This if our journey to our place of rest! Flat for most of the way and then the biggest hill we have yet faced! Whinnie and I fell out a little as she seemed to keep falling over and always in front of other people, she has no sense of shame, I have however go even more red faced at having to pick her up under the suspicious eye of a bunch of Old Mother Hubbards and their squawking children. We shed a few tears on the way up but then finally the brow of the hill appeared and over the top we saw a lovely little port town which seemed like heaven to me. We found a hotel and my body gave up! I couldn't do anything....a shower, some food and bed was the order of the evening.
A rest day today, Friday, and then we start again on an even harder stretch I fear. But I will let you know about that in the coming days....
Friday, 29 May 2009
Ahmutcuk to Caycuma 85km
After the initial climb out of the valley it was mostly down hill, the longest so far, and then flat into Zonguldak. We stopped at the BP garage outside which we have noticed always have the best loos, just in case the Queen happens to visit! We sometimes break into Rule Britannia as we pass one, although they always seem to have a Turkish quirk somewhere like no plug for the hand drier! At every petrol station they always seem to offer us tea, this is a bit of a catch 22 as a we always accept and then ten minutes later we need to loo and have to stop at another petrol station.
We stopped at this BP garage outside Zonguldak and experienced another example of Turkish hospitality! Having been invited for tea we had the usual stilted conversation about what we were doing and then he put us on the phone to his english speaking daughter who told us her father wanted to show us the local tourist sight in Zonguldak (the town name sounds like something from Star Trek!). He organised a truck to take us there and we spent the next hour walking through the most wonderful cave with the most impressive stalacmites and stalactites. A very strange interlude to our cycle ride. When we went back we went through our route with the man and he told us he knew a person with a hotel in Gerze about 6 days cycle from here, and a brief flurry and signature on a piece of paper he said if we give this then we can stay for free there!!! We shall see if the note bears any fruit but still, quite an extraordinary occurence...We eventually made our way off, after much protestations that we had enough money and food, they think we are poor for cycling!
I got quite frustrated with myself on the way out of Zonguldak, I could not understand why I was only going at 8km/h on a flat stretch, every time we stopped I was very stressed and kept apologising. We came to a down hill stretch and it still didn't click, that the whole time my mind had been playing tricks on me and we were actually going up hill!
We arrived in Caycuma in good time and cycled through the town trying to find somewhere to stay. We caused quite a stir as we asked people where there was a hotel, with 20 guys surrounding us, a bit intimidating for me, although they mostly ignore me! As we went back out of town, trying to shake off the village idiot who was following us, and look for a hotel, we were greeted by another saviour. Aydogan came up and asked us if we wanted to stay with him, he had a free falt as his family was in Germany, where he lived for most of the time. Amazing! Another shower and a bedroom each! It amazes me everytime, they never even ask any questions about who we are, no qualms about inviting us into their home...!
We stopped at this BP garage outside Zonguldak and experienced another example of Turkish hospitality! Having been invited for tea we had the usual stilted conversation about what we were doing and then he put us on the phone to his english speaking daughter who told us her father wanted to show us the local tourist sight in Zonguldak (the town name sounds like something from Star Trek!). He organised a truck to take us there and we spent the next hour walking through the most wonderful cave with the most impressive stalacmites and stalactites. A very strange interlude to our cycle ride. When we went back we went through our route with the man and he told us he knew a person with a hotel in Gerze about 6 days cycle from here, and a brief flurry and signature on a piece of paper he said if we give this then we can stay for free there!!! We shall see if the note bears any fruit but still, quite an extraordinary occurence...We eventually made our way off, after much protestations that we had enough money and food, they think we are poor for cycling!
I got quite frustrated with myself on the way out of Zonguldak, I could not understand why I was only going at 8km/h on a flat stretch, every time we stopped I was very stressed and kept apologising. We came to a down hill stretch and it still didn't click, that the whole time my mind had been playing tricks on me and we were actually going up hill!
We arrived in Caycuma in good time and cycled through the town trying to find somewhere to stay. We caused quite a stir as we asked people where there was a hotel, with 20 guys surrounding us, a bit intimidating for me, although they mostly ignore me! As we went back out of town, trying to shake off the village idiot who was following us, and look for a hotel, we were greeted by another saviour. Aydogan came up and asked us if we wanted to stay with him, he had a free falt as his family was in Germany, where he lived for most of the time. Amazing! Another shower and a bedroom each! It amazes me everytime, they never even ask any questions about who we are, no qualms about inviting us into their home...!
