporus Ferry on a windy day.....how brave are you??It wasn't just riding a very tossing and flopping ferry that was scary, but this was my first solo trip from Kadakoy, on the Asian side of Istanbul, across the Bosporus to the European side of Istanbul where the airport is located.
I was on my way from Istanbul to Baku. On the flight to Turkey Northwest Airlines showed the new James Bond movie, "The World is Not Enough", which included scenes between Istanbul and Baku....I was right on schedule....those were the same places I was headed.
Andrew's strong shoulders caught a few of my fear-filled tears before we headed out the door of his apartment to the taxi. He said, "Mom, you'll be fine." But I wasn't so sure. Going to Baku to stay with strangers was scary enough, but now he was sending me across Istanbul alone.
Andrew is our oldest son who lived for five years in Istanbul working with TACO--Turkey Asia Creative Outreach.
He instructed the taxi to take me to the Bosporus ferry, so I knew I'd get that far, at least.
At the ferry gate I had the quirkiest time trying to get the tokens correctly in the slots, but finally figured it out. Even little things like that can be embarrassing. After a period of waiting we were ready to board and I found a seat next to a young lady.
The day was windy and the ferry took the brunt of it rocking and reeling madly as we raced across the Bosporus on this speedy ferryboat.
Then I noticed the lady next to me looking very "greenish" and sick. Soon she was throwing up in the provided paper bags. What to do? She could obviously use some help or more room to maneuver her things, so I stood up to get her some help.
As I stood up, the Bosporus ferry lurched violently, sending me flying and landed me inches in front of a Turkish business man's face. As I was plunging toward him, I quickly grabbed the arm rests to protect both of us from a collision. His horrified bulging-eyed look still haunts me. That was one time when a Turkish man was not glad to see an American woman!
Oh dear....I quickly found a seat and realized I wasn't experienced enough to get anyone help....I best stay put and not cause more harm than good.
Whew! We finally made it and after a bus ride, I arrived at the airport bound for Baku. But I was glad at the thought that Andrew would meet me on my return to Istanbul, which he did and the first thing he said was, "Mom, look up there. See what your flight number was." Yup, you guessed it: 007.
Read more about my adventures in Baku and around the world after Bosporus Ferry.
