The Berteletti family spent two memorable days discovering Istanbul with us—from its great historic landmarks to the neighborhoods, flavors and rhythms of the Asian side. What began as a family tour grew into a deeper journey through the many layers of the city.
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Preface: A Family That Came Back for More
Before the Berteletti family crossed the Bosphorus with Deniz Karagözoğlu, there was another Istanbul day that set everything in motion.
Lauren and her family of five first contacted The Other Tour looking for a private, family-friendly introduction to Istanbul on July 26, 2026. With three young children, they wanted to see the great landmarks—the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Basilica Cistern—but they were equally interested in experiencing something beyond the standard sightseeing circuit.
As is often the case with a last-minute private tour, there were a few logistical details to work through beforehand. The itinerary changed, the initially proposed Bosphorus yacht was postponed, transportation arrangements were adjusted, and we worked to find the right balance between comfort, flexibility and cost for a family traveling with young children.
In the end, what mattered was what happened once everyone actually met.
Our guide Burak Plakay welcomed the family at Rixos Tersane Istanbul, and our lead guide Ömer Çelik joined them in the Old City. What followed was the kind of day we always hope to create: history without feeling like a lecture, flexibility without losing direction, and enough personal chemistry that the guides began to feel less like service providers and more like people the family genuinely enjoyed spending time with.
The following morning, Lauren wrote to us simply to say that the tour had been “fantastic,” praising both guides for their kindness, knowledge and company.
Her subsequent Google review went even further. She described Burak and Ömer as warm, welcoming and genuinely passionate about Istanbul, praising the way they brought the city’s Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman history to life while remaining personable, patient and attentive to the family throughout the day.
Most importantly for us, the relationship did not end when the tour ended.
The Bertelettis were still staying in Istanbul, and instead of feeling that they had now “done” the city, their first experience left them wanting to explore more of it.
A few days later, Lauren contacted us again.
This time, she wanted something completely different: the Asian side of Istanbul.
She was interested in Beylerbeyi Palace, Kuzguncuk, the Üsküdar waterfront, Kadıköy, the nostalgic tram and a genuinely local place to eat Turkish mantı. By then, accessibility had also become an important part of the planning, so we arranged a private vehicle and matched the family with Deniz Karagözoğlu, who had previous experience assisting guests using wheelchairs.
What follows is Deniz’s account of that second day.
It is a story not only about Istanbul’s Asian shore, but also about something we value deeply at The Other Tour: when one good day in Istanbul creates enough curiosity and trust to lead naturally to another.
Guided Tour on August 4th, 2026
Some tours are mainly about monuments. Others are really about the people you spend the day with.
My day with the Berteletti family was definitely the second kind.
They were a family of five traveling in Istanbul with three young children, and this was actually their second tour with The Other Tour during the same trip. Having already explored much of the historic European side, they wanted something quite different this time: a day across the Bosphorus, discovering the neighborhoods and everyday life of Istanbul’s Asian side.
There was one important consideration. One member of the family was using a wheelchair, so the itinerary needed to be comfortable, realistic and flexible.
Istanbul is certainly not a perfectly accessible city. Pavements can be uneven, historical buildings were obviously not designed with wheelchairs in mind, and sometimes a small curb can unexpectedly become the biggest logistical challenge of the day.
But with the right planning, a private vehicle and a bit of hands-on assistance, you can still experience a remarkable amount of the city.
And that is exactly what we did.
Starting from Rixos Tersane
I met the Berteletti family at Rixos Tersane Istanbul at 9:00 AM.
We had a private vehicle and driver available throughout the day, which made an enormous difference. Rather than worrying about long walking distances or constantly getting in and out of taxis, we could adapt the route as we went.
I also personally handled the wheelchair throughout the tour, pushing it between the vehicle, attractions, restaurants and neighborhoods. For me, this was simply part of making sure everyone could participate in the same experience.
There was no point in creating a wonderful itinerary if one member of the family was going to spend the day struggling to keep up.
Our first destination was across the Bosphorus.
Beylerbeyi Palace: The Surprise of the Day
We began at Beylerbeyi Palace, one of the great Ottoman imperial residences on the Asian shore of Istanbul.
Beylerbeyi is sometimes overlooked by first-time visitors, who naturally tend to concentrate on Topkapı Palace and Dolmabahçe Palace. But that is precisely one of the reasons I enjoy bringing guests here.
It feels more intimate.
Built during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz in the 19th century, the palace served partly as a summer residence and partly as a place to host distinguished foreign guests. European royalty, diplomats and heads of state all passed through these rooms.
The setting is also exceptional. The palace sits directly beside the Bosphorus, underneath the first bridge that the strait ever had.
The adults in the family were particularly impressed.
In fact, by the time we left, they were already talking about visiting Istanbul‘s other Ottoman palaces if they return to the city one day.
As a guide, I always enjoy hearing something like that. A good tour should not only show you places—it should leave you curious about the places you haven’t seen yet.
Into the Streets of Kuzguncuk
From the imperial world of Beylerbeyi, we continued to Kuzguncuk.
And suddenly Istanbul became completely different.
Kuzguncuk is one of those neighborhoods where the story of the city can be understood simply by looking around. Mosques, churches and synagogues stand within a relatively small area, reflecting generations of Muslim, Greek Orthodox (Rum people), Armenian and Jewish life.
But Kuzguncuk is not interesting only because of its history.
It still feels like a neighborhood.
There are small cafés, old wooden houses, local shops, vegetable gardens and people going about their normal day. You can slow down here in a way that is difficult in the busiest parts of Istanbul.