Kadikoy to Ahmutcuk 86km
Most of the way was flat to Eregli but then we decided to take a short cut, at my suggestion, to avoid going inland too much. This was a very tiring if beautiful mistake. We climbed a bit and then descended into a deep deep valley. After a little to ing and for ing about which was the best way for a bike up the hill out of the valley, we realised it was getting a bit late to get anywhere to stay. We climbed as much as we could, me pushing most of the way, and found a little place to camp in the woods. If you look at the picture on the right you can just about make out the road that we had to climb after our descent into the valley!
It was a lovely secluded little spot surrounded by rhodedendrons. We set up camp and cooked ourselves some food. We thought that we were far enough away from the village to not get hassled by anyone, but just as I was dozing off and Humphrey was writing his diary (I was too tired to do mine) we heard shouts of 'drunken youths' saying hello! A heart stoppiong five minutes passed as we tried to listen for foot steps down to us nothing came of it. The worrying thing was that both Humphrey and I both had dreams of the tent being shaken in the night...a mystery never to be solved! Onward and literally upward in the morning. It is never as bad as it looks but sometimes it is much much worse!
It was a lovely secluded little spot surrounded by rhodedendrons. We set up camp and cooked ourselves some food. We thought that we were far enough away from the village to not get hassled by anyone, but just as I was dozing off and Humphrey was writing his diary (I was too tired to do mine) we heard shouts of 'drunken youths' saying hello! A heart stoppiong five minutes passed as we tried to listen for foot steps down to us nothing came of it. The worrying thing was that both Humphrey and I both had dreams of the tent being shaken in the night...a mystery never to be solved! Onward and literally upward in the morning. It is never as bad as it looks but sometimes it is much much worse!
Kandira to Kadikoy 80km
After such a wonderfully luxurious night it was very hard to leave Sandy and Veysel's house. We had, probably, the best breakfast in the world and then prepared to leave. The hills today were mere morsels in comparisons to the beasts of the previous days, but we did have to race past a true gypsy village on the way out of Kandira, which Sandy told us 'was no place for a cultural moment!' The scenery here is amazing, the hills are covered with forest and look so lush and are full of wild roses which warm the cockles as I pass them.
I had a bad experience with a dog today, or rather the boy in charge of the dog. Humphrey passed without a hitch but as I went passed the look of glee on the boys face was a sight to behold as he was encouraging his dog to chase after me! As luck would have it the dog was only a puppy and the boys father was shouting at him to stop...but I was amazed! We reached the coast again today and to my relief it was flat, but then the wind started. I now know why people go mad in Patagonia because the sound of the wind for hours was almost tipping me over the edge...almost unbearable.
The Turkish genorosity never seems to stop, we passed a sports shop and we had a quick look for a cycling top for me and quickly discovered there was nothing I wanted. The shop owner, despite us not buying anything, sat us down offered us tea and then brought out a massive plate of home made stuffed vineleaves! And to top it off, when we couldn't finish the plate full, he gave us the rest to take away. They are all so kind, apart from the children who set dogs on me!
We finally pulled in to Kadikoy and there didn't seem like much there at all, so we went to investigate the beach as a potential camp site. To get to the beach we passed a long line of, what looked like, holiday homes. I was taking pictures of the beach and the very loud frogs that were in the pond next to it, when we were approached by a man with a beer in his hand. After the normal pleasantries of not understanding each other and us standing there like fools saying 'Thank you very much' in Turkish, as it is the only word we know, he invited us for a beer with his friend. We politely accepted secretly hoping we wouldn't have to stay too long, me especially as I was very tired. They kept pointing to the row of houses behind, which I think they were care takers for, and making sleeping gestures. We knew that they lived near so we thought that they were inviting us to stay in their homes, we were trepidatious about accepting thinking we might have to share the floor with their 5 children! After a little more stilted conversation it would have been impolite to refuse, but rather than take us to their home, they wheeled our bikes to the house at the end of the row with the best view of the sea, and took us in. The houses are Russian holiday homes and that was evident in this house as the shoes, food and toothbrushes were all as they had left them. They then proceeded to pick flowers for the table, lay out a spread of food that they had gone to buy and put the chairs out on the balcony! That night we had our own rooms and a working bathroom, what a treat! This place gets more and more crazy the deeper we go into it.
I had a bad experience with a dog today, or rather the boy in charge of the dog. Humphrey passed without a hitch but as I went passed the look of glee on the boys face was a sight to behold as he was encouraging his dog to chase after me! As luck would have it the dog was only a puppy and the boys father was shouting at him to stop...but I was amazed! We reached the coast again today and to my relief it was flat, but then the wind started. I now know why people go mad in Patagonia because the sound of the wind for hours was almost tipping me over the edge...almost unbearable.
The Turkish genorosity never seems to stop, we passed a sports shop and we had a quick look for a cycling top for me and quickly discovered there was nothing I wanted. The shop owner, despite us not buying anything, sat us down offered us tea and then brought out a massive plate of home made stuffed vineleaves! And to top it off, when we couldn't finish the plate full, he gave us the rest to take away. They are all so kind, apart from the children who set dogs on me!
