Blogs from Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey, Middle East - page 156

I'm back in Istanbul for my last day in Turkey and to wash the dirt of my body from the trip I decided to go have a Turkish bath. I decided to go to the most famous hamam in Istanbul, which is 300 years old and has been used in everything from soap adds to an Indiana Jones film. I was slightly nervous at the thought of being violated by some huge Turkish guy, but it all turned out ok. They give you a sheet to change into and some ridiculous wooden flip-flop things to walk around in. First they sent me to the hot room, which was this amazing marble steam room. On all the walls are basins which you can run water into and wash yourself. They left me to steam for about 10 ... read more

Our first real stop in Istanbul was Aya Sofya(or Aghia Sophia, or Hagia Sophia depending on where you get your information)… but I digress… Located two blocks from our hostel, Aya Sofya has been many things throughout its 1400 years of existence but to broadly give you an idea it has been a place of worship for whatever the religion-du-jour has been in Istanbul throughout its tormented past. The number of times that Istanbul / Constantinople has been overtaken by various empires and religions cannot be counted on one hand. As the early 21st century has been fairly kind to the region – it is currently a museum. The entrance was carefully guarded by dozens of “tour guides” but, fortunately for us, they were not nearly as persistent as the Moroccan ones. Lonely Planet had a ... read more

Mañana es el dia D....nos vamos, dejamos atras Estambul y Asia para adentrarnos en la misteriosa y mágica Macedonia ( JUAS)......Bueno, la verdad es que no esperamos gran cosa de este pequeño pais de chistoso nombre pero hay que autoanimarse, ¿no? Como podreis ver en las fotos tenemos nuevo fichaje, Toni. Durante estos dias que ha pasado en Estambul se ha hecho un verdadero experto en el Bosforo, todo el dia autobus para arriba, para abajo, un ferry por alli y otro por alla....es lo que tiene viajar con dos fotografos, que acabas viendo cosas que normalmente no verias haciendo turismo convencional. Pero la visita obligada al Gran Bazar ha generado un impulso consumista en los miembros del sexo masculino ( yo ya lo tenia antes ) y han arrasado: camisetas Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, chaquetas ... read more

merhaba everyone. if you hadn't figured it out, merhaba means hello in turkish. its one of about 10 words that i have learned here. is it rude of me to think that they should speak english instead of me speaking turkish? i am not sure. maybe i am just being an obnoxious american. anyway, i am still here in istanbul as i haven't made it out of the city to do any traveling yet. there is continuous talk of a weekend trip to bulgaria but it never seams to materialize. hopefully it wil happen soon as i am keen to see some things and get on the road. i love this city and am enjoying it tremendously but i didn't just come here to see istanbul, i came here to study (ha) and see some of ... read more

I arrived in Istanbul early in the afternoon of the 27th and caught the really modern train and tram system into the city. It was really easy to use and very cheap (2.2 YTL). I had a ripoff dinner with some people from the hostel including a 'local', Orky, who took us to the restuarant. She was a crazy American-Turk and it was impossible to get a word in edgeways. Oh well, you win some you lose some. The next day, an American guy Jim from Denver, and I went to the Blue Mosque. It has a massive courtyard and the inside of the mosque is the same size. On the other side of the park is the Aya Sofia which is a Greek Orthodox Church which was converted into a mosque. It is incredible inside ... read more