When my parents were last here we were sat on the vapur waiting to set off home when through the fog we saw a very bright light travelling over the water. I turned towards shore and saw an army of police officers forming a wall. As we stay in Beşiktaş sometimes I had seen the football fans marching the streets chanting, flares aloft, but watching boat after overloaded boat arrive to the pier was something else. The reason the police were so plentiful for this match was because it was a derby between Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş. The fans arrive on boat from the Asian side to walk the short distance to the stadium. They are escorted along the way under highly controlled conditions by thousands of police officers, the violence that has previously broken out having been so strong. A couple of years ago we had bought Ruskin and Stefan tickets for a football game in the Beşiktaş stadium. Ville insisted that we didn't send them to a derby match. I understand why. But we all thoroughly enjoyed this spectacle while we sat drinking tea, high above the action.

The Viking longboat arrives through the mist.

Herded by fan club leaders the barbarians disembark.

As the boats turn around, the fans stream away from the jetty.

The view on the other side of the vapur: Topkapı, Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.

The fans walk past the building to be shielded by police until the stadium ten minutes down the road.

Riot police waiting to escort the fans.