Blogs from Turkey, Middle East - page 25

This is not the best year for Turkey. Just few weeks before getting into the country, there is a solid failed attempt military coup. Bombs have also blown in few places all over the country, including in Istanbul over the last few months....and the airport of Istanbul has just suffered from a major massive blow, just weeks before we arrived in Istanbul. So people will tell me, why go now? Simple answer....less tourists, nicer welcome....better experience! Ok, I like to play it fun...visited Angkor a week after a coup in 1997...had Angkor to myself at 3pm....was in Cairo 5 days after Mubarak went down, and did Syria...3 months before the mess started...so let's say...I love uncrowded and slightly unstable places...after all, I was in Kinshasa during the recent troubles in September. The point is always the ... read more

Geo: 41.0245, 28.9881Update: Monday 25th July: 1402 Local.Location: Balcony of Hotel Sultiana Istanbul.Its been a whirlwind 36 hours! We were picked up at 0730hrs yesterday in Bishkek by the ever faithful Altimbeck our tour leader and guide for the last 2 weeks. He and his team have been exceptional and without their skills and knowledge this adventure would not have been possible.We bade our farewells and were soon boarding the 1024hr Turkish Airlines (5hr 45m) flight to Istanbul routing due West over Uzbekestan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and finally for the last 2 hours over the Black Sea before descending down into the now familiar Istanbul Ataturk Airport.We were early.......landing just after 1300hrs Local and planning our afternoon's itinerary in this fascinating City........WRONG!..........we suddenly hit the rear end of a Passport queue from hell! I have had bad ... read more

Hello Istanbul' Istanbul, one of the most beautiful capitals in the world that many Americans have always dreamed of going. I went to Istanbul and I really enjoyed it a lot and I'm going to go back there. Plus, I'm going on a Mediterranean Cruise in 2017 and in 2018. Very exciting. Best attractions I really enjoyed is going to the Mosque of Istanbul. My old Professor Mr.Callan Bentley went to Turkey and he really enjoyed Hagia Sophia almost 7 years ago when he looked at his profession of Geological works in the . It's one of the most importance of Turkey:Hagia Sophia. Many religious people come and pray and sing to Allah. Allah important God and will always be for Muslism Religion. img=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B3iDrnNrtsg/Tyy2HbQYgVI/AAAAAAAACTY/cbzV_bjTkMw/s1600/%28Turkey... read more

Beste iedereen, Als ik klaar ben om te slapen in het comfortabele bed in Mukthinak wil ik nog even de gordijnen dicht doen als ik iets zie waardoor ik meteen uit mijn bed stap. Ik trek al mijn warme kleren aan en vertrek naar buiten. Ik loop een stuk uit het dorpje en bewonder de lucht. Het is deze nacht niet bewolkt en de hele hemel is bezaaid met lichtpuntjes. Het is de meest indrukwekkende sterrenhemel die ik ooit gezien heb. Het terugvinden van de lodge is best lastig en als ik de juiste deur heb gevonden is het al over elven, best laat hier, en is de deur al dicht. Gelukkig kan ik nog naar binnen. De volgende ochtend doen wij lekker sloom. Tegen 11en gaan wij op pad naar Kagbeni. Het is net alsof ... read more

I think that Istanbul has as good a claim to be an Eternal City as Rome has - perhaps even better, since Istanbul has been an important city continuously since Constantine chose it has the capital of the Roman Empire in the 4th century, thus driving Rome into decline for centuries. One really visible sign of this continuity is Aya Sofya, the huge Byzantine church built in the 6th century which was preserved virtually intact over the ages because when Moslems captured the city they converted it to a mosque. No building in Rome from that time survives (with one exception) because they were all used as stone quarries by mediaeval peasants. (The exception is the Pantheon which survived because it was made of non-reusable concrete!) I walked around the old core of the city quite ... read more