Grand Oztanik Hotel Istanbul

Today i was able to meet up with a bunch of couch surfers to do a day trip to the princes islands. i left little time to get to the ferry terminal which was the meeting place, so i basically ran about 2 or 3 km. met with everyone had had heaps of fun. our two local tour guides found a restaurant and negotiated some discounts for us and we all had a bit of a feast for lunch outside in the sun. <br><br>then we all rented bikes ...

Nous sommes arrivée Istanbul hier, mais n'avons pas arrêté de visiter, un peu fatigué du décalage, mais tres agréable.<br><br>27c ensoleillé, côté inondation personne en parle ici, la vie continue.<br><br>Pas le temps de courir les Ciber-café, l'accès internet limité à date.<br>Aujoud'hui la Mosquée Bleue, Ste Sophie et le Bazar.<br><br>Magali et Sébastien on vous embrasse, demain le Bosphore et départ direction d'Ancara.<br><br><br><br>

... language barrier. Utku's aunt has been busy recently, but hopefully I will get her into one of these conversations soon. I'll be sure to record my thoughts when that happens. Beyond religion, there is also a difference in family dynamics here, which was particularly clear when we went to Utku's village this weekend.<br><br>Utku's village is a beautiful, quiet place in some small mountains two hours from Istanbul. When we got there ...

... everywhere. The ma&#305;n mall - Kanyon - was arch&#305;tectually exqu&#305;s&#305;te, totally gorgeous and Duba&#305;-style bold, but screamed 'exclus&#305;ve' &#305;n a way no Amer&#305;can c&#305;ty could ever come close to match&#305;ng. A d&#305;sturb&#305;ng rem&#305;nder that the econom&#305;c gap between the r&#305;ch and poor &#305;n Turkey &#305;s becom&#305;ng of alarm&#305;ng concern. After that I took a ferry to Harem, on the As&#305;an s&#305;de, explored a ne&#305 ...

... of cryýng-out of paýnful knees and embarassment, Ý look up....SURELY my husband ýs here to rescue me by now. Nope. I can see hým ýn the dýstance, ýn lýne for the ferry. I dýd fýnally make ýt there too and the ferry rýde, the promýse of a bosphorus tour, and a cup of hot çay soon got me back on track..... After settlýng ýn at the hotel we wandered back to the waterfront on the European sýde and went on a Bosphorus tour- we d ...

... of pork fat, a slice of cheese. Set the glasses, pour a triple shot. Clink, toast and down the hatch. Then eat the snack. No scrabbling around after the drink for something to eat, it must be laid out first. Pick the glass up at the bottom, with thumb and index finger! Don't put it down on the table once you have picked it up, I am scolded. The bacon fat runs out. Enter smoked sausage, and bread and cheese. And more vodka. Tapping the side of the throat with the back of the hand, or ...

... around to demand money! The boys in our group were irritated and kind of scared him away. We finally got there somehow. It had turned into a museum as well, and we had to pay an entrance fee of 2 ytl. Let me just say it was not the most impressive place we have seen- more like the least impressive site. We were the only ones inside of the place, so we could just play around. Either way, we were very pleased with the success of today's adventure.

... want to see once you get inside!) and then you queue again to join one of the tour groups as you can't go in on your own. The tour was pretty rushed (got outside only to read the guide and realise we'd missed a famous painting by "an important Turkish painter") and they weren't keen on dawdlers but it was worth it to see the chandeliers alone. Have to say the Harem isn't nearly as impressive as the state rooms ...

... of beautiful mosques on the skyline. Its a remarkable city with(bonus), great food. One draw back though, there aren't many redheads in these parts and Hayley is bombarded with people stroking her face and hair, and kissing her(yes kissing) all day long from everybody. Gracey has never been sooooo happy not to have red hair in her life. Onward to a hot bath and cup of tea.

... train ride out of town from the Sirkeci Railway Station, originally built as the terminus of the Orient Express route. We had a fun final dinner and then ended up on the roof of the Orient Hostel (again!) for chilly but exclusive farewell and drinks (the hostel closed the deck due to the weather but we convinced them to open it after a bit of persuasion!) Another sad goodbye to my tourmates who over the course of three weeks, have become friends!