The Anatolian Grove:
You can arrive at this small pleasant coastal borough in a one-hour journey, discover the historical fortress, enjoy fish and inhale the relaxing sea odor.
Resembling a small coastal borough along with its historical texture, natural beauty and fish restaurants, the Anatolian Grove, affiliated to the Beykoz district, is one of the attractive areas where you can witness the incomparable charm of the Bosphorus through a merry boat trip taking around one hour.
Serving as an entry gate of the Bosphorus to the Black Sea, this district catches eyes with its two-storey houses located on both sides and its rough cobblestone pavements. After visiting the streets on which various ornamental jewelries and souvenirs are offered, you can climb up to the Yorgos Fortress located in the district. At the fortress that was constructed by the Byzantines and at which you can arrive after driving up a hill of 200 m, you can view a magnificent scene and explore the remains of temples built at one time for the sake of 12 gods there. Seized by the Turks in 1305, the fortress was then carried by the Genoese as at 1348 who blanketed the Black Sea arteries of commerce and then by the Ottomans.
One of the nicest things you can do in the Anatolian Grove is fish delight… You can sit at one of the fish restaurants starting from the quay to which the ferry docks and lying across the whole coastline of the district, or prefer “fish in bread” offered in small boats.
After your meal, you can try “doughnut” that is a traditional Turkish dessert and cooked in great deal throughout the Anatolian Grove, or you can prefer the “ice-cream” which you find rather frequently in the district as well.
The rumelian grove:
This grove is exactly like the Anatolian Grove. It is in the nature of a cute coastal borough within Istanbul renowned for its fish restaurants and to which you can make your way to have a good time.
The Rumelian Grove, located to the north of the Bosphorus, is affiliated to the Sarıyer district. Situated exactly at the entry point to Black Sea, the region has always maintained its strategic significance regardless of the state ruling Istanbul.
The district which we can consider today as the projection of the Anatolian Grove on the European side is, exactly like the Anatolian Grove, in the nature of a fishing village. The district makes you feel that you are in and out of Istanbul at the same time from different aspects is renowned for its fishmongers lined up in rows.
The district, getting into action with the arrival of visitors coming from other regions of the city to savor the fish and sea, is one of the rare and precious locations of Istanbul where the environment is in its “greenest” and the sea is in its “bluest” form. Also, the view encompassing all this beauty stands among the most charming scenes you can find in Istanbul.