Blogs from Turkey, Middle East - page 16

What a city to take pictures — especially on the water, on the routes of the ferries that constantly shuttle between 2 continents that the city straddles. Check out this amalgamation of videos taken during our visit There’s a lot to like about Istanbul. As the capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires (and even the Roman Empire just before its collapse), it has an amazing history. As a commercial and political center and the largest city on earth for a very long time — it attracted many ethnic groups, all of whom left their marks. Modern day Istanbul is a major city in Turkey with a population of 15.5 million residents including at least 1 million displaced Syrians. Its Old City reflects cultural influences of the many empires that once ruled here. In the Sultanahmet ... read more

Turkey, December 2012 - January 2013 Day 1 We have arrived, probably yesterday evening? I’m writing this based on my handwritten notes in 2018, five years later so… The first full day goes by wandering around Old Town, hoods of Sultan Ahmed mosque or Blue Mosque as it’s also known as. This area is quite touristy but necessary to appreciate the heritage and history. We end up visiting Blue Mosque twice because the visiting hours are unknown to us. Suppose checking timetables prior to visiting wouldn’t be such a bad idea. It is closed for prayers in between as it is still functioning as a mosque and not just as a tourist attraction. It has continued serving as a mosque from the beginning of 17th century. Details and the building itself is fascinating. Hagia Sofia is ... read more

Arriving back from Egypt meant a trip to the cinema with the Movie group we have all been waiting for the release of Infinity Wars which in my opinion was brilliant. A few days later we went out for after work drinks, I don’t do it often because it is expense here, I left early because I am going kayaking in the morning. I left early the next morning picking Chris, Rina and Arthur up as we made our way to Abu Dhabi’s Mangroves National Park. Today we would Kayak about seven kilometres through the mangrove canals and it is damn hot for early May. I love kayaking and the others seemed to enjoy paddling through the park as much as I did, a bit more wildlife would have been good though. A few days later ... read more

Having said goodbye to most of my group yesterday - lots of them left early this morning and I'm not getting up that early for breakfast - I am now on my own in Istanbul for a few hours to look around places I'd missed on my first day of the tour. First off on my wish list is a visit to the Topkapi Palace. This sumptuous residence was built in 1459 for the Ottoman Sultans to swan around in. Over the centuries it was added to and improved. Earthquakes and fires took their toll but it was renovated and redecorated to within an inch of its life. The life of a Sultan in the Topkapi Palace was that of a spoilt little rich kid getting whatever he wanted. He had his very own harem of ... read more

We set up camp in a 'hotel' near Mount Nemrut. Hotel in quotes as it's actually a bit of a dive, but hey, thems the knocks when you wanna see something amazing. It's freezing and I'm given a 'heater' for my room. It works, but there are alarming sparks from the back when the switch is turned on and off. The handle to the bathroom comes off in my hand, there's no light bulb in the main ceiling light and at some point the door has had a fist through it and has been patched up. Room 101 is scrawled on the door in felt tip pen. The communal room where we are to eat has a door at each end that may as well not be there, a blast of cold coming in every time ... read more