Istanbul

There was a slight hiccup when we arrived in Istanbul. Raf piled Rosie and I in a taxi and told us he'd meet us outside the train station (which was right near our hotel), but the taxi driver had other plans and dropped us off we're not sure where. We asked around and found our way eventually to the hotel, nice and hot after trekking around with our backpacks in Turkey's afternoon heat! We had a nice farewell dinner on the rooftop terrace of a restaurant right in the centre of Sultanamet, the historical centre of Istanbul. From there the group said their goodbyes and Rosie and I went for a wander around the Blue Mosque. There were hundreds of families having picnics and buying fairy floss, corn on the cob, and glow sticks from street vendors, while others queued at various restaurants to get their Ramadan deal: Kofte/Kebab+Aryan (a yoghurt drink). I later found out it's like this pretty much every night of Ramadan, and we even missed some of the concerts set up between the Blue Mosque and Aya Sofya.

Since Rosie had a plane to catch that afternoon we were at the Blue Mosque at 8.30, which was lucky since we only just missed the first of many busloads of retirees on guided tours from their cruise boats. Then on to Aya Sofya where we lucked out again because a tour guide offered to take us around for quite a good price as soon as he had some more people, but there were no other english-speaking tourists seaking guidance at that time so we had a private tour. The Hagia Sofia was an orthodox basilica, later a mosque and now a museum, and it's truly beautiful. The original paintings were mostly kept in tact when Constantinople fell to the Ottomans, who just added to it. So the muslim prayer alcove is a little off centre because the basilica was originally built to face Jerusalem, and the giant panels with the names of the Caliph's inscribed on them sit in between depictions of Mary and various saints and angels. After this we headed back to the hotel to check out and I went along to my next hostel, Bahaus Hostel. I was warmly greeted and because my room wasn't ready the lovely Volcano took me to a travel agent to book my bus to Selçuk. In the afternoon I visited Topkapi Palace, and saw the Prophet's turban and Moses's staff, as well as the impressive jewel collection of the Ottoman sultans. For anyone planning a trip to Turkey the entry fees are high, and there are often ares within the museum/palace that require an additional fee. I opted not to go into the harem of the palace since it cost extra, and instead had icecream in the gardens.

I spent the rest of the day relaxing at the rooftop bar and ended up going out to dinner with a group of Americans and my German roommate. When we got back I had my first puff of a nargile (aka hookah or waterpipe), and everyone had a nice laugh at my expense when I didn't know what to do. Apparently you just breath in, then out. Most of these guys left the next day, but it was probably best I was on my own because I hit up the Grand Bazaar. It was full of tourists but still really fun. I did plenty of haggling and even made friends with a couple of vendors who kept having to give me directions. So some of my christmas presents are already sorted. I was on a roll so then I went to the spice bazaar as well. The spice bazaar is actually more of a turkish delight and tea bazaar, so I did a lot of taste testing and I think my favourite has to be pomegranate with pistachios mmmm. I must say I do like Turkish tea, which is a very bitter black tea drunk from little glasses. Rosie has tried asking for milk and sugar in her tea several times to no avail. Pleased with my purchases I then had to vote! It took me a while to find the consulate which is a room in a giant plaza/hotel in the modern centre of Istanbul and from there I wandered from Taksim square passed the shops down to the Galata Tower. I slipped into a mosque at Eminou to catch the end of prayer time and then headed to an evening performance of whirling dervishes. It was more a performance than a religious ceremony but it was still really interesting.

Then my last day in Istanbul came all too quickly. I went to Dolmabaçe Palace, which is where Ataturk died. This is a european-style palace with crystal chandeliers gallore and it has been perfectly preserved by forcing visitors to wear little shower caps over their shoes so as not to damage the original flooring and carpets. For security reasons you can only see the palace as part of a tour, so they just ferry large groups through. I just had time to detour back to the grand bazaar for a last minute purchase and then have a nap in a shady spot outside the Blue Mosque, which seems to be the popular thing to do in the 40 degree afternoon heat. I had a snack at the hostel bar and chatted to Volcano before I was collected for my overnight bus to Selçuk. I was quite sad to leave and I wish I'd had some time to discover the less touristy side of Istanbul. I'd also like to go in a group so it's easier to avoid all the guys who try to sell you things. It always starts with "hey lady" or "where you from?" or "excuse me" and then next thing you know they have a friend with a restaurant/hotel which is really great and they'd love to take you there. They're nice enough to chat to but by the end of the day I would start pretending I just didn't understand them. The only problem with that is that a lot of them speak french or spanish or italian or german as well!