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Published: September 5th 2013
Blog number two coming to you from Montenegro! We are currently sunning ourselves on the beach and swimming in the beautiful Adriatic....but we’ll tell you all about that later, this blog is all about Istanbul!
First and foremost we have to say how much we loved this city. The city itself is beautiful, and enjoying a cup of Turkish coffee while the call to prayer echoes around you is enchanting, but what made it amazing were the people. We have been to a lot of places and can safely say that we have never felt so welcomed or had people go so far out of their way to help us as the Turks did. It all started with me (pat on the back for Sarah) picking the best hostel to stay at. The New Backpackers Hostel/Siva Cafe in Sultanahmet (the old town) was a very excellent choice, even if I do say so myself. The room was a good size, clean and nicely decorated, but what made it so super special were the people that worked there. Abdullah (better known as Al Pacino), Joseph and Hakan made our stay a memorable one. Joseph sat and chatted to us and balanced
beers and plants on his head (!) for our entertainment, Hakan talked to us of his love of travel and as a parting gift gave us an evil eye trinket to protect us from bad things, and Al made us laugh every day, took us for an unforgettable night on the town and when we went to a restaurant he recommended for dinner one night, organised for a yummy chocolate dessert to be given to us! And I am still dreaming about that dessert...some chocolate soufflé-y thing it was...yum. There were constant jokes, cups of tea and mojitos...which made for a most enjoyable stay at the New Backpackers!
We did all the standard touristy things you do in Istanbul such as getting lost in the grand bazaar, checking out the harem, admiring the blue mosque and cruising down the Bosphorus River on a boat. To be honest though, what we enjoyed the most was wandering around and getting lost in the streets, drinking apple tea and Turkish coffee, people watching and generally chatting to whoever wanted to chat to us! The people are what made our visit to Istanbul so memorable. It was the perfect first stop for our
eastern European adventure! One funny story though...we had a Turkish man say to us “I like you. You are not like other Australians, you don’t just get drunk and do stupid things” (!!!). Hmm...what does that tell you about our reputation overseas!!
On our last full day we decided to head out to Gallipoli (after all, what Australian can visit Turkey and not go there!) and I have to say what a moving place it is. It was a long day, leaving Istanbul at 6am and not returning until around midnight, but it was well worth it. To actually see where the Anzacs landed and what they were up against, to see how close the trenches were to each other and to hear about the camaraderie between the soldiers brought me to tears. The Anzac and Turkish (or Ottoman Empire at that time) trenches were so close together, literally a road distance apart, and when they weren’t fighting the soldiers would joke with each other and throw food and cigarettes between the trenches. During a ceasefire they even played football in the ‘no man’s land’ zone. There was one particularly amazing story about the brave Turk I believe they
called him. There was fighting going on and there were people dead and injured with one particular Anzac guy who was injured and calling out for help. The Anzacs could not get out of their trenches to help him as obviously they would be shot by the Turkish. One Turkish soldier however, after this had been going on for a while, raised a white flag and got out of the trenches. As he walked over to the injured Anzac the shooting stopped. The Turkish solder picked the other man up and carried him over to the Anzac trenches and laid him down before returning to his own side. The fighting then resumed. What an incredible story and one that (again!) brought me to tears. What was really stressed to us as we walked around and listened to all the stories told was how much respect the soldiers had for each other. They were there to fight for their country but as our guide said to us, it was the last real ‘gentlemen’s war’. At the Lone Pine Australian memorial we also found the name of Ben’s great uncle, which personalised it just that bit more. Ben was really touched that
he could make the journey there for his family and we took a moment to think about his great uncle and his family and what they would have gone through. On the same memorial wall there was also the name of the youngest soldier killed, a 14 year old boy who had lied about his age to be able to enlist. So sad.
Well that is about it for Istanbul. We were only there for four nights but what a great four nights it was. We will definitely be heading back to Turkey at some stage to see the rest of the country!
Take care everyone.
Love Sarah and Ben xxx
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