Blogs from Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey, Middle East - page 5

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Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Sultanahmet October 25th 2014

After 5 day rest near Fethiye doing holiday stuff, set off north, approx 900km to Istanbul. Bike still suffering from broken shock, so Heather elected to fly, well it was raining! So with rain coming off Agean sea, I elected to run up the middle over mountains. Pamukkdale, top tourist site near Denizli was on route, stopped for lunch in cloudy sunshine, it was easy see this natural chalk feature from 20km. There is quite a bit to see here and swim in Cleopatra's bath tub, but just a brief visit this time as I was keen to outrun rain. Run into Istanbul round lake Maramara to north, or ferry across this small sea?, well indicission left me on mountain track in dark above Izmit, I blame the satnav - well it says there is a ... read more
Jester on Ovukirk boats.
Pancakes
Sunset cruise on Agean

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Sultanahmet October 18th 2014

ISTANBUL 18.10.14 cooler and late showers. This morning we visited the Basilica Cistern, just down the road from the hotel. Built in 532AD, to provide water for the now vanished Byzantine Palace. Comprised of over 300 columns, deep underground, some with carvings of Medusa and Peacock eyes. Very beautiful place enhanced by haunting music. Afterwards we had decided to visit the nearby Blue Mosque and Aya Sophia, however today the tourist crowds arrived and the queues were long. SO, we bypassed them for Turkish Coffee, mud like, but ultimately quite drinkable, and amazing Turkish Delights and Pastries from Hafiz Mustafa, established in 1864 and still going strong. Afterwards we did another lap of the Grand Bazaar, before again contemplating the Blue Mosque. Queues of at least 1500 people in front of us made us search for ... read more
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Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Sultanahmet October 17th 2014

ISTANBUL. 17.10.14. Beautiful Weather This morning we received marvellous news fro George, that she had passed her third exam of the Chartered Qualification, an exam she was very concerned about. A great achievement and one that got us off to a good start for the day. Today we visited the other side of the Golden Horn, taking the tram across the Galata bridge to the station end at Kabatas. The tram route ran adjacent to the Bosphorus. At the tram end we then took a funicular which ran uphill inside the mountain to Taksim Sq, or Independence Sq, the scene of Turkish protests. Near the square we fell upon the most amazing pastry store, HAFIZ MUSTAFA in business since 1864. Unfortunately it was too early for sweets!! Wandered back along Istiklal Cadesi, a pedestrian mall and ... read more
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Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Sultanahmet October 16th 2014

ISTANBUL 16 October 2016 Now back in Istanbul, two months later than my visit after the Silk Road ride. The weather is changing, now much cooler than July, but still pleasant exploring temperature. The flights were long, and the flight from Dubai to Istanbul on a 777 was cramped and full. Did not think Emirates Economy was any better than any other airline recently experienced! The A380 from Brisbane to Dubai, 14.5 hours was marginally better. Set out this morning, first visiting the Arista Bazaar. Rent from the stalls support the running of the adjacent Blue Mosque. The shops here sell a better quality product and Mem and I saw many items that appealed! Continued to wander the back streets which were interesting and exotic. Reappeared opposite the Grand Bazaar so continued our wanderings through gold ... read more
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Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Sultanahmet August 27th 2014

I always pack my Skipton Castle wind up torch when I go on holiday but have never actually needed it before and didn't expect to in Istanbul. But there's been a powercut for hours and all I can do is type this blog with torch in teeth to see the keyboard and go for toilet trips. The morning started dark too, going down the unlit and twisted stairs of our hostel, we came across the helpful lady we met yesterday who appeared to be sitting with no light, waiting for people who needed help. As always, we needed help and she is great, we could do with her coming with us throughout the trip... "Tomorrow we are getting a plane from an airport beginning with 'S', how do we get there?" and so on. We walked ... read more
Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque -crappy corner where women are allowed to pray.
The Blue Mosque.

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Sultanahmet July 4th 2014

Woolly says – Our time in Istanbul certainly seemed to go too quickly, although not our usual independent way of travelling it proved to be highly successful and excellent value for money. We booked the three days, two night tour through one of the tour shops in Alanya and for 900 TL (approximately £250 GBP) we had all of the transfers, flights to and from Antalya to Istanbul (including snacks on the plane), two nights’ accommodation, a cruise on the Bosphorus and a half day Istanbul classics tour included in the package. I was well impressed. The tours would have cost 35 Euro each if booked separately (approximately £28.00 GBP) and when Jo priced everything up separately we found that we saved £30.00 GBP overall leaving extra money for snacks! We had expected the price of ... read more
Graves at the Pierre Lotti Coffee house
Different Architecture
Mammoth enjoying the Lights

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Sultanahmet July 3rd 2014

With our time running out in Istanbul we still had a couple of places to see, abandoning the thought of public transport we opted for a taxi to get a head start on the day. Woolly says – Jo hadn’t told me a lot about our first destination but I had caught a snippet of conversation about Mini Turks, maybe we were off to visit Woolly sized Turkish people, it’s always nice to meet people of your own vertically challenged proportions so as the taxi sped through the city I kept my eyes peeled for some new friends. He hadn’t heardcorrectly but then when you consider the amount of jam and marmalade he stores in his ears this is hardly surprizing. Miniatürk is a miniature park situated at the north-eastern shore of the Golden Horn... read more
Mardin - another place that we must go to
Following in the footsteps of Top Gear
Playing the game

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Sultanahmet July 2nd 2014

Woolly says – Having already checked out the Turkish buffet breakfast and helped the kitchen in reducing the quantity of boiled eggs I hurried back upstairs to make sure the girls were up and moving. Thankfully even daughter Zoe was shuffling about and as I hustled them down to the reception desk we made it just in time for our tour of the day. Our coach delivered us safely to our first destination, the famous Blue Mosque. With cameras clicking we waited in line to enter, I covered myself appropriately before finding that I had a slight problem. We didn’t have the heart to tell Woolly that only head, shoulders and leg needed covering and then only if you’re female as he provided great entertainment for the growing crowd as he staggered round with a scarf ... read more
Hagia Sophia
Dome of the Blue Mosque
The Blue Mosque1

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Sultanahmet July 1st 2014

Woolly says – I learnt something new today! There are TWO 4 o’clocks, although why I had to be woken from my slumbers to discover the other one is beyond me. To add insult to injury I was shovelled onto a coach with only a mars bar to keep my strength up before suffering the indignity of looking for a hoover at the domestic terminal, they might have told me I had the wrong end of the stick! It was funny watching the Mammoth searching high and low for the domestic appliances at the airport and even though his sense of humour had been left on the ground he cheered up considerably when the nice cabin crew handed him a toasted cheese sandwich and I’m sure the other passengers didn’t really mind sharing there’s with him. ... read more
Should be enough room for me
Contrasts
Pretty - that's me NOT the building!

Middle East » Turkey » Marmara » Istanbul » Sultanahmet June 19th 2014

Today was a day for new experiences. After getting up on Wednesday at 4:15, 3 flights, the last being 10 hours long, we arrived in Istanbul tired and jet lagged. While it was 9 AM here, it really felt like 1 AM back home. We found ourselves on a crowded TRAM full of frowny people, made it to our hotel, cleaned up and resisted the urge to sleep. We ventured out without much of a clue as to where we were going, but with a sense of adventure and learned some things. Istanbul is a ancient city full of all kinds of people, just like anywhere you might travel. The difference here for us is that not many people speak English, so when exploring we are pretty much on our own. While Turkey is a secular ... read more
Random Minaret
Egyptian Obelisk near Blue Mosque
Chuck exercising his keen eye.




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