We finally pulled in to Kadikoy and there didn't seem like much there at all, so we went to investigate the beach as a potential camp site. To get to the beach we passed a long line of, what looked like, holiday homes. I was taking pictures of the beach and the very loud frogs that were in the pond next to it, when we were approached by a man with a beer in his hand. After the normal pleasantries of not understanding each other and us standing there like fools saying 'Thank you very much' in Turkish, as it is the only word we know, he invited us for a beer with his friend. We politely accepted secretly hoping we wouldn't have to stay too long, me especially as I was very tired. They kept pointing to the row of houses behind, which I think they were care takers for, and making sleeping gestures. We knew that they lived near so we thought that they were inviting us to stay in their homes, we were trepidatious about accepting thinking we might have to share the floor with their 5 children! After a little more stilted conversation it would have been impolite to refuse, but rather than take us to their home, they wheeled our bikes to the house at the end of the row with the best view of the sea, and took us in. The houses are Russian holiday homes and that was evident in this house as the shoes, food and toothbrushes were all as they had left them. They then proceeded to pick flowers for the table, lay out a spread of food that they had gone to buy and put the chairs out on the balcony! That night we had our own rooms and a working bathroom, what a treat! This place gets more and more crazy the deeper we go into it.
Akcacese to Kandira 60km
I had my first dip in the sea this morning, a chilly but necessary wake up call. Today was another very hard day, more and more hills seem to appear. It is very hard to enjoy the downhills when you can see the uphill that is coming and you know the pain still hasn't faded from the one you so recently climbed. Our distance dropped dramatically from the fluke that was 100km on the first day, I think my body was trying to tell me something. We did see alot of tortoises though which is always a good oppotunity to stop for a couple of minutes.
We arrived in Kandira, a small inconsequential town that looked like there were no hotels to be seen. Our saviour arrived in the form of Veysel who pulled up next to us and asked us in perfect english if we needed any help. He quickly asked us to stay at his home with his American wife Sandy, which we accepted. My body gave up at the sight of the hill that led to his house and I had to push it all the way. Sandy could probably smell us a mile off as she ushered us into the shower having shown us what looked like the most comfortable bed in the world. After the best shower in the world they took us on a little tour of the coast surrounding Kandira. It was blowing a gale so the sea looked even more impressive, they took us to the three little coves each very different to the next but wonderfully remote. One where there was a line of fishermen waiting on the rocks to catch these tiny little fish that only appear at this time of year, and then off to the Kerpe rock which looked so impressive in the moonlight with the waves crashing around it.
The next door neighbours of Sandy and Veysel own a massive dog, a nice one this time. And Sandy told us that it is a Muslim dog! He starts to howl seconds before the call to prayer starts, probably the most devoted Muslim in the town!
It was such a relief to meet such kind people especially after what seemed like the hardest two days of my life...
We arrived in Kandira, a small inconsequential town that looked like there were no hotels to be seen. Our saviour arrived in the form of Veysel who pulled up next to us and asked us in perfect english if we needed any help. He quickly asked us to stay at his home with his American wife Sandy, which we accepted. My body gave up at the sight of the hill that led to his house and I had to push it all the way. Sandy could probably smell us a mile off as she ushered us into the shower having shown us what looked like the most comfortable bed in the world. After the best shower in the world they took us on a little tour of the coast surrounding Kandira. It was blowing a gale so the sea looked even more impressive, they took us to the three little coves each very different to the next but wonderfully remote. One where there was a line of fishermen waiting on the rocks to catch these tiny little fish that only appear at this time of year, and then off to the Kerpe rock which looked so impressive in the moonlight with the waves crashing around it.
The next door neighbours of Sandy and Veysel own a massive dog, a nice one this time. And Sandy told us that it is a Muslim dog! He starts to howl seconds before the call to prayer starts, probably the most devoted Muslim in the town!
It was such a relief to meet such kind people especially after what seemed like the hardest two days of my life...
Day One Istanbul to Akcacese 100 km
I was a sight to behold on the first morning, my bike fully loaded, basket attached and I could barely steer in a straight line!!! I was terrified! The whole bike seemed to wobble underneath me and I had no control. I scrabbled around trying to redistribute the weight in my panniers to make the front easier to steer, this helped a little but then I think it was me shaking instead of the bike so I couldn't win. We stopped for a few photos in front of Hagia Sophia and then we were off through Istanbul. Istanbul is home to 17 million people and so it took a long time to even get to the bridge which takes you over to the Asian side of Istanbul. This took me through my first dog experience, which is to become a common occurence and happens to up my speed by about 10km/hour and my heart beats twice as fast too. Three big dogs barking their heads off at me, and as I am always behind Humphrey I seem to get them in full barking mode. We bought sticks to try and fend them off but I don't think I will have time to use it, and we have since found out, much to the hilarity of everyone we meet, that the sticks are actually rolling pins!