For a family with children—and especially when one person is using a wheelchair—that slower rhythm was perfect.
We were not trying to race through a checklist.
We were simply exploring.
Üsküdar and the Maiden's Tower
Our next stop brought us to the waterfront in Üsküdar, where we paused near the famous Maiden’s Tower.
You could probably spend an entire tour explaining all the legends surrounding this tiny tower in the Bosphorus.
Was a princess imprisoned there to protect her from a prophecy? Was it a customs station? A lighthouse? A defensive structure?
Over the centuries, it has been many things, and Istanbul has produced enough stories about it to fill a book.
But sometimes you don’t need a long historical lecture.
Sometimes you just stop beside the water, look across at the European skyline and understand why the Bosphorus defines Istanbul so completely.
From Üsküdar, we continued south toward Kadıköy.
Lunch Like Locals: Turkish Mantı
Food had been an important request from the beginning.
The family had specifically told us that they were not particularly interested in tourist restaurants. They wanted somewhere that local people would actually eat.
They also wanted to try mantı.
That was an easy request to support.
Mantı is sometimes described in English as “Turkish dumplings,” which is technically true but doesn’t quite do the dish justice. Small pieces of dough are filled with seasoned meat and traditionally served with yogurt, garlic and a butter sauce flavored with spices.
When it is properly prepared, it is one of Turkey‘s great comfort foods.
We stopped at a local restaurant and settled down for lunch.
And lunch turned out to be an important point in the day for another reason.
When the Day Found Its Rhythm
Traveling with three young children is never completely predictable.
At the beginning of the morning, the youngest member of the family had a lot of energy. Dad was understandably trying to keep everyone together while also adjusting to a new guide, a new itinerary and another full day in Istanbul.
There was a little tension.
This happens on tours, and I think guides need to understand that.
A private tour is not a performance taking place in front of a perfectly behaved audience. We are spending a real day with real people. Children get tired. Parents get stressed. Someone suddenly needs a bathroom. Somebody gets hungry earlier than expected.
You work with it.
By lunchtime, something had changed.
Everyone had relaxed.
We had been together for a few hours, the children were more comfortable with me, the adults could finally enjoy their meal, and the whole atmosphere became much lighter.
From that point onward, the day really flowed.
Kadıköy, the Nostalgic Tram and Moda
After lunch, we continued through Kadıköy, one of my favorite parts of Istanbul.
For visitors who have spent most of their time around Sultanahmet, arriving in Kadıköy can almost feel like visiting another city.
It is busy, young, residential, commercial and unapologetically local.
There are fishmongers, bakeries, bars, bookshops, produce stalls, restaurants, commuters, students and families all mixed together.
Rather than another major monument, we wanted the second half of our day to be about experiencing this side of Istanbul.
One of the highlights was riding the nostalgic tram toward Moda.
It is not the fastest way of getting anywhere—and that is exactly the point.
The tram gives you time to watch Kadıköy passing outside the windows while enjoying one of Istanbul‘s little pieces of living urban nostalgia.
We eventually reached Moda, another neighborhood that shows why the Asian side is so beloved by people who actually live in Istanbul.
By then the mood could not have been more different from the slightly stressful start to the morning.
Everyone was enjoying themselves.
Returning to Europe by Car Ferry
There was one final Istanbul experience waiting for us.
Instead of simply driving back across one of the bridges, we took the car ferry back to the European side.
I love finishing a day this way.
A ferry crossing is not wasted transportation time in Istanbul. It is part of the experience.
The city opens up around you. Seagulls follow the boats. Ferries cross in every direction. Mosques and minarets form silhouettes along the historical peninsula while modern Istanbul rises behind them.
After spending the day exploring the Asian shore, crossing the water back toward Europe also creates a natural ending to the journey.
We returned to Rixos Tersane Istanbul at around 5:00 PM, almost exactly eight hours after we had started.
What I Learned About Touring Istanbul with a Wheelchair
One of the things I was happiest about was how smoothly the accessibility side of the day worked.
I pushed the wheelchair throughout the tour whenever necessary, and we encountered no major accessibility problems that prevented the family from enjoying the itinerary.
That does not mean every part of Istanbul is wheelchair accessible. It isn’t.
But it does show the importance of designing the itinerary around the guest rather than forcing the guest to adapt to a predetermined itinerary.
Having a private vehicle helped enormously. So did keeping the schedule flexible and choosing neighborhoods and experiences that could be approached sensibly.
Most importantly, we never treated the wheelchair as the defining feature of the tour.
It was simply something we planned around.
The family still visited an Ottoman palace, explored several neighborhoods, ate mantı in a local restaurant, rode a historic tram, spent time beside the Bosphorus and crossed between two continents by ferry.
That was the day.
A Very Istanbul Kind of Day
Looking back, what I remember most about the Berteletti family is not one particular monument.
It is the progression of the day itself.
We began with a family still trying to organize three children, a wheelchair, a guide and a busy city.
A few hours later, we were eating mantı together.
Then we were riding a little red tram through Kadıköy, wandering around Moda and eventually crossing the Bosphorus together as the day came to an end.
That is one of the reasons I enjoy guiding in Istanbul.
Sometimes the best tours are not about seeing the maximum possible number of attractions.
They are about finding a pace at which people can actually enjoy the city.
The Berteletti family did exactly that.
And by the time I dropped them back at their hotel, everyone was smiling—which, for me, is still the best way to measure whether a tour was successful.
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Deniz Karagözoğlu is a professional Istanbul tour guide working with The Other Tour.
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