Blogs from Bosporus, Marmara, Turkey, Middle East

From November 15 - 21, 2015, I have the blessing and privilege to travel to Istanbul, Turkey with my friend n colleague Saif who also work with me since long. Our main intention to travel Istanbul was official but we also had some precious moments and for that I invite you to travel with us via this blog J Nov 15 The Journey Begins: We started our journey with Qatar airways flight QR 637 on Nov 15 morning 0215 that took us to Doha and from there on the same day we again had a connecting flight QR 239 (morning 0740) to Istanbul. We spent around 11 tiring flying hours to reach this beautiful city and from the airport we took a cab to reach Le Meridien Hotel Istanbul Etiler. Once we reached our hotel we ... read more

The forecast was spot on for today: dull with cloud, showers and cool. It seemed to get cooler as the day progressed. Such a contrast to our previous days! Nevertheless, spirits were bright as we boarded the bus at 8:20am ready for a day of sight seeing. There is so much rich history in Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople. It was this city that was the ultimate objective of the whole Gallipoli campaign. First stop was the Blue Mosque built in 1603 -1617 during the Ottoman Empire. It’s the blue tiled interior that gives its name. We had to wear a head scarf and remove our shoes; this mark of respect was cause for contemplation and reverence. This mosque is still used for prayer 5 times a day so tours are managed around the prayer times. ... read more

A cool, cloudy morning encouraged us to snuggle in bed a bit longer. This meant a later breakfast but it was still very leisurely. We breakfasted beside an Australian couple who live near the NSW / Queensland border, and chatted….of course! We didn’t leave the dining area until well after 10 o’clock! We ventured outside the hotel grounds for a brief stroll in the gradually warming sunshine. We particularly noted the blossoms bursting from their buds and the fresh green leaves appearing on the trees. The trees had barely a tinge of green when we arrived on Thursday. As we are about to embark on the tour we decided to have another very quiet day. The sun on the balcony was glorious and we took delight in soaking it up. (Thanks for the Sudoku, Lynne!) Our ... read more

Ich komme gerade aus Istanbul in der Türkei zurück. Es war großartig. Für alle mit Zweifeln, es ist unbegründet, und man muss sich keine Sorgen machen, alles ist wie immer. Es gab nur ein paar Demonstranten am Taskim Square, aber das war auch schon alles. Istanbul befindet sich zum einen Teil in Europa und zum anderen Teil in Asien. Alleine diese Tatsache war atemberaubend. Wenn, man allerdings an der Meeresenge von Bosporus steht bemerkt man erst was dies wirklich bedeutet. Glücklicherweise kam ich dort bei Sonnenuntergang an: ein paradiesischer Blick von oben von wo ich riesige Tankerschiffe sah welche auf ihre Einfuhr warteten. Die Tanker kamen entweder vom Schwarzen- oder dem Marmarameer. Man erzählte mir, um Zusammenstöße zu vermeiden, werde an jedem zweiten Tag eine andere Ruten eingeschlagen. Die beiden grossen Brücken in Bosporus sind einfach ... read more

Don't get over-excıted (as ıf you ever would) at the possıbılıty of more rıvettıng stuff from Cyclopath. It's stıll mostly peddlıng that occupıes my tıme however 2 days ago I pıtched up ın Istambul but not wıthout some dıffıculty. I'd done about 130Km to the outer cıty lımıts. Had no ıdea of ıts' sıze or extent. I was last here 44 years ago and ıt seems to have grown a bıt. It took a further 30 Km, 2 hours cyclıng on a 3 lane rıngroad that was jammed wıth rush hour traffıc to get to the unsıgnposted cıty centre. Just about the worst cyclıng experıence I've ever had. Defınıtely not recommended to anyone consıderıng thıs trıp. No ıdea how else you'd do ıt but 3 O' clock ın the mornıng mıght be quıeter. After 162Km I ... read more