14th July - 18th July 2013 İstanbul, Turkey

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Sun 14 July -istanbul







Check out of the apartment and said good bye to my host and friend Melik Firat. I decided to return to the hotel I stayed earlier at Yesilkoy. Can't face the caravan camp in Istanbul yet. Had a lazy day so not much to report.















Mon 15 July







Checked out of the hotel and into the caravan parking site near the Sultanahmet.







Arrived at the Iraqi consulate in Istanbul at 12.30 pm and I was told by the security guard there the consulate opens from 9 to 12 noon. They were very polite and helpful.











Tues 16 July - Wed 17th July 2013











Turned up at the Iraqi consulate at 9.30 am. First I was scanned with a handheld metal detector at the entrance. I had to switch off my mobile phone. Entered into the consulate to face the next security check - I had to hand in my mobile phone and gave them some information they asked for. By this time I was overwhelmed by how tight the security was. Next, I had to go downstairs to get a ticket for the queue. Within a minute, I went to one of the windows to speak to a consulate official. I said "Salam alaikum, I would like a visa to Iraq please". The official looked at my passport and uttered a few words in arabic but did not speak any English. I waited for a few minutes before a translator appeared and he said "do you have an invitation to Iraq?, I replied "No. How do I get one?". He shacked his head and said "impossible" and that was the end. I had to leave and escorted out of the building. It is probably a bit early for them to issue tourist visa at the moment and it was probably for my own safety that they refused me a visa.











Eminonu - home to the spice markets, beautiful mosque and a ferry port.











Thur 18th July







This morning I woke up to find the Germans have muscled into the Caravan site. The Germans also brought with them some serious fire power in the form of a giant extreme offroad vehicle. It was about 4 times the size of my little expedition vehicle. It was so big it dominated all other caravans on site. I did understand why people need that kind of vehicle, is it their ego or are they going to drive on some very difficult terrain? Anyway, it is pretty impressive.











The Iranian travel agency informed me that the visa was almost ready, but they would need some more information on the car that I will be driving through their country. So I provided them with a picture of the car and some basic information about the car, so hopefully it will not be too long now.







I asked to collect the visa from Istanbul and allow me 5 days to drive to the Turkey/Iran border so that they adjust the entry and exit dates in Iran.







I felt a little homesick today, so I put on a little music on my mobile and listened to it for a while in the late evening.

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Photos

Eminonu
Famous spice market in Istanbul