Our first hurdle was the bridge, a huge suspension bridge which takes you to Asia. We started on what we thought was a path along side the road. How wrong we were, the police stopped us and told us to go round through the toll. I suggested we carry our bikes over the barrier once we were out of sight of him, which we did. Humphrey then said 'Cycle as fast as you can.' This was obviously going to invite trouble, and so my bike chain fell off 20 metres before the police man and the start of the bridge. Watching Humphrey speed off into the distance, I, panicstricken, put my chain back on and wobbled off as fast as I could, not daring to look up at what I am sure was an incredible view down the Bosphorus.
The rest of the day consisted of 60% cycling and 40% pushing as the hills got higher and higher and longer and longer. I was close to tears on that day and was wondering why I was there at all! We finally reached Akcacese which happened to be at the top of the biggest hill of the day and I begrudgingly refused a couple of lifts up the road by the lorries that roared past me watching me push Whinne up the hill. I was exhausted and was happy to finally get into bed that night, we camped by the beach that night although we didn't have a great nights sleep as there was a band who played the incessant Turkish music until almost midnight!
Our first hurdle was the bridge, a huge suspension bridge which takes you to Asia. We started on what we thought was a path along side the road. How wrong we were, the police stopped us and told us to go round through the toll. I suggested we carry our bikes over the barrier once we were out of sight of him, which we did. Humphrey then said 'Cycle as fast as you can.' This was obviously going to invite trouble, and so my bike chain fell off 20 metres before the police man and the start of the bridge. Watching Humphrey speed off into the distance, I, panicstricken, put my chain back on and wobbled off as fast as I could, not daring to look up at what I am sure was an incredible view down the Bosphorus.
The rest of the day consisted of 60% cycling and 40% pushing as the hills got higher and higher and longer and longer. I was close to tears on that day and was wondering why I was there at all! We finally reached Akcacese which happened to be at the top of the biggest hill of the day and I begrudgingly refused a couple of lifts up the road by the lorries that roared past me watching me push Whinne up the hill. I was exhausted and was happy to finally get into bed that night, we camped by the beach that night although we didn't have a great nights sleep as there was a band who played the incessant Turkish music until almost midnight!
Hereth Begin the Visa Saga...
A bright and early start on Monday morning to get to the Uzbek Embassy in good time, this happens to be an hour and a half away from the centre of Istanbul. We arrived half an hour early and were handed the visa forms to fill in, this always takes longer than you'd think as we have to find the most appealing thing to say so they let us in the country, our mode of transport does not appear on any of our forms! 10 o'clock came and went and we were still waiting there until 1030 when they finally decided to open to the 'masses' of people (5) who were waiting to hand in their forms in the hope of gaining a visa.
Getting the Uzbek one passed with out a hitch, he even managed a quick smile, before he told us to come back on Friday to pick it up this was not what we wanted to hear but we just smiled and carried on. We raced across town to try and get to the Azerbaijan Consul in the alotted time. The chap there was not quite so helpful. We asked if we could apply for a visa and he said no and then proceeded to give us a little lecture on why we couldn't get one with out a Letter of Invitation. The bottom line being, we have to get one for your country so, haha, we are going to make it even more difficult for you to get into ours...He revelled in his little power trip, and the frustrating thing is the rule only changed at the beginning of April.
The next day we were up early again, and I adorned my headscarf ready for my trip to the Iranian Consul to pick up the visa. This was a source of much worry for both of us, there was even talk of getting a faux wedding photo to try and ease the strain when we are there. But this was thankfully ditched as an idea. We went twice to the Consul only to realise that the life of a Consulate worker gets better and better, they not only celebrate their own countries festivals but they celebrate the countries' they're in as well. So the Iranians had a day off to celebrate a Turkish holiday. This was our third visit to try and collect this visa.
The rest of the day was spent seeing more sights. We took a boat up the Golden Horn to visit the seat of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate. This is the most important in Greek Orthodoxy. We arrived at prime time to witness a beautiful service that was all sung and really brought to life the icons which decorated the Church. Afterwards the priest, who was a tall man with a long grey pony tail and a rather pointed face, raced around with his camera, click, click, clicking away taking photos of the Church like a true tourist, and there we stood not taking any pictures for fear it would offend. This gave us licence to take as many as we liked.
A brief shopping trip to the bizaar is worth mentioning for the Japanese tourist we saw there. He was haggling hard for this tiny little musical instrument, breaking the seller down by another 5 lira (2 pounds 30) and not giving him any room for manouevre. When he finally agreed to the rock bottom price, the Japanese man drew out a 100 lira note (50 pounds) to pay for something worth 15 lira. I wish I had understood the curses uttered by the seller!!
