It's Still Europe Believe it or Not

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Despite being technically part of Europe, with it being in the small portion of Turkey that is, it was completely unlike everywhere else that I had been. Once we arrived, the first job was to find somewhere to stay. A taxi driver persuaded us to go to a particular hotel, which probably belonged to his brother. He crammed six people into his taxi. The total disregard for rules and regulations reminded me of Bangkok, and I instantly decided that it was worth coming all this way for.

The hotel had enough rooms and was reasonably central, although as it was Turkey we were obliged to argue about the price.

I had a bit of a problem getting some cash. Most of the banks wanted to charge £4 to cash a £10 travellers' cheque. We hunted round and eventually found somewhere more reasonable. Outside, a policeman with a huge machine gun wanted to practice his English. We obliged.

The McDonalds here not only had a good washroom, although it was one of the few occasions that we did not need it, but it also gave away free maps of the city. Maps in hand, we set off for some serious sightseeing. Mosques were every, some like the Blue Mosque, being amongst the most spectacular and most famous in the world.

We got hopelessly lost and it didn't help when we couldn't remember the name our hotel. We found it eventually, but you see what I mean about my natural sense of direction.

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Photos

Blue Mosque
One of the most grand of the many, many mosques

Another Mosque
The guys I was travelling with