Blogs from Marmara, Turkey, Middle East - page 183

I had dreaded the 2.30 am flight from Dubai and arrived in Istanbul feeling quite a mess. I was already sleep deprived and another pesky, twitchy Indian lad made sure I wouldn't be getting any sleep on this leg. Fortunately a bit of adrenalin on the shaky landing had me right for my first taste of Turkey. Mmm yum. Something about the metro and tram ride into Sultanahmet met my expectations about this part of the world. The gloomy morning only added to preconceptions of faded and tired streets, neglected suburbs, worn-out faces. The landscape changed nearing the centre, and those vaguely familiar landmarks emerged - Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque. I eventually dropped my bags at hostel and slept for a few hours while it rained and grew a little gloomier in the afternoon. ... read more

March 30th, 2006, Day 84 of our cruise of 105 Evening at sea after Kusadasai, Turkey, tomorrow, Iraklion, Crete, 220 nautical miles away. We have traveled close to 23 000 nautical miles. Everybody is running around planning touring activities for the upcoming ports as they are many and close to one another. We will walk to town tomorrow, hopefully tour the archeological museum and maybe go for a cab ride around wine country in the afternoon. Balmy weather, Very pleasant Hello my children, hello granny. -news pls from all of you Goodnight. Ttys, love to all ... read more

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