Istanbul

12th & 13th June 2010

We arrived into Istanbul just after lunch, and after some confusion with purchasing our visas we were out of the airport and met by a representative of Travel Talk - the tour company we were using for Turkey. We had to wait for about 8 others off our flight before we could make the hour-long journey to our hotel in Istanbul.

When we finally arrived at our hotel (After spending 45 minutes in a traffic jam, which we could've all got out and walked to the hotel in a tenth of the time) we were rudely told by the rep that he couldn't check us in and come back at 6pm. That was all he had told us, no advice on things to go see, where to eat etc. He just left us. And after a 4-hour flight and arriving into sauna central all I felt like doing was having a shower and getting changed, but apparently that wasn't possible.

Dan and I very frustratingly set off for a walk around the local area. We found the water and took our pick from the dozens of street vendors for a good kebab. We paid our 2 Turkish Liras (About $2 Aus) for our 2 kebabs and sat on the water and ate. They weren't the greatest but it was food, that was my only requirement I was that hungry! We spent a few hours walking through the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, looking at all of the fish restaurants under the bridge and hanging out in front of the "New Mosque". We had to wait about an hour in the very grand lobby of our 5* hotel. But we were happy as we'd picked up some Turkish Delight on our way back and spread the sugary stuff all over the expensive furniture.

Eventually another rep arrived who was collecting the 'local payment' part of the tour. I suppose I should've read the fine print a bit more carefully, that asked for that to be paid in British Pounds (of which we had none) so we had to pay in Lira's and a highly inflated exchange rate. Again, this rep was surly, rude and uncommunicative.Getting really pissed off at this Travel Talk already. We finally could check into the hotel (Which was as simple as giving our passports to the hotel staff - I think we could've done this when we arrived at 2pm), so we went and showered and got organised before our 'pre tour meeting' in one of the fancy conference rooms at 7pm. Yep our hotel was so fancy the room rate posted on the wall was 250 Euros a night - exactly 10 times more than what