Why You Should Visit the Asian Side of Istanbul (Üsküdar & Kadıköy) 🇹🇷

I cross the Bosphorus by ferry from Europe to Istanbul's Asian side, touring the neighbourhoods of Üsküdar and Kadıköy,.
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I'm Jason, a full-time British Travel Vlogger and KZbinr.
I have filmed a travel series in many of the world's best (and least) known destinations. I started my channel in the summer of 2016 after spending a year living in China, followed by a solo trip to Eastern Europe after graduating from university.
After that European trip I explored much of Asia: visiting India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea and Kazakhstan.
I have also travelled to North Africa and the Middle East fairly extensively over the last five years, filming videos in Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine.
In 2022, I took my first trip to Sub Saharan Africa, visiting Kenya and Tanzania, before heading to the Middle East, stopping in Dubai and Lebanon. Europe followed, covering both the Greek and Turkish sides of Cyprus, and afterwards going back to Italy for the second time to cover Milan and Sicily. I then visited the Caribbean for the first time, covering the Dominican Republic, before heading to both Brussels and Amsterdam, then covering Taiwan and the Philippines in Asia. I finished off the year with a trip around Morocco.
I started my travels in 2023 by finally visiting Paris, taking the Eurostar from London. I then headed over to Qatar for a few days, before heading to Asia, with videos following from India, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Mongolia, Thailand and Sumatra (Indonesia). I began 2024 by revisiting Bangladesh, India and Turkey.
#turkey #istanbul #kadıköy

[@levinawalsh2015]

Hey Jason. Loved the videos👍👍. I spent two weeks on the Asian side & two weeks on the European side just getting my head together after Volunteering for three months with the Red Cross/Red Crescent on the Türkiye/Syrian border. I have Always wanted to visit this Beautiful country & now Türkiye & it's Lovely people will Always have a Special place in my heart. Safe & Happy travels Jason.☘✌

[@nicholasmcnally8215]

This guy is one of the best out there with Gabriel traveler. His vlogs are very informative. Hes already convinced me to go to Jordan in the past and im planning a trip to Japan after seeing his videos. This Turkish trip looks interesting as well.😊

[@HDAinsurance]

Wonderful video of Istanbul! Thank you for sharing this beautiful country with everyone!

[@aminanoor6337]

Thanks Jason, love the way you present the cities and always give some background/history, which makes watching your videos both enjoyable and educational!

[@sharonjanethague7181]

Thanks! Another great instalment!

[@Jpkjr52]

What an interesting place.Thanks again John in Chicago

[@dsaddfgs1186]

syrians destroyed turkey

[@uzaydaisemekisteyenadam4543]

tell us what's interesting? : )

[@ghg12374]

Thank you Jason for showing us Turkiye through your eyes. It's unique experience though watched beautiful Turkiye many times. ♥️ from Bangladesh.Btw loved faiser... Pardon me if i misspelled. ♥️

[@dennisdaniels2992]

What a great place, Jason!

[@marioh5172]

I have once enjoyed the fairy trip to the Asian part. I remember it being a nice experience too.

[@mskinternational]

Nice videos Jason! I like your no nonsense videos. No unnecessary gimmicks no unnecessary click baits

[@sevdenurcan2030]

I am also recently back home - Sarıyer/Istanbul. Totally different experience of Istanbul. Highly recommended to visit! No bias 😋 let me know if you need any help

[@bluemecrazy]

Great video ! I was in Kadikoy and Uskudar no later than a week ago and got back to London this Monday ! we could have crossed paths !

[@Danchris345]

You always have amazing adventures I love to travel too

[@LawSuth]

Very recently after my Turkish gf and I had started communicating online, a kahve fali fortune reader had come to her Istanbul house, reading the coffee grounds and telling her she would meet a blond-ish man, move across the ocean and live in a seven-bedroom house. Her family didn't believe it, but the man in that reading was me and our online relationship (along with the occasional vacation rendezvous) has been going on for around ten years. I've assisted in her learning English and we'll soon be married.