Our fourth attempt at the Iranian consul was successful, we had to do alot of photo copying and more money was paid out, but we left our passports there over night and the next day we picked them up with a chiny new visa in it! It takes up a whole page, we were jubilant at the sight of them, and a bit apprehensive as it seems all the more real that we are going. I spent the afternoon in the Hammam to relax although there was panic there as I thought I had made a faux pas by not wearing anything, and misinterpreting the Turkish lady at the door, thankfully I hadn't as after they wash you they give you a pair of new knickers to wear around the baths, at first it was just me and a liberal looking old lady with nothing on and I felt a little self conscious to say the least...
Hagia Sophia was the last thing on our tourist list to see before we left and we gave it the time it deserves. The most incredible structure, built in 532 first as a Christian building with the most beautifully detailed mosiacs in Gold and then changed to a Mosque on my birthday in
the 1400s. It is quite extraordinary to see Christian icons next to Islamic text and tiling...It is worth coming to Istanbul just to see this although it is a shame it cannot be used as a place of worship anymore.
Friday was spent running around trying to sort everything out for our, much delayed, departure. And my nerves start to build!
Getting the Uzbek one passed with out a hitch, he even managed a quick smile, before he told us to come back on Friday to pick it up this was not what we wanted to hear but we just smiled and carried on. We raced across town to try and get to the Azerbaijan Consul in the alotted time. The chap there was not quite so helpful. We asked if we could apply for a visa and he said no and then proceeded to give us a little lecture on why we couldn't get one with out a Letter of Invitation. The bottom line being, we have to get one for your country so, haha, we are going to make it even more difficult for you to get into ours...He revelled in his little power trip, and the frustrating thing is the rule only changed at the beginning of April.
The next day we were up early again, and I adorned my headscarf ready for my trip to the Iranian Consul to pick up the visa. This was a source of much worry for both of us, there was even talk of getting a faux wedding photo to try and ease the strain when we are there. But this was thankfully ditched as an idea. We went twice to the Consul only to realise that the life of a Consulate worker gets better and better, they not only celebrate their own countries festivals but they celebrate the countries' they're in as well. So the Iranians had a day off to celebrate a Turkish holiday. This was our third visit to try and collect this visa.
The rest of the day was spent seeing more sights. We took a boat up the Golden Horn to visit the seat of the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate. This is the most important in Greek Orthodoxy. We arrived at prime time to witness a beautiful service that was all sung and really brought to life the icons which decorated the Church. Afterwards the priest, who was a tall man with a long grey pony tail and a rather pointed face, raced around with his camera, click, click, clicking away taking photos of the Church like a true tourist, and there we stood not taking any pictures for fear it would offend. This gave us licence to take as many as we liked.
A brief shopping trip to the bizaar is worth mentioning for the Japanese tourist we saw there. He was haggling hard for this tiny little musical instrument, breaking the seller down by another 5 lira (2 pounds 30) and not giving him any room for manouevre. When he finally agreed to the rock bottom price, the Japanese man drew out a 100 lira note (50 pounds) to pay for something worth 15 lira. I wish I had understood the curses uttered by the seller!!
Our fourth attempt at the Iranian consul was successful, we had to do alot of photo copying and more money was paid out, but we left our passports there over night and the next day we picked them up with a chiny new visa in it! It takes up a whole page, we were jubilant at the sight of them, and a bit apprehensive as it seems all the more real that we are going. I spent the afternoon in the Hammam to relax although there was panic there as I thought I had made a faux pas by not wearing anything, and misinterpreting the Turkish lady at the door, thankfully I hadn't as after they wash you they give you a pair of new knickers to wear around the baths, at first it was just me and a liberal looking old lady with nothing on and I felt a little self conscious to say the least...
Hagia Sophia was the last thing on our tourist list to see before we left and we gave it the time it deserves. The most incredible structure, built in 532 first as a Christian building with the most beautifully detailed mosiacs in Gold and then changed to a Mosque on my birthday in
the 1400s. It is quite extraordinary to see Christian icons next to Islamic text and tiling...It is worth coming to Istanbul just to see this although it is a shame it cannot be used as a place of worship anymore.Friday was spent running around trying to sort everything out for our, much delayed, departure. And my nerves start to build!
Istanbul Cont...
Sorry to all for this taking so long!! The day after my last post was our first attempt at sorting out our visas for the most bureaucratically backward countries. We found out fairly quickly that the life of a diplomat and their staff is pretty easy; they are only open for visa business between the hours of 10 and 12 in the morning and as we only found this out at 1130 on Friday morning we realised we had a little more time to prepare ourselves for the nightmare to come.
