Blogs from Marmara, Turkey, Middle East - page 3

Upon first observations, I can confidently say Istanbul is quite the multicultural milkshake. That, and I am completely charmed by its cobbled streets leading towards the sea. What a condensed, sprawling, hodge-podge of people and life! Demographics say its 78 percent Turks, but there are so many other faces. That's 15 million people tightly packed into stackable buildings, some within the confines of a walled city, with dozens of mosque domes predominantly gleaming in the midday sun. Landfall finds me in the old city European part of Istanbul, with less than a week to explore both sides of the Bosporus. Its not very often I make strategically sound travel decisions at last minute, but my unassuming hotel is lovely and perfectly situated, within walking distance to everything touristy. Well done you. First line of business, a ... read more

As I write this post, I am looking out the window of our beautiful cruise ship, at the setting sun over the Marmara Sea. The Star Legend is a small, 200 passenger vessel in the Windstar Cruise Line. It provides all the amenities of the larger cruise lines, minus the crowds. We sailed out of the harbor at precisely 5pm, waving goodbye to the Istanbul coastline with its striking minarets and ancient coastal history. The sea is calm and skies are clear which should make for a peaceful night of sailing. Before we boarded though, we had one last highlight of ancient Istanbul to explore, the Galata Tower. As I previously mentioned, it was the highest point of the Genoese walled city. Built in 1453, the Genoese could watch the strait for uninvited ships. Sounding an ... read more

Today began with another traditional Turkish breakfast at the Green House Restaurant. I’m glad my sister doesn’t like honeycomb because I ate both our portions! Because she is restricting her fats I also got most of the olives! The fresh fruit and cappuccino was a treat too. We ate early because we wanted to get to the Topkapi Palace before all the crowds. I’m so glad we did because we spent hours there, walking the entire complex, an amazing labyrinth of luxury and handmade beauty. The palace construction was ordered by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror and began in 1459. It was the was the administration center of the Ottoman Empire as well as the home of all the sultans until 1923, the end of the empire. It continues to house the official library, holy relics and ... read more

There is a lot to be said for perseverance. After all the trials and tribulations of yesterday, things could not have been more different today. A fresh start this morning began with a quick trip back to the airport at 9:30. The plan was to get to the Air France counter to resolve the standby situation and to get actual tickets for us all. The website said the Air France desk opened at 10am but the reality was noon. So we found a quiet corner to park while Sharon and Delta talked once again to be sure I actually have a seat. Reassured I did, she said we couldn't do anything more until the Air France counter opened to speak with the airline directly. At 11:45 we made sure to be first in line, and providence ... read more

Let's start with where I left off yesterday. On the way to the airport in Cappadocia to return back to Istanbul on an 8:25pm flight landing in Istanbul at 9:55pm. Our hope was to be out of the airport by 10:30pm and back at the hotel by 11:30pm. Well, that was a good plan - until it wasn't. We checked in and all was good, then shortly after that we noticed our flight had been delayed to 9:30pm, that meant not getting back until after midnight some time. We had meant an Australian Father/Daughter couple on our tour (Keith and Georgia) and they were travelling on the same flight back to Istanbul. We sat and chatted and then noticed that the flight had been delayed again, until 10:30pm. Argh, what a long day this was becoming, ... read more