[@hasnaali6213]

Give me some money

[@JasonBillamTravel]

The coffee doesn’t lie!

[@JasonBillamTravel]

And congratulations btw

[@LawSuth]

@@hasnaali6213 hs ha, if only it were my own house ;)

[@EmirateOfHind]

Hope you are a muslim

[@SAStube37]

Great video. I live in the US, California. I was there last year, loved it so much that I am going to Turkey in one week again. This time we’ll explore İstanbul a bit more, Çeşme, budrom and cappadokia. The history, culture, people, food, music and variety of sight seeing will have me go back again and again…….i am saddened how their currency has lost value and the economic pressures that locals are experiencing. I hope their leaders will address and remedy it soon. Hopefully I can check out some of the places you recommend.

[@kerwm3723]

let me come with you to california

[@Ozgur-pw1ez]

hey jason. i very happy for see you in istanbul again.

[@tarny11]

Istanbul has a great vibe and lots to see . What a great city

[@JasonBillamTravel]

For sure!

[@tarny11]

@@JasonBillamTravel How long are you there for

[@user-yg1tj1vl2u]

Turkiye especially Istanbul is a city that was so amazing,Sometimes I got bored,I search on a KZbin like city in Turkiye such as Istanbul,Cappadocia,Ankara,that was so peaceful city and relieve stress city😂

[@maxmorris4562]

Hey bro excellent video, very informative as always! Do you recommend any travel guides? Could you please direct me to a good one? Thanks

[@danielvalenzuela9764]

Nice video covering the asian side of instsnbul. Thanks

[@danbahaushe]

I did the crossing back in February this year and have made up my mind to never lodge anywhere in Istanbul but the Asian side. Peaceful, relaxed, original and less touristy. Enjoy

[@JasonBillamTravel]

Interesting to hear!

[@Biodyn3758]

Lahcamun!:)❤

[@bj-th7ul]

Feel very fortunate to have such good presentations for Istanbul & Coastal Türkiye cities with good transportation, walking and lodging opportunities. Hope to enjoy a visit someday. Thanks for sharing, everyone. gracias

[@ALKT101]

great video! planing to visit asian side on my upcoming trip. may i check which street you visited in Kadikoy in the video ? thanks

[@necipakbas1021]

Did you travel the prince islands? you can go there from Beşiktaş İskele, and also you should try the chicken meal called "tantuni" it is very tasty :))

[@travel_and_explore_with_bip]

Nice to see you in Turkey, I was there last year, both European and Asian side of Istanbul!

[@mylahbarreto5265]

Oooh Kadiloy!! Always had some of my best meals there 😊

[@mylahbarreto5265]

Darn autocorrect 😂

[@sportslovers9887]

excellent

[@GLORYInintact]

Love the video

[@amysullivan-weeks7955]

Hi, when was this recorded, just trying to get an idea of how crowded it is. Thanks

[@3ALEGIONS]

Amazing views... your style of filming is great, what camera setup did you use?

[@JasonBillamTravel]

This was just filmed on a GoPro.

[@3ALEGIONS]

@@JasonBillamTravel Amazing result, what GoPro was it and eat it on a gimbal or something?

[@jamesmc369]

Went here in March - the cats are the best bit by far!

[@user-mp8hw6pj1i]

Salem Jason👍🇰🇿

[@fahadamjad3180]

Coffe does,nt lie.so congrates u will find ur love in future.lets see.only ur passions andsincerity can lead u towards ur love.

[@ivansbacon]

Well? did the maiden live? Is there place i can contact your knowledgeable tour guide. i will be in Istanbul in December and could use a guide.

