We travel to many different cities, around the globe and the next 12 months we will travel to places we have never been. In search of culture, art, architecture and the finest raw materials found in gardens, kitchens and markets.

We find ourselves engrossed in the city of Istanbul, a place that is extreme in so many ways. We are fascinated by the vastness of the city, the density, traffic and history. Istanbul is a place that is exploding at the seams, yet it continues to grow and will likely sustain itself. The agriculture is immense, the variety in the shops superb, and the seafood culture is endless.

Restaurants are everywhere, the Bosphorus is crowded with ferries, tankers and gigantic cargo carriers surfing up and down the Bosphorus strait. The boat traffic is unparalleled to anywhere, each time you look another carrier is steaming down or up the strait from Asia to Europe and vice-a-verse.

The Bosphorus people wait for fish because the annual mass migration, which has been late this year, as they head south from the cooling waters of the Black Sea toward the warmth of the Aegean. Referring to the narrow throat of the 20-mile strait, it is called the Central Bank for many.

The journey for bluefish, bonito, sea bass, horse mackerel and other species have to crowd from the open sea into the tiny Bosphorus strait, just 750 meters wide at its narrowest, past an estimated 8,000 waiting rods and nets on any given day.

Anglers stand on the bridge, their rods dangle over in the strait, from women in head scarves, to men in wool suits, pack so tightly along the Bosphorus that on some stretches they’re less than a meter apart. Routinely pull up 10 little fish at a time on their multiple-hook lines or get lucky and catch a larger fish.

A wonderful sea strait brings so much to so many people’s lives, visit Istanbul and enjoy the city’s vibrant way of life.