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It's as close as the casual visitor to Istanbul gets to the Black Sea. Not much of a vista but it allows you to appreciate the strategic significance of the Bosphorus.
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Kavak
A village with an impressive citadel overlooking the Bosphorus and its mouth into the Black Sea. By land it's accessible only by a hairpinning road through the forest, with few buses. It's best reached by ferry from Eminönü (twice daily) or Sariyer (frequent). In the village, a road is signposted up to the hilltop Yoros citadel (a little more than 1 km, 20 min on foot, free admission). There's a pleasant area with cafés by the ferry pier; the place gets crowded at weekends during summer. Nasty big dogs stalk the citadel area at night. See Istanbul#The_classic_Bosphorus_cruise.
Believed to be the tomb of the biblical Joshua, it's the steepest hill in Istanbul which is closest to the sea.