[@KenanTurkiye]

Heres something you may find interesting. :) The name of my country has nothing to do with the interesting and delicious bird 'turkey'...... .....but the name of the bird does have a connection with the name of my country, let me explain. :) In the past 40 years 37 countries have changed their name, partially or fully. Obviously one can not change the name of an apple or an orange etc in other languages, but country names are like peoples' individual names, so if you're named John we don't call you Karen. :) Name of my country has always been Türkiye, it's been known as such since around the 1200's. The name it self has a suffix, '-iye', that is Turk-iye, where the -iye suffix means 'land of/belonging to', just like the Latin suffix of '-ia', which exists in such country names like Austr-ia, Austral-ia, Indones-ia etc. Basically, the use of '-iye/-ia' is the same as the the use of '-land' suffix in country names like Ire(Eire)-land, Po(le)-land, Eng(Anglo)-land and so on and so on. Many would remember the country Czechoslovak-ia which changed it's name to Czech Republic and a few years ago changed that to Czechia (that is Czech-ia). The Latin suffix -ia probably originates from Turkish -iye as Turkish been over 10,000 years is much older than Latin which is around 1300 years old. Spelled in different languages in different ways to phonetically resemble (to sound like) 'Türkiye' we got various spellings like; Turq-uía (in Spanish), Turch-ia (in Italian), Turq-uie (in French) Turk-ei (in German) Turk-ey (in English) Mind you this was way before the animal we currently know as turkey was found by the europeans when they explored the north americas. The bird was first sent to europe from north americas in the year 1519, so up until that point there was no bird named turkey.... ...they came across the bird and thought it was a specie of the fowl/chicken they had been buying from the country of Turkiye at the time, so they named the bird 'Turkey Fowl' to define 'Turkish Chicken'... ....just like how a dog breed is known as German Shepherd (because it's from Germany), American Bulldog, British Terrier, Greek Harehound etc etc. In time you don't get to call the harehound simply as Greek or you don't call the terrier Britirsh, or shepherd as simply German, but in time the Turkish Fowl started to be called just 'Turkey' and later 'turkey', and this went on for hundreds of years. Now in modern times, this caused confusion, especially when we have people across the world unable to point to their own country on an atlas. Basically we didn't change the name of our country, we changed the mistake made in the English language. : ) So, there's some tid bit information for you to have a great day, if you read upto this point you have a great night too, ohh just have a wonderfull life. : ) Best wishes. ;)

[@alienanobis]

Kenan that was an educated and thorough explanation. There are many ignorant people who haven’t travelled or didn’t pay attention in geography class, that tend to make funny jokes about turkey the bird and the country. I welcome the change to proper name Turkiye. Greetings!

[@KenanTurkiye]

@@alienanobis Well, there is a prevalent narcissism in the 'western socieites'. I may sound 'anti western' infact not, there's a lot of benefitial traits of western culture, but the narcissistic outlook towards others in the western culture is prevailant and this lead to the slavery of other people, to the colonisation and funnelling of the riches of many non western geographies into the west, while forcing those regions into been ''third world', meddling in with their social and political healt, ruining their economy while funneling their riches in an attempt to create and keep present a rift between their countries and the 'east'. So such people, out of their mental conditions and add to that their ultranationalistic distortions have, do and will make such attempt to ridicule others whom they deem inferior to them. It's a psychological trait. And I have to cut it short because I'm eating, otherwise I can further talk about this illness for days. : )

[@kamaelwu9247]

Would be a great explanation if not so many, even quite gross inconsistencies. First of all, the etymology of turkey as a bird, which you described, is just one of at least two main theories. "Name of my country has always been Türkiye, it's been known as such since around the 1200's." Not at all. There were many different names used over centuries, but the first official use of "Türkiye" appeared much much later - exactly in 1920 in the Treaty of Alexandropol. And it's just a Turkified variation of a Medieval Latin word "Turquia". Which brings us to the third, very gross misstatement: "The Latin suffix -ia probably originates from Turkish -iye as Turkish been over 10,000 years is much older than Latin which is around 1300 years old." This is completely wrong and so untrue. It's the other way around. Latin definitely isn't 1300 years old. It's rather closer to 3000 years. Whereas the current Turkish language is quite young, being a result of language reform in 1930s it became quite distant even from Ottoman Turkish used before. But even stretching its etymology to old and proto-Turkic languages, the oldest known inscriptions in Old Turkic language are from 8th century and the most optimistic estimates place Turkic language family origins as far as 2500 years ago. Which is nowhere close to your figure and even younger than origins of Latin. I admire how much you love your country and your nation. But you should stick to facts if you guys want to be treated seriously.

