Turquhouse Istanbul

... places being voyaged to and reasons for moving. <br><br>Lauren a tabloid journalist from Sydney was trading in the stressful existence of chasing biker-gangs and drug-dealers, making newspaper deadlines, working long and highly risky hours for seriously low pay for the comparatively relaxed life of a middle-eastern-freelance journalist.<br><br>Jamal had spent six months walking from Mexico to Columbia to promote peace, he crossed some ...

... and Paul, a guy from New Zealand, who was on his way back to the islands after spending a year in Germany. The girls were thinking about going out, and they cordially invited us, so we took them up to Tunel, where we could afford one beer each over quiet conversation about the EU, our trip, their trip, and Istanbul. We got back about 1 o clock, and spent the rest of the night drinking our remaining three beers that we bought earlier with Ugur, who was supervising the rug-store downstairs.

... br><br>So first I had to find someone who spoke English...which no one<br>did. A nice Turk at the bank started translating for me and told me<br>that they said they had no access to my American account, but that I<br>could call their office. He helped me dial the number. The broken<br>English on the other line checked the ATM for irregularities, but he<br>too could not actually help me w&#305;th my account, only American Citibank<br>(which incidentally does have some ...

... there were lots of people around though so I figured it'd be okay. He kept trying to put his arm over my shoulders and I would pull it off and then finally I said "No!" firmly which he understood and stopped trying. After about ten minutes of walking with him, he pointed at a sign and smiled and I was there. Then he turned and walked back where he came from. The spice markets are great.Much smaller than the Grand Bazaar, but they've got everything, souveneirs ...

... shoe collection. Afterwards I got a haircut at a traditional barber, who also gave me one of those old-school shaves with a butter knife. An interesting experience, and a great result. Start of the Magic Carpet Tour I met my new roommate James, from New Zealand, who is also 22. We went out for dinner to a kebab restaurant at an affordable price, after my kebab lunch as well. There ...

... spice odours wafting all around, the sounds of Muezzin calling the faithful to prayer, while all around the noise of bargaining and offering wares for sale was something to keep in the memory. Our local area, Besiktas, is a great locals shopping haven, with many many food outlets, near the Bosphorus and of course a local supermarket. Di is living on figs (dried and fresh) creamy local feta cheese, pomegranates, nectarines and plums with the occasional banana thrown in ...

... get us that shuttle for a little less if we would like...when we said no again and told him we'd wait for the train, he smiled and said, 'OK'. Then he almost laughed sheepishly and said, 'Train opens at 6:00am' not 9:00am'. Victory for Trevor and Dana! We all laughed as this guy surrendered, realizing that we had figured stuff out properly. He sat with us for nearly 40 minutes and chatted away. He asked if we were married or just girlfriend and ...

... who screwed up the flights" stakes. We have since decided that in future, neither one of us will book flights alone. We simply can't be trusted to get it right, both of us will have to be there. Anyways, all other trivialities aside, we managed to make it to the Airport on time, and change our flights so that we'd make it back on the 28th of May (at a cost of £50. Each). Considering that we'd had no sleep and a lot of alcohol the night before, we both managed to get a bit ...

... the main road while looking for a restaurant for dinner. When I stopped to look in the window of a pastry shop he looked at me and very seriously said, "You shouldn't eat dessert or you'll get fat." I looked straight at him and said a very strong goodbye before quickly walking in the opposite direction. I learned very quickly that the best way to get rid of the touts is to flat-out ignore them. I decided to spend just a couple of days ...

... featuring the same actress that starred in Amalie. Now I'm struggling to stay awake until after dinner in order to avoid jet lag. Tomorrow, I'll be hoofing it around Etiler to see what has changed. My one landmark remains the same - Venus - a lovely chocolate and pastry store. Seems as if some things about me never change either! Until tomorrow.