Blogs from Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey, Middle East - page 15

This is going to be a short one due to the frustrations involved in typing on a keyboard with extra letters. In addition I take no responsibility for misspellings or weird letters from here on... So Turkey has been awesome, so different and comfortable. Food is absolutely delicious with virtually no risk of food borne illness and such a rich culture. We have spent 10 days in Turkey in just 2 cities. Istanbul- We arrived after the best flight I have ever taken - Turkish Airlines is great! Public transport to the city center was super cheap and easy, that's always a bonus. What a beautiful place, lovely seaside walks, stunning mosques and plenty of parks. On top of it all, some of the best food to date, döner kebab, caçik, hummus and so on. We ... read more

On Thursday I went with a group of other teachers to a few places in the old city. We started at the Istanbul Modern Art Museum, where unfortunately I couldn’t take any photos. There were several amazing displays there, most of which I am unable to describe. It’s art; a description in words can’t do it justice. http://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/f_index.html However, one of my favorite exhibits was a progression from the first Turkish paintings under the Ottoman Empire through the present. Some of my favorites were from the “Generation of 1914” who were painters sent by the Sultan to study painting under master painters in Europe, mostly in Paris. Perhaps this explains the Turkish respect for France as a sophisticated and artistic country. The modern art, especially the 2000s paintings was just a bit much for me. I’ve ... read more

On thursday, 21.7. Bert, Rebecca and me went to the famous Aya Sofya museum where I lost them. I went to the Iranıan consulty to ask how to get a Vısa for Iran. Fırst I dıdnt fınd an entrance. I was followıng a car that was passıng a gate. A securıty guy dıdnt thınk lıke me that thıs was a good ıdea. But he was stıll frıendly. He explaıned to me that the Vısa offıce ıs only open ın the mornıng. In the evenıng I met Bert and Rebecca agaın. We were havıng some beer wıth other hostel guests. But I dıdnt feel very well. Bert saıd ıts maybe because I drank bad tab water. I was goıng to bed quıte early. The next day Bert and me went together to the Iranıan consulty . Wer ... read more

total dıstance : 3394km days : 41 average of dıstance per day : 82.5 km days on bike : 36 average of dıstance per day on bıke : 94.3 km longest dıstance per day : 146 km total rıdıng tıme : 171 h 44 mın average speed : 19,76 km/h maxımal speed : 66,57 km/h average of pedal frequency : 79 rpm maxımal elevatıon : ca. 670 m totsl elevatıon : ca. 20200 m number of sıngle socks : 2 ... read more

As you’ve seen from Topkapi Palace, Istanbul was strategically positioned on high hills overlooking the Bosphorus Strait, which is the link between the Marmara and Mediterranean Seas to the west and the Black Sea to the northeast. It was also surrounded by many kilometers of very high stone walls, a huge fortress of a city. But do walls defend against all threats? WATER is essential to life and Istanbul built 16 enormous underground cisterns in which to keep their water safe. We visited the 1001 Cistern, built in 330 AD, which was allegedly so named because it had 1001 pillars holding its underground roof up. Apparently in those times pillars were taken from lots of places (pillaged?) to build the cisterns. Though this cistern fell short of 1001 pillars when we visited it (it only had ... read more