I had my first experience in a headscarf when we went to get our visa photos for Iran. The scarf I bought in Morocco for this purpose was originally indigo but unfortunately it had a little accident in the washing machine and decided to shed it's colour and become a lovely shade of baby blue. This added to the panic of the night before leaving, as I was trying everything possible to get the blue dye off the rubber in my mothers washing machine!! The scarf is rather fetching when worn around the neck but combined with the blonde hair poking out and the blue eyes, it does make me look a little like the Virgin Mary, which may or may not sway in my favour in the future. We shall see...
The weekend was free of 'work' so we decided to enjoy the sights of Istanbul. Our first stop was the Basilica Cistern. This is an incredible feat of engineering, it is a cavernous underground space that was built to store enough water for the city in times of siege. It is supported by 336 pillars and the best thing about it is that all of the pillars are 'recycled' or stolen from ancient Roman or Greek sites. The proof is in the pudding when you go to the very back of the cistern and one of the supporting stones is a beautifully carved Medusa head that is on it's side, and another that is upside down! To us these are ancient relics to them a mere piece of rock...
We spent alot of time walking through the bizaar which is a higgledy piggledy mass of tiny streets which all look the same! Each shop seems to specialise in one thing and one thing only, they have no concept of diversification. The best was one little shop that sold every kind of napkin you could possibly imagine, but he only sold napkins no other dinner table accoutrements just the humble napkin, one would need to wind their way through the maze of streets to find a shop which only sold dinner cloths!
Around the streets of Istanbul you will find people selling anything and everything, one of the most common is the shoe polisher who often accost Humphrey about the state of his shoes. We walked past one of these shoe polishers and he accidentally dropped one of his brushes, being the trusting Brits we are, we quickly stooped down to pick up his brush for him, both thinking 'poor chap if he loses his brushes he loses his livelihood!' Humphrey was quickly snared into his trap and the chap tried all the harder to polish his shoes in 'thanks' for picking up his brush, the scene ended with Humphrey dragging his hand away as the chap said 'Don't break my heart!!' We were to witness this wily trick two more times...
The weekend ended with a trip to Hamdi, the best Kebab joint in town and with the most incredible views over the Bosphorus...a real treat watching the sun go down on the balcony looking out over to Asia.
I had my first experience in a headscarf when we went to get our visa photos for Iran. The scarf I bought in Morocco for this purpose was originally indigo but unfortunately it had a little accident in the washing machine and decided to shed it's colour and become a lovely shade of baby blue. This added to the panic of the night before leaving, as I was trying everything possible to get the blue dye off the rubber in my mothers washing machine!! The scarf is rather fetching when worn around the neck but combined with the blonde hair poking out and the blue eyes, it does make me look a little like the Virgin Mary, which may or may not sway in my favour in the future. We shall see...
The weekend was free of 'work' so we decided to enjoy the sights of Istanbul. Our first stop was the Basilica Cistern. This is an incredible feat of engineering, it is a cavernous underground space that was built to store enough water for the city in times of siege. It is supported by 336 pillars and the best thing about it is that all of the pillars are 'recycled' or stolen from ancient Roman or Greek sites. The proof is in the pudding when you go to the very back of the cistern and one of the supporting stones is a beautifully carved Medusa head that is on it's side, and another that is upside down! To us these are ancient relics to them a mere piece of rock...
We spent alot of time walking through the bizaar which is a higgledy piggledy mass of tiny streets which all look the same! Each shop seems to specialise in one thing and one thing only, they have no concept of diversification. The best was one little shop that sold every kind of napkin you could possibly imagine, but he only sold napkins no other dinner table accoutrements just the humble napkin, one would need to wind their way through the maze of streets to find a shop which only sold dinner cloths!
Around the streets of Istanbul you will find people selling anything and everything, one of the most common is the shoe polisher who often accost Humphrey about the state of his shoes. We walked past one of these shoe polishers and he accidentally dropped one of his brushes, being the trusting Brits we are, we quickly stooped down to pick up his brush for him, both thinking 'poor chap if he loses his brushes he loses his livelihood!' Humphrey was quickly snared into his trap and the chap tried all the harder to polish his shoes in 'thanks' for picking up his brush, the scene ended with Humphrey dragging his hand away as the chap said 'Don't break my heart!!' We were to witness this wily trick two more times...
The weekend ended with a trip to Hamdi, the best Kebab joint in town and with the most incredible views over the Bosphorus...a real treat watching the sun go down on the balcony looking out over to Asia.
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Istanbul so far....
My first day in Istanbul was spent with a lovely Japanese guy, Yota, exploring the city and trying out the Turkish ice cream. This is worth noting as it is not the ice cream that we all know as being cold. This is chewy ice cream that is unlickable, I don't like it!!
