Istanbul, Turkey - The Gateway to the East

Arrived back into Athens port about 6am. Got train to main station where we bought a train ticket to Thessaloniki, Greece. Had to wait around for a few hours until 11:30am to board and then a 6hr journey to the top of Greece. From there we managed to board the overnight train, after spending some time figuring out which train it was to begin with. Not much English around here and showing your ticket to everyone who looks like a train driver/instructor and saying 'Istanbul?' ... while looking around anxiously, seems to be the way to get help!

The cabins were quite compact but an experience to say the least! I didn't believe my eyes that you could fit one person into the cabin not to mind two - however we managed it. There was no on-board lounge area and everyone was pointed to their cabin and expected to stay there.

We were woken up about 2am by a lady looking for passports who then vanished and didn't come back with them. It's a stomach sick feeling to give your passport to anyone when travelling as it might be the last time you see it. At about 4am the visa police came onboard at the border and it didn't take them long to realise we didn't have visas for Turkey. I had to get dressed & walk down the tracks to the office in the train station to pay the €15 per visa required. It seemed they didn’t encounter many Irish tourists on this route, as he had to look up a torn book for the price. A few minutes later another man arrived at the door of the cabin wearing a face mask, asking us to fill in forms re. Swine Flu - Scary stuff eh? About 5am (just as we had fallen back to sleep) yet another guy turned up. "Have you anything to declare" he asked in a stern tone. We guessed that he was with customs and said 'no' as nice as we could, with visions running though my mind of him stripping our rucksacks apart after me spending so much time diligently packing it nice and neat. He took one look at our rucksacks sprawled out on the floor and said “OK” and quickly went off on his way. Finally we could go back to sleep secretly delighted with big Turkish stamps in our passports!

The following morning we arrived into Istanbul at about 9:30am. Got a taxi (who ripped us off) to the hotel which was a little difficult to find - Deniz Konak Hotel. Really nice room which seemed like luxury after coming from the hostel in Santorini / ferry / train journey! Went up to the terrace where we got free breakfast! Stunning views of the mosque, city & port area from the terrace. Booked in for another night and also city tour for Thursday morning. Walked around the city: to the Blue Mosque, down by the port, through the busy streets & street markets.

Istanbul can only be described as an assault on the senses; the sights, the sounds, the smells are nothing but extraordinary after coming from west Europe.

There are all sorts of spices, nuts, chesses, fruit, rugs/carpets, traditional crockery, clothes, shoes etc being sold in the Grand & Spice Bazaars. People cooking & selling corn on the cob, crepes, nuts, fish kebabs are a common sight on the street. We bought two books of postcards from a Turkish street seller who impressed us by saying “Conas a ta tu?” in a perfect Irish accent! How he learned that I will never know, but rest assured we were told that we got the 'special price' for the post cards...the tourist price I suspect! I really need to get my negotiation skills up to par before we head to China and India! You'd get murdered in bargaining with these people who do this for a living on the street.

If you haven’t heard it before 'the Adhan' (the Muslim call to prayer) is something to behold as it is played out all across the city five times a day from sunrise to sunset. The main purpose behind the loud pronouncement of the Adhan five times a day in every mosque, is to make available to everyone an easily intelligible summary of Islamic belief. It is intended to bring to the mind of every believer and non-believer the substance of Islamic beliefs, or its spiritual ideology. The Adhan sums up the teachings of Islam.

We ate out in a Turkish restaurant where we had to sit on a carpeted floor to eat. Food was lovely but if you are not used to sitting on the floor for 60 minutes when eating you're going to get a little stiff.

On the Thursday morning we took an organised tour of Istanbul with an American couple Emma the opera singer and Kevin the pianist, both from San Francisco. The tour was quite good and we learned a good deal about the Islamic faith and the Muslim beliefs.

At 10pm that evening we boarded the 12hr overnight train to Bulgaria, wondering what the journey would have in-store for us.

Some Triva:

• 13 million people live in Istanbul; (I bet you didn't know that) only 11 million documented
  
• Ankara is the capital city of Turkey, not Istanbul which I didn't know
  
• Instanbul is located on two continents: Europe & Asia. A bridge separates both sides.
  
• Istanbul 'constantinople' was the capital of the Ottoman Empire
  
• Most important attraction is Sultan Ahmet Mosque, also known as Blue Mosque because of its interior blue ottoman tiles. It took 17 years to build (1609 - 1616)
  

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