Blogs from Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey, Middle East - page 19

Last truck drive to Istanbul, a final meal, and lots of sad farewells over the next few days as we all go our own ways. For me, it was back to Asia for a much appreciated stay with Julia and Julian in Kadikoy, a boat and a bus ride away from the touristy side of Istanbul. A double bed and room of my own was a complete luxury after Galipolli and Eceabat beach and it was good to catch up on sleep and laundry, and to briefly return to normal life! I watched the Royal Wedding on Friday accompanied by Pimms, afternoon tea, and strawberries in abundance. Although a bit touristed-out, I did manage to see Topkapi Palace, the Grand Baazar, the Spice Bazaar, the Basicalla Cisterns, and many mosques. (I did however manage to miss ... read more

i hate computers ın Turkey. Dıfferent keyboards some ın Turkısh some ın englısh and some ın gobbley degook! So ı wont be bloggıng too often Istanbul fantastıc strange frantıc noisey smelly and we are lovıng it. Dıd a bosphorous trıp yesterday and the spıce markets. ... read more

On this our final day in Istanbul we had hoped for a fine and pleasantly warm spring day. No such luck. The sun was out but a cold wind was coming off the water, just for us. Perhaps we should have taken a Bosphorus Cruise yesterday but then we thought today was going to be better. Oh well not to worry, so off we went on our final adventures. After resisting/ignoring many men in suits offering us the finest cruise in Turkey we headed for the one and a half hour cruise for 10 lira. Today we are being very frugal because we don’t want to get any more lira from the machines as they are worthless outside Turkey. The boat left on time with just a few passengers. In spite of the wind, sick bags ... read more

Well, after a great sleep in we had a late breakfast, packed up the bags and hopped into a taxi to our next Istanbul hotel – a significant downgrade!! The taxi driver consulted several passing pedestrians in his efforts to locate the elusive Samil Hotel in the old town, with little success. His driving would not have been out of place in a car rally but then that’s how most driving is done here. Missing collisions with other vehicles is a very close thing and horn tooting is constant as drivers manoeuvre vehicles through very tight (or non-existent) spaces. Eventually we were delivered as close to the hotel as possible and in the rain we managed to pull our bags through and around missing bits of pavement and mud puddles to arrive somewhat breathless at said ... read more

My last day in Istanbul, and finally I went to do some sightseeing! I started my day off in the Topkapi palace, which was 20 lira to get in and 10 lira for an electronic guided tour thing. The guided tour wasn't really worth it, becasue the info was a bit blah and the numbers to hear the related info were often hard to find. The palace is pretty and located right on the water with lot's of pretty green spaces and flowers. But, the palace didn't seem all that spectacular. Some of the items in the treasury were pretty cool. There is this gigantic diamond called the school master's diamond that was traded for some small everyday things. It is pretty spectacular. But, overall, it wasn't at all the glamorous palace that history books led ... read more