I had been given a contact of a chap called Tom in Istanbul, who I contacted as soon as I arrived. He is working for a magazine over here, which is about Turkish culture and art. At about 4 in the afternoon I received a message from him inviting me to an exhibition opening at an art gallery, a regular occurence for him apparently! He said that it was quite smart, so I was thankful that I had brought a dress in my limited travelling wardrobe, but I asked him whether flip flops were ok and he replied 'It is pretty smart but I'm sure that you can get away with flip flops!' This was a sure enough sign that my foot wear needed to be addressed, a quick foray into the bazaar produced a pair of pumps, which have now become my embassy shoes and are very useful.
I arrived with trepidation at the tube stop and met Tom. We then had another journey to the gallery which was quite far up the Bosphorus and had amazing views over the water to the Asian side and all the way down. We arrived to be greeted by 6 security guards, with police cars lining the road in front of the entrance, along with a few blacked out ones for good measure. We walked up this long winding drive way and as we turned the corner at the top we were faced with a bank of paparazzi all taking pictures of, none other than, the president of Turkey!!! There was a line of people desperate to shake his hand, it was crazy! He walked past us shaking everyone's hand around us and took a quick glance at us and decided that these grinning English folk weren't worth bothering with! I regret now not telling him about my ensuing journey. Then I proceeded to slip over on the grass bank as we tried to sneak away by the back route having to be helped up by one of the many security guards. The whole of Turkish high society were at the event, and I was very pleased to have packed a dress and bought the shoes. Free wine and canopes followed with alot of gossiping about everyone there! It was certainly a great introduction to Turkey although I think that is about as smart as I am going to get for the next couple of months. We abused the lashings of free wine and got suitably tipsy before we went of to meet some of Toms friends to drink more wine.
Humphrey had, what sounds like, an awful journey in to Istanbul which fills me with fear about the journey out. I met him at the hostel, him looking bedgraggled and very tanned and me looking drunk, although I don't think he noticed.
The next few days were spent sightseeing. Istanbul is full of history and amazing things to see. Topkapi Palace was first, the Palace of the Sultans although we couldn't get in to the main event, the harem, as the ticket machine was broken and they didn't have enough initiative to find another way for us to go in. This was the first time, of many, that we both said "It wouldn't happen in Britain!" Our afternoon snack was a wonderful fried mackerel sandwich, the incredible thing is these are cooked on little boats near the bridge and at any hint of a wake from one of the many ferries going past the boats sway intolerably, almost going vertical from side to side and the chefs throw the sandwiches to the customers, it is a sight to behold but they are delicious and fresh. We met up with Tom and his friend Lara this evening and had a lovely meze meal which maybe stretched the 'travellers' budget that we are on but it was worth it.
I will continue this post later...
I had been given a contact of a chap called Tom in Istanbul, who I contacted as soon as I arrived. He is working for a magazine over here, which is about Turkish culture and art. At about 4 in the afternoon I received a message from him inviting me to an exhibition opening at an art gallery, a regular occurence for him apparently! He said that it was quite smart, so I was thankful that I had brought a dress in my limited travelling wardrobe, but I asked him whether flip flops were ok and he replied 'It is pretty smart but I'm sure that you can get away with flip flops!' This was a sure enough sign that my foot wear needed to be addressed, a quick foray into the bazaar produced a pair of pumps, which have now become my embassy shoes and are very useful.
I arrived with trepidation at the tube stop and met Tom. We then had another journey to the gallery which was quite far up the Bosphorus and had amazing views over the water to the Asian side and all the way down. We arrived to be greeted by 6 security guards, with police cars lining the road in front of the entrance, along with a few blacked out ones for good measure. We walked up this long winding drive way and as we turned the corner at the top we were faced with a bank of paparazzi all taking pictures of, none other than, the president of Turkey!!! There was a line of people desperate to shake his hand, it was crazy! He walked past us shaking everyone's hand around us and took a quick glance at us and decided that these grinning English folk weren't worth bothering with! I regret now not telling him about my ensuing journey. Then I proceeded to slip over on the grass bank as we tried to sneak away by the back route having to be helped up by one of the many security guards. The whole of Turkish high society were at the event, and I was very pleased to have packed a dress and bought the shoes. Free wine and canopes followed with alot of gossiping about everyone there! It was certainly a great introduction to Turkey although I think that is about as smart as I am going to get for the next couple of months. We abused the lashings of free wine and got suitably tipsy before we went of to meet some of Toms friends to drink more wine.
Humphrey had, what sounds like, an awful journey in to Istanbul which fills me with fear about the journey out. I met him at the hostel, him looking bedgraggled and very tanned and me looking drunk, although I don't think he noticed.
