Istanbul is unlike NYC, in the sense that you don’t see a lot of people out in their shorts and t-shirts, running about and around the streets. The traffic is high, the dusk is too much and the streets may get too overwhelming to shoulder others even to walk through, let alone run… There are nevertheless “some” jogging districts and some important “jogging” events, such as the Eurasia Run, which I will help you discover with this article.
Eurasia Marathon is an annual event that usually takes place in October, and is organized by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. It was organized for the first time in 1979, when a group of German marathon runners were visiting the city with the purpose of running the city. Upon their arrival into the city, the Turkish governors, who were aware of these German athletes’ intention, initiated the organization of a formal marathon and invited the Turkish athletes to take part in it as well. Since then, the marathon has become a tradition. The marathon is divided into two categories: The Marathon itself -that is 15 kms- and a “Fun Run” of 8 kms for the general public. The actual marathon starts on the Anatolian side, approximately 300 meters away from the tolls of the first Bosphorus Bridge -the Bogazici Bridge- and ends in Sultanahmet at the Hippodrome. The “Fun Run” starts 1500 meters away from the Bridge, and ends at the Inonu Soccer Stadium near Besiktas. On the day of the marathon, the traffic is halted for the entire duration of the marathon. The runners are each distributed a timer / a chip a few days prior to the run, and are thus assessed during the run. The first comers receive a variety of monetary prizes.
Apart from the marathon itself, there are also a variety of places to go for running. First of all there are the coasts! Asian Bosphorus, European Bosphorus and the Marmara Coast are all very good jogging and fitness districts. The Bosphorus coastline may at times be a bit crowded with fishermen and casual passer-bys, but the lane is quite big enough to accommodate a few fellow joggers in any case. European Bosphorus coastline starts from Karakoy, from the tip of Galata Bridge and the Istanbul Modern Museum and goes as far as Sariyer -in fact a little beyond Sariyer until Rumeli Feneri. That said, it is not possible to run the entire coast. Between Karakoy and Besiktas (appr. 5.5 km), the coastline is occupied by big ships, ports and business offices of insurance, financial and banking industries, as well as major law offices. Appropriate jogging district starts only after Besiktas and even then one has to pass the small town of Ortakoy, a cozy, artisan town with small shops, street vendors, too many birds and street dogs. Between Ortakoy and Kurucesme are major nightclubs by the Bosphorus like Reina and Sortie, once again blocking your way towards the sea. The best place to start your track is after these clubs. Stretch your legs inside the Kurucesme Park, warm up your body and hit the track until Bebek, which is appr. 2.5 km. The track on this road is right next to the Bosphorus canal and it is quite wide. It is indeed a magical atmosphere early in the morning, although a bit tough on the runner due to increased percipitation. Depending on the time of your work-out, you may have to walk through Bebek instead of running. Bebek, like Ortakoy is a small, elitist, yet village-like, small town that attracts too many passer-bys on a warm and sunny day. Once you pass Bebek, it is another long track until Emirgan -another 5 to 6 km. Parts of this track are next to the canal and parts of it are not. It also is not a straight, levelled road: you will need to climb a few hills. Your track is broken once again in Istinye. Istinye is another small sea-town, although not elitist in the same way as Bebek and Ortakoy are. After Istinye, comes Yenikoy and from Yenikoy until Sariyer is an undisturbed, even track next to the canal of approximately 8 kms. This track has also been enriched with public fitness equipments, such as ab workers and low rows -compliments of the Municipality. Although the coast officially continues beyond Sariyer, it is not possible to make the pass by turning around the coast. One will need a car or any other vehicle to pass through the Sariyer village, later climb up the hills of Sariyer and then down again to reach the end of the coast.
Although Turkish people do not jog around the streets of Istanbul, one will easily spot domestic moms, fit adolescents, mid-aged men and women making routine walks -sometimes even jogs or bicycle tours- by the coast on a warm day in Spring and in Summer.
Asian Bosphorus is more residential when compared to the European Bosphorus. The coast line is almost entirely occupied by big mansions and their gardens. Thus a jog or walk on the Asian Coast is for the most part on the inside and not next to the coast. There are also numerous small towns on this side as well and these small towns are strictly artisan towns with mini-markets, vegetable markets, authentic food markets and tea-gardens / cafes. Tea-gardens are different from the mainstream cafes in the sense that tea-gardens offer tea and maybe a few appetizers only. The more casual nature of these neighboring towns might make it harder for the jogger, but not entirely impossible. Asian Bosphorus starts from Harem, nearby of Uskudar, and extends until Anadolu Kavagi -which is again not possible to reach on foot like its counterpart Rumeli Kavagi and Rumeli Feneri. From Harem until Uskudar is a nice and wide coastline track, however, this area is strictly commercial and thus almost always very busy with street vendors and people running about their daily chores -trying to catch the ferry or the bus. The nicer and less chaotic parts of the Asian Bosphorus start in the middle of the coastline at around Kuleli. From here until Kanlica and Cubuklu is appr. 8 kms. The paveway is on the inside of the coastline, blocked by huge mansions, for most of the time.
The Marmara Coast on the Asian part of the city is more appropriate for professional joggers. The Marmara Coast starts from Fenerbahce and extends beyond Caddebostan. There is a beautiful track for both joggers and bikers here, which is called the “Sahilyolu” -Coast Line in English. The Coast Line runs parallel to the shopping avenue: Bagdat Street. Many gym trainers, who give private lessons out of the gym, use this track here for bootcamps and cardio training.
Other jogging venues in the city include the parks and forests. Park Orman is a forest in Maslak. It is wellknown by the open-air concerts and festivals it hosts in the summers. Off the concert dates, the Park is available for jogging. There is also a huge swimming pool inside for people’s use.
Yildiz Park is another in-the-city mini-forest that will make joggers very happy. The track will be hard to beat, since there are many hill tops inside, but worth the effort.
Emirgan Korusu is similar to the Yildiz Park. Located behind the Sakip Sabanci Museum, the Park is a nice get-away venue for residents of Emirgan and Yenikoy. There are short and long routes inside the Park, allowing the jogger an option to choose between each route. It is also easy to spot a lot of dog-walkers inside the Park on a warm day.
Belgrad Forest is a bit out of the city, near the sub-urban residential town, Zekeriyakoy. It has a big and small jogging track of 10 and 7 kms approximately. National teams and small-scale soccer teams usually head out into the forest for their cardio-training. Ladies, try not to head into the forest alone. After your work-out, have rural style, traditional breakfast at one of the small cafes near the entrance.
You will find on Donuz, everything that is unique to where we have been and where you would want to be. Be it food, be it lodging, be it a special feet massage, a bottle of wine, a person… Be it for 7 days, a day, a week, 36 hours or a single moment. On Donuz, is everything, you will need to make your holidays special. We hope you share with us your experiences.
Sun, Feb 21, 2010
Istanbul