Istanbul: changing continents, vapur, bridges, Marmaray

Par Gabriel Goldberg 19 May 2026 7 min read

There are few places in the world where geography is lived as physically and as poetically as in Istanbul. Last week, I was in this fascinating megacity as part of the Belgian economic mission chaired by Her Majesty Queen Mathilde . Between the hushed lobbies of international hotels, the official meetings and the contract signings, the pace was relentless. Official plenary session of the Belgian economic mission to Türkiye, chaired by Her Majesty Queen Mathilde. Photo: press pool. Diplomatic and economic work is fascinating, but it tends to seal you inside an air-conditioned bubble of auditoriums and black sedans. So, every time the schedule gave me an hour off, I escaped. My obsession: to observe the fundamental anomaly of this city. Istanbul is the only metropolis in the world straddling two continents — Europe and Asia. For Istanbullus, switching continents is not a journey. It is a commute. Here is how a city of more than fifteen million people has tamed the Bosphorus strait, weaving links of iron, concrete and water between West and East. This notebook extends my first impressions of the megalopolis between two worlds and complements my notes on the Ankara leg of the mission . 1. The waterway: the vapur, soul of Istanbul If you want to feel the city's pulse, forget the roads. The original crossing — the most romantic, the most timeless — happens on the water. A historic Şehir Hatları vapur returning to dock. Some of these ferries date back to the 1950s — they are…