Blogs from Turkey, Middle East - page 28

Monday, 2 May – Istanbul When one travels to an area marked “do not travel”, as is the case with Istanbul by the Australian and US Government, one expects it to look and feel more dangerous. Yet it does not. The people are just like us, going about their daily lives, just as we do in a ‘safe’ country. Men wear business suits, uni students listen to their headphones and most women get around in heels. The majority of the population dresses Western. There is no looking over one’s shoulder or scrutinising each individual as a potential terrorist. Even standing in the immigration line upon arrival Dwayne, myself and the kiwi behind us seemed the only ones concerned about an unattended suitcase standing on its own. My first impression of Istanbul is that it is unremarkable ... read more

Woolly says – its been a strange few months, Jo seems to have spent her time racing around Alanya on the back of scooters in an attempt to visit every official building there is in the city, sometimes returning with a beaming smile but more often than not looking teary eyed and bedraggled. Endeavouring to keep myself occupied and between counting my ever growing pistachio collection I set to on the planning of our next adventure. As the day of departure came closer it was lovely to take a week off and take on the mantle of Tour Guide for friend Dave’s visit and the usual trips round the harbour, castle and the other delights that Alanya has to offer. Having waved him off I barely had time to recheck my latest nut acquisitions before daughter ... read more

Saturday: Sadly we were kept up by a baby crying until 12:30 AM. Sleep was fitful so John got up and went for a sunrise walk down to the ferry terminal at Eminonu. He saw the first cruise ship we have sighted. Our host at the hotel tells us that the norm is two or three ships a day but many of the big cruise lines have cancelled Istanbul as a port-of-call altogether! Shocking. After a warming breakfast and conversation with the hotel’s owner, Mehmet, we rested before meeting friends Aggie and Roger and going to the famous Chora Church with its unsurpassed mosaics. We ogled them for an hour or more, running into Carol, Steve and Connie from the Asian Art Museum. The five of them are on their way tomorrow to Iran for a ... read more

Thursday: John got up early – 5:30 – and went for a walk down to the Eminonu ferry terminal area to take pictures of the sun coming up on the Bosphorus. It was a little like a salmon going upstream as everyone was coming the other way to their work (the Grand Bazaar opens at 8:00 AM). What a glorious day it was, not a cloud in the sky and everything right with our world. Not that everything was right, as there was a bombing on Wednesday in Bursa, about three hours by ferry and car from Istanbul. Sadly the bombing was at their magnificent mosque but only the bomber was killed. John ended up have a couple of interesting conversations with shopkeepers and folks at the hotel about the impact these bombings are having on ... read more

We decided not to go to the Princes' Islands today, partly because we got a late start, partly because of the State Department warning about docks, and partly because of the weekend crowds... Instead, we walked, and walked and walked....down to the water from our apartment, along the Bosphorus, up the hill to the Museum of Innocence, back down to the Museum of Modern Art, along the water the Dolmabahce Palace, up hill again (and down and up more times than I can count) to get back home! Our first stop was the amazing Museum of Innocence, a creation of the Nobel prize winning Turkish writer, Orhan Pamuk. He used his prize money to painstakingly create the Museum described in the book of the same name. I've been reading the book, but sadly didn't finish it ... read more