If you are visiting Istanbul, you should at least for once experience commuting by a ferry and admire the beautiful view as you cross the Bosphorus, drink a hot cup of freshly brewed Turkish Tea, and eat the world's most delicious bread snack- simit!
Turkish tea
Turkey has the highest per-capita tea consumption of anywhere in the world.
But Turkish tea isn't exactly the same as in the rest of the world.
It's brewed in something called a "çaydanlık," which is essentially two kettles stacked on top of one another.
The glass it's poured into is also a highlight as the fluted Turkish tea glasses are truly marvelous and a work of art in and of themselves.
Turkish bagel (simit)
Simit is a circular bread covered with sesame seeds, similar to a bagel and a whole host of other types of breads found in the region.
Its exterior of sesame seeds provides much of the flavor, but it also provides a nice crunch before the chewy inside.
Simit has been around even longer than tea has in Turkey, with records dating back to the early 16th century.
You'll see simit everywhere you go and it's often sold freshly-baked on the streets in cute little street sellers.
Obviously the drink it goes best with is Turkish tea, and it's the perfect morning snack on the way across the Bosphorus.
The ferries
The ferries in Istanbul bring the views, the simit and the Turkish tea all together.
Ferries depart from all over the city, with almost every district along the Bosphorus with its own pier.
Boat times are listed on the pier, but from major ports like Beşiktaş, Üsküdar, Kadıköy, Eminönü, and Karaköy they depart pretty much every 15 minutes or sometimes even more frequently.
Simit is sold on just about every pier and the boats themselves all serve Turkish tea.
So pick up your simit, get on the ferry and enjoy what so many hundreds of other Istanbul residents enjoy every day.
