Hotel Marble Istanbul

... all to myself. And it was next to a construction site so of course being a site manager, i was glued to the window at least an hour a day.

Thursday
ayse was making some dinner and showing off her one handed egg cracking abilities only to end up cracking a green egg into the meal. i pressume it was rotten, but we ate it anyways.
spanish class
got home 3am

Friday
-picked up my indian visa, bought the mid east guide book, and exchanged money for ...

We flew to Istanbul and arrived there in the late afternoon. We went back to Ozlem, the Couchsurfing member who hosted us while we were there two months ago, and she had booked a table in a restaurant housed in a former hunting palace of the sultan for dinner. The location, on a hillside overlooking the Bosporus Strait, was gorgeous; the building, with a lot of marbles and chandeliers, luxurious; and the food, well, just normal (you can't have it all, man), and since it was Ramadan, no wine ...

... Jeremy's estimate was an underestimate. We did run into traffic outside of Istanbul. They closed down one of the two bridges over the Bosphorus and allowing the city to span two continents, but we didn't even reach the start of that traffic jam until about 7:30. With the jam, which was unforeseeable of course, we didn't get into Istanbul until almost 9:00 O'Clock!

And, while the itinerary on the brochure had included a two hour stop at the beach and even whitewater rafting if ...

... to work on tuesday and its a national holiday - everyone usually gets the day off but since the store isnt closed i have to go in. :-/    last night i hung out with my friend alice and we went to her friend mario's bar... well, it hasnt opened yet but its almost ready... it was so neat inside - its called barrio latino (he is Argentinean and Mexican) and he did all of the interior decor including construction... very colorful ...

... by a giant tarantula and another where we drove race cars.  It was kind of like being home except everything was in Turkish and I did not recognize any of the stores. After the mall, we took a taxi to the Old Town, where we went to the Grand Bazaar, the oldest market in the world.  They had everything - like the medinas but it was all covered and there were no donkeys or mopeds or even bicycles ...

Ola... we made it all save and sound to Istanbul!! Crossed 8 countries, cycled almost 4000km's from West to the East of Europe. Saw the most amazing sights and cities in those 6 weeks. Each country with its own charm, culture and different foods. From floods in France to 40 plus degrees in Bulgaria, and luckily without too many injuries. We unfortunately had Neil, Maralyn and Don who had to leave the tour, but they are all doing much better and am sure they are ...

... Empire. It was converted into a mosque in 1453, and then a museum in 1935. The enormous main dome has lots of scaffolding which reaches from the floor to the ceiling. Quite a few old mosaics, and an interesting upstairs gallery. Head across the road to have a look at the Baths of Lady Hurrem, which were originally part of the mosque complex, and were built in 1556-7. They are now used as a carpet shop, but all the ...

... quiet and controlled environment of the airplane, the streets of Istanbul felt especially chaotic and exciting. Crossing the street is a sport.....like big game hunting. The stragglers, old and sick are lucky to survive. We all survived, in fact everbody did remarkably well, and are looking forward to tomorrow.

... get to the bus stop. The stop is in the middle of the freeway which is partly reached through a series of light controlled crossings. However at one point the lights run out and you are deposited in the middle of the freeway wondering how to complete your journey whilst traffic whizzes by at great speed. I did discover the existence of a zebra crossing, but as these are largely ornamental in Turkey, it is not of much help. At least if you can find a lull in the flow and ...

arrivée tardive, on joue les fangios avec le taxi, groose négociation avec l'hotel car la chambre réservée ne l'est pas ... le lendemain, ballade dans les rues puis on va acheter un billet de train pour la Bulgarie Manque de bol, grosses inondations en Bulgarie, il n'y a plus de train !!!! changement de programme; on décide de prendre un bus pour Edirne et après on verra ...