[@KenanTurkiye]

@@kamaelwu9247 You have made many wrong assumtions and statements: - The gepographu of Anatolia is labelled as Turkiye/Turkia by various mappers from europe since the 1171, because it means ''land of the Turks'', the ''Republic of Turkiye'' comes from that, not the other way around. - The archaic Latin dates back to 2700 years, however the Latin we know is merely about 1300 years old, the two, although similar is not completely the same language. -Turk language is not a result of ''Turk language reform in the 1930's''. :) The Turk langauge in different dialects is spoken from mid europe eurasia all the way to siberia and does in fact date back more than 10,000 years infact upto 40,000 years. In fact there are over 5000 stone inscriptions found all across europe which can only be deciphered by ancient Turk alphabet. The origins of the Futhark and Runic alphabets is the ancient Turk alphabet etc etc. By you would not know any of this due to cultural bias in various circles. And some further info that you probably did not know: The -ia/iye suffix entered Latin thru Turk language, but into the Turk language it may have entered via Arabic or vice versa. Another suffix -istan that we so commonly see in many country names like Pak-istan, Afghan-istan, Turkmen-istan etc etc also has the same meaning as the -iye/ia suffix, with the -istan suffix been of Persian origin. Finally, thank you for your suggestion, however you need to realize it is the limited knowledge that you have that may be a cause of you not taking us serious, there may be psychological reasons to your condition, been ignorant of a certain people and looking down upon them may be the reason why you have such a hard time taking us serious. Get that fixed. If you can. Take care.

[@KenanTurkiye]

You have made many wrong assumtions and statements: - The gepographu of Anatolia is labelled as Turkiye/Turkia by various mappers from europe since the 1171, because it means ''land of the Turks'', the ''Republic of Turkiye'' comes from that, not the other way around. - The archaic Latin dates back to 2700 years, however the Latin we know is merely about 1300 years old, the two, although similar is not completely the same language. -Turk language is not a result of ''Turk language reform in the 1930's''. :) The Turk langauge in different dialects is spoken from mid europe eurasia all the way to siberia and does in fact date back more than 10,000 years infact upto 40,000 years. In fact there are over 5000 stone inscriptions found all across europe which can only be deciphered by ancient Turk alphabet. The origins of the Futhark and Runic alphabets is the ancient Turk alphabet etc etc. By you would not know any of this due to cultural bias in various circles. And some further info that you probably did not know: The -ia/iye suffix entered Latin thru Turk language, but into the Turk language it may have entered via Arabic or vice versa. Another suffix -istan that we so commonly see in many country names like Pak-istan, Afghan-istan, Turkmen-istan etc etc also has the same meaning as the -iye/ia suffix, with the -istan suffix been of Persian origin. Finally, thank you for your suggestion, however you need to realize it is the limited knowledge that you have that may be a cause of you not taking us serious, there may be psychological reasons to your condition, been ignorant of a certain people and looking down upon them may be the reason why you have such a hard time taking us serious. Get that fixed. If you can. Take care.

[@user-mc1xc4dd8x]

love from Bangladesh

[@JasonBillamTravel]

Dhonobad

[@BobI-jb4rk]

How accurate do you think her Future Reading is going to be? I’m not sure I’ve got the balls to look into my future!

[@JasonBillamTravel]

Only time will tell!