The next few days were spent sightseeing. Istanbul is full of history and amazing things to see. Topkapi Palace was first, the Palace of the Sultans although we couldn't get in to the main event, the harem, as the ticket machine was broken and they didn't have enough initiative to find another way for us to go in. This was the first time, of many, that we both said "It wouldn't happen in Britain!" Our afternoon snack was a wonderful fried mackerel sandwich, the incredible thing is these are cooked on little boats near the bridge and at any hint of a wake from one of the many ferries going past the boats sway intolerably, almost going vertical from side to side and the chefs throw the sandwiches to the customers, it is a sight to behold but they are delicious and fresh. We met up with Tom and his friend Lara this evening and had a lovely meze meal which maybe stretched the 'travellers' budget that we are on but it was worth it.
I will continue this post later...
The Tale Begins...
So I begin the story at last! I am sorry that this has taken so long to get going but things have been rather more stressful than anticipated. My good intentions to write something before I left went out the window when I was still packing my bike at 0200 the night before I left!
I had a lovely weekend before I left, driving around the country trying to see everyone before I left. Wales was the first stop to see Tessa before she gets married! I was duly charged the £5.40 to cross the bridge to Newport, however, like the Queen, I do not carry cash so there was a little bit of a panic at the 'border' and then frustration as I now have to pay double by cheque. Then I raced to Sherborn to see Isabella very briefly and then on to London to buy a pile of maps and guide books which are now proving very useful especially with trying to finalise our visa plans which is an administrative nightmare, but more on that later. Lunch with my brother and then onto see Patrick and Mazza looking very smart at Cav Mem and Nick who all reassured me I wasn't crazy.
Although I had a lovely weekend I think this may have been my downfall when it came to packing and last minute preps. Even on Monday day I was pretty relaxed buying the last few bits and bobs, come the evening the pressure was on. Thinking the bike would only take an hour, at nine in the evening, I started taking poor Winifred apart and try to make her as diminutive as possible for her journey to Istanbul. Low and behold she was 6 inches too long. Alex and I stood looking at her not knowing what to do, make the box bigger or, what?? Thankfully Dan came to the rescue and spent the next couple of hours stripping her of her pannier racks and mud guards to make her even smaller. This is while I was running around packing up my room and then packing my travel bags. A rather stressful night to say the least, and didn't end until I went to bed at four in the morning.
An early rise at six, and Dan kindly took me to the airport which saved me an even earlier coach ride. Thank you! I checked in and Whinnie weighed in at 28 kg and my bag was 13kg so I am not as light as I would have liked but I am reading fast to try and get rid of some of the books I have brought with me.
The flight was fine and BA even provided us with a meal which was a real treat and I was very pleased I didn't go with easyjet. But, just as I was dosing off, they said over the tannoy that we were going to have to land at Budapest because of a 'funny smell' on the plane. This turned into a 4 hour stop over and I did not get to Istanbul until nine in the evening.
I had a lovely weekend before I left, driving around the country trying to see everyone before I left. Wales was the first stop to see Tessa before she gets married! I was duly charged the £5.40 to cross the bridge to Newport, however, like the Queen, I do not carry cash so there was a little bit of a panic at the 'border' and then frustration as I now have to pay double by cheque. Then I raced to Sherborn to see Isabella very briefly and then on to London to buy a pile of maps and guide books which are now proving very useful especially with trying to finalise our visa plans which is an administrative nightmare, but more on that later. Lunch with my brother and then onto see Patrick and Mazza looking very smart at Cav Mem and Nick who all reassured me I wasn't crazy.
Although I had a lovely weekend I think this may have been my downfall when it came to packing and last minute preps. Even on Monday day I was pretty relaxed buying the last few bits and bobs, come the evening the pressure was on. Thinking the bike would only take an hour, at nine in the evening, I started taking poor Winifred apart and try to make her as diminutive as possible for her journey to Istanbul. Low and behold she was 6 inches too long. Alex and I stood looking at her not knowing what to do, make the box bigger or, what?? Thankfully Dan came to the rescue and spent the next couple of hours stripping her of her pannier racks and mud guards to make her even smaller. This is while I was running around packing up my room and then packing my travel bags. A rather stressful night to say the least, and didn't end until I went to bed at four in the morning.
An early rise at six, and Dan kindly took me to the airport which saved me an even earlier coach ride. Thank you! I checked in and Whinnie weighed in at 28 kg and my bag was 13kg so I am not as light as I would have liked but I am reading fast to try and get rid of some of the books I have brought with me.
The flight was fine and BA even provided us with a meal which was a real treat and I was very pleased I didn't go with easyjet. But, just as I was dosing off, they said over the tannoy that we were going to have to land at Budapest because of a 'funny smell' on the plane. This turned into a 4 hour stop over and I did not get to Istanbul until nine in the evening.
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