Crowne Plaza Istanbul Old City

... So, please- when Mel and I get a place, and if any of you come over, please ask for a cup of tea, so that it makes all this worth while!<br><br>While the Grand Bazaar was a bit less than expected, the Spice Bazaar was great! Cheese, buts, baklava, Turkish Delights, and spices, with many places giving out samples of each (well, the spices didn't really interest me- we can't really do much with a bag of fresh paprika-but the rest was great!)<br><br>The night was also pretty nice; we ...

... n Turkey. We just arrived when &#305;t was gett&#305;ng dark.<br><br>Our hotel was a very n&#305;ce small pension at the Sea. Due to Ramadan the d&#305;nner was rather simple and w&#305;thout a lot of excitement. We have had salad and f&#305;sh which was good and sufficient. On the way home we found a shop who sold wine and rak&#305;. So we could hava a small good n&#305;ght cup before we enjoyed a good n&#305;ghts rest.<br>

... Early Greek civilization left us the building blocks for Rome and Byzantium, which swathed these earlier foundations in rich mosaics and left its mark in monuments such as the Hippodrome and Ayasofya. Even Fatih Mehmet II was astounded at the beauty of the city he had finally conquered. The Ottoman dynasty redirected the city's fortunes into the imperial majesty of undulating domes and commanding minarets, and the sumptuousness of Topkapi Palace.Across the Golden Horn is ...

... by Ahmet, the friend of a friend of a friend of mine from Istanbul. He showed me to the Forestry Commission hotel where I found a room for 7TL. Thank you so much. Anyone want to buy a tent? We drank tea together and he recommended a route that will take me to Sinop and then Samsun passing Safranbolu and Kastamonu. Later I met Abdurrahim, the friend of the friend from Istanbul and we drank coffee ...

... he'd have caught me though. I thought I'd find the perfect spot for lunch having bought sucuk, cheese, olives and bread in the village. Most people were at Friday prayers so I was lucky to find a shop open. I had to cycle for an hour past a road widening eyesore just east of the village before I found a decent place under a bridge. Made the last 3km from the main junction into Mudurnu at about 4:30pm and finally made my mind up to stay ...

... pools is beautiful enough but the region is also covered in beautiful red, yellow and white flowers, not to mention that it is the site of the ancient city of Hierapolis. Guidebooks tell you that the city was mostly destroyed by earthquakes, particularly a major one in 1334 which was the cause of the locals finally packing up and abandoning the city. However, I was impressed with the remains and I thought they were complete enough to evoke a vivid image of life in the ancient city ...

... down on both sides of the Bosphorous river proudly showc*sing its du*l Europe*n *nd Asi*n herit*ge. Oh *nd it´s got St*rbucks. Lots of them. After two *nd * h*lf months being subjected to the desicc*ted rem*ins of putrid coc* *sh (if even) I fell to my knees *nd th*nked the good lord for the scourge of Glob*lism. After the inevit*ble te*rful reunion we set off to check out, the city´s m*in pedestri*n thoroughf*re Ist*kel C*dessi - str*tegic*lly loc*ted just minutes from our ...

... off after being in the country only 30 minutes. To rub it in the Turkish secretary girl who I paid my money to, walked out the back of the office straight away after I paid my money and her conversation with a fellow employee went something like this: <br>"Turkish turkish Turkish....20 Euro!" <br>then followed by a giggly schoolgirl laugh. They were giving me **** for paying so much! Hopefully being ripped off doesn't become a common occurrence so I'll ...

... I told Richard that for it to be a photo finish, the camera would have had to have an F-stop of F924. Captain Grimes then claimed that we had more fun having our side-adventure than Jake did. I think that Captain Grimes is lame. We managed to stumble back down the rest of the mountain, and pulled into town around 5 PM. We were badly scraped and had a few cuts, but no major injuries. I don't think I'll ever forget today and its crazy hike, which is all that ...

... I hope they don't hate us here, but I can't blame them if they do. Lesson learned. Anyways, Safronbalou is a gorgeous town with all sorts of buildings lining the streets. Richard and I walked around the city and I was snapping photos every which way. The weather was perfect, and we are loving everything we are seeing and experiencing. The stark white houses pop out against the sloping hills with the orange roofs accenting the geometries (yes, I am a nerd for this stuff).