[@hatfire3]

Asian side is always known more Turkish. Moreover especially Kuzguncuk is green and authentic. To me peaceful. Sum up you did a great choice:)

[@carbonoksit4086]

Has Uskudar changed or is it just me? I missed Turkey and my friends in Turkey very much. I will be in Turkey again in two and a half months. I like this country.

[@tesekkur]

No, the same. Üsküdar is a municipality. He is in Kuzguncuk, which is part of Üsküdar municipality. Probably, you have been in Central Üsküdar - Üsküdar Üsküdar 😊

[@iinarrab19]

Really cute :))))

[@neslihanfazloglu1497]

welcome back to my country handsome ☺️😉

[@mihailacatusu2593]

The love of my life is leaving there.... Aysel....i miss you!😥😘❤️

[@ayesha_omar]

Weather updates please

[@JasonBillamTravel]

Sunny and breezy, sometimes t-shirts, light jackets at night.

[@user-yc6hh4tf4e]

how much guide cost for few hours

[@dianach-fl7fw]

I'm big thank you as a British you're talking not too fast,so I got all of you are talking about

[@JasonBillamTravel]

Good to know haha

[@sandeshkhatik-lh1ub]

Hello jason love from india 🎉

[@mikemainer3009]

Actually, a ferry is not the only way to get to the Asia side of the city. There is a convenient high-speed commuter rail link that connects both halves of Istanbul. So, let's be clear about that.

[@mylahbarreto5265]

Omigosh, ha, I told my friends after my first in that area it reminded me of SoHo when I lived in NYC 😂. Can’t remember if London SoHo reminded me of NYC SoHo. Haha

[@JasonBillamTravel]

Great minds think alike!

[@sayedhossainkingdom9255]

I know you from my city Chittagong, Bangladesh vlog. I try to learn Turkish language as i wanted to go there. Hope the price there would be affordable for me.

[@hiyaathere]

It sure will be bro

[@CaffeineJogger]

Can I take my folding bike on the ferry?

[@TravelonlineWalk]

Nice, do you plan to visit Alanya too?

[@Lyhydr]

Can you connect me with her? I’m tracking to Istanbul next week?

[@SprenchTravels]

Recently went to Istanbul for the first time ever and I took the ferry attempting to go to Fatih however I ended up in Üsküdar let’s just say it was a happy accident 😎

[@JasonBillamTravel]

You ended up in the wrong continent, perhaps Asia was calling you.

[@NOT_MOUNT_7]

*This girl tried very hard to furtune telling his future tied with her* 😂

[@nadimdhurowa7672]

I have eaten pastry’s at that bakery shop in kadikoy and it was the most delicious and very cheap compared to the European side

[@universalcovers2016]

🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷

[@safarbifayzova2916]

Great video, thanks. Come to Tajikistan (Central Asia).

[@JasonBillamTravel]

Would love to at some point!

[@ahmedelkhwaga2751]

City of just 16 million 😊

[@tesekkur]

Yeah! Some countries in Europe are only a quarter of Istanbul.

[@stankormy5717]

West side best side!

[@nandakirao7233]

Turkey used to be the Ottoman Empire.

[@April98-ju4ib]

It was byzantine before that

[@user-dd4js4xf1x]

Algeria is beautifull will come to algeria

[@salonika50]

Are you sharing an ayran???? WOW...

[@Arizonalife01]

Hey buddy, thank you for detailed explanations of everything, I plan to visit Istanbul soon, and I want to know how you obtain Istanbul transit card, last time I was there I was only getting single ride cards.

[@Ozgur-pw1ez]

fal is prohibited in Islam. We Turks do not forget our shaman traditions. The sharp feature that distinguishes Turks from Arabs. Shamanism is in our genes.

[@April98-ju4ib]

Nobody mentioned arabs here how about y’all turqs stop ob*sessing over arabs?!

