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After leaving Ankara we had a spectacular day of riding through the mountains on our way to Istanbul. The air was cool and the scenery spectacular. We ran into a couple on a tandem bicycle who were from Argentina and were travelling around the world. They were also headed to Istanbul and had just come from Syria. We decided to go as far as Izmit, a city about 100 km from Istanbul. When we arrived, we were in no mood to search for the hotel, so when we passed a police station with the usual machine gun toting cop guarding the front entrance, we decided to stop and ask. The machine gun guy didn't speak any English but he did call over a man in a suit who did. As it the turns out, the man in the suit was the local police chief. He explained that the streets were really congested due to a football (soccer) game and that he would have his colleagues escort us when we were ready. Meanwhile, a man from the neighbouring taxi stand had already brought us 2 glasses of tea, as is of course customary here. So, with darkness setting in, we followed a
Turkish police car with lights flashing right to the entrance of the hotel... after handing out some SPS shoulder flashes, of course.
The next morning, we set out for the big city. Istanbul has a population of about 20 million and has been around in one form or another for over 2000 years. We met Ali at the toll booth at the city's entrance. We were a little gun-shy about trying to find our way in such a big city after the Ankara incident... Prior to heading to our accommodations at the police house, right on the shores of the Bosphorous strait, Ali took us on a mini tour of the Sultanahmet district, which encompasses the famed Blue Mosque and the Aya Sophia.
The road along the strait was jam packed on this Turkish Grand Prix Sunday. The race was taking place that very afternoon and as a result the city was much busier than usual. Ali asked if Erin was up for some lane splitting, as it is the only way to get anywhere around here. She agreed to it and we followed the big Harley through traffic. At one point I saw a police helicopter over
the Bosphorus flying so low, it looked like it was going to fly under one of the bridges that connects Europe to Asia. I was told later that they actually do fly under the bridges once in a while. Go figure.
We got checked into the police house and were invited to Ali's house, about 4 km away, for supper. After showering we caught a cab over and met his family. We later headed over to a nearby restaurant and enjoyed another great Turkish meal.
The next day (May 12) was our day to be tourists. We grabbed a cab at 8:30 and headed into Sultanahmet. We started at the Blue Mosque. As much as I would like to describe it with words, I can't, you will have to look at the pictures. We then walked over to Aya Sophia and eventually visited the Topkapi Palace and the Basilica Cistern, which is a huge underground water storage facility, built in the 6th century.
We then walked over to the Grand Bazaar, a city in itself. It is a covered market that goes on for miles. It's crowded and borderline claustrophobic. At every turn salesmen are making a
pitch and one can barely get anywhere it is so crowded. We made 2 purchases, including a pair of sunglasses that Erin managed to bargain down to 25 Lira from an original asking price of 40. After this we needed to get the hell out of there. In fact, when you leave the Bazaar, you actually don't, it just continues outdoors. After walking through the mayhem for another 30 minutes, we were free. On 2 occasions, we were approached and asked for directions by very frightened looking English speaking tourists, one couple from B.C. and a fellow from Australia. Boy were they barking up the wrong tree, luckily they were asking for directions to the Grand Bazaar and we were able to help.
By now we were hungry and in need of something familiar, the golden arches were calling. I have an odd quest to have Mickey D's in every country I visit, this makes 6. We dined along the Bosphorus watching the insanity that is the loading and unloading of passenger ferries.
After eating, we walked through the Spice Bazaar, a smaller but equally nutty version of its big brother. We sampled some pastries and bought a
few to snack on. That brings us to the present time, sitting here updating the blog as we take a breather in an internet cafe with a view on the Blue Mosque.
In a few hours, we are meeting Ali and a friend of his for supper at the Hamdi restaurant, a short 20 min walk from where we are now. In the morning we hop on a ferry and leave Istanbul behind, heading for the Aegean coast and Troy.
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Angela
non-member comment
Shopping
I am super jealous of the shopping. Great pics of the Mosques. Wow!!