[@abdullahiabdisalan1170]

Why mentioned Arabs when no is talking about them

[@ahmedelkhwaga2751]

Üsküdar with its new mayor looks more European

[@tesekkur]

That means you don't know anything about Istanbul , didn't spend much time or never been to, and have a low self-esteem issues.

[@tesekkur]

That means you don't know anything about Istanbul , didn't spend much time or never been to.

[@wilburbonzo]

I would rather drink the coffee than get the lousy fortune

[@travia6688]

Please end your partnership with airbnb if you can. It causes locals to be pushed out from their own neighbourhoods in Istanbul, and also they have listings for places on illegal Israeli settlements. Travel should be ethical

[@April98-ju4ib]

Thank you!! FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸🇵🇸

[@tesekkur]

What! Pushing the locals out. Do you think Istanbul only yours! Tell me where do you or your family come from? " Israelis blah blah. If you suspect there is a danger to the country, go to a police station or contact to the government. It sounds more like you want to make the money instead of this particular BNB. And if you don't like it, move to another suburb.

[@travia6688]

@@tesekkur İngilizce yazmayı öğren sonra konuş. Çevirici kullandığın çok belli oluyor

[@tesekkur]

@@travia6688 senin gz li olduğunu anlamıştımda bu kadar olduğunu anlamamıştım İstanbul'a göç eden gz li.

[@tesekkur]

@@travia6688 Maganda, gzli. Senin gzli olduğunu anlamıştımda bu kadar olduğunu tahmin edememiştim.

[@CarlosAlberto-ii1li]

Nice you got an all American girl to show you around. Its the city of fleas not cats.

[@ismailkucukdurgut3651]

ggo to oludeniz ans fethiye, calis is full of brits living there entire districit of calis is owned by the brits we get villas rented by the brits in the uk for holuday in calis

[@showmethefunny2470]

Is she his GF?

[@ouzzgge]

I dont think so

[@maxmorris4562]

travel guide brother

[@tesekkur]

Jason! But you didn't tell the part, she was still beaten by the snake hidden in the basket of fruit that was brought to her. 😊 And agree with Borsa Lahmacun: the best lahmacun and cheapest, as well as one of best service, nice , kind people.

[@liamlee8422]

I’m not really understanding this whole saying of Asian side of Turkey. Looking at the map it’s not Asian side, it’s the Middle East side, which has nothing to do with the “Asian”

[@JasonBillamTravel]

It’s still continental Asia

[@liamlee8422]

I’m from Korea and we don’t consider this Asian side. It’s more like the Middle East side

[@avatarahng]

You need to study continents.

[@mayacobain94]

​​@@liamlee8422 do you have any idea about asia or middle east?

[@NationalistTurk.-nq1sb]

Syria,Iraq,İran,İsrael they are middle eastern.You cannot equate Turkey with these countries. They are Middle Eastern countries, Asia is not only China and South Asia...

[@lazmett2974]

stupid coffee fortune

[@fukara5767]

Türkiye yabancının CENNETİ türkün CEHENNEMİ maalesef 😭🗣️

[@TingitanianCenturion]

Fake

[@poonamrewatkar1684]

🎉 Jai Hind

[@mskinternational]

Bullshit

[@TitisPitis-vg9hw]

We are tired of your lies. When you come to Istanbul, you talk about the European side and the Asian side. And I always give you geography and history lessons at your expense. Europe is not a continent, it is Asia: West Asia! How can you continue this lie for centuries even though you look at the world map? If the Anatolian side is Asia, why is there Europe again when we go to the east of Turkey?

[@mountaindew20]

asian side give me chill vibes.. but sadly ur video not last longer.. 😭🤣

[@BlueBlue-ub4sn]

Message to the sister fortune telling is haram, and can take you out of the fold of islam so be careful and come back to deen.

[@user-mn6sq3is4t]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@abdullahiabdisalan1170]

Lol leave people alone

[@Arma66634]

İstanbulite it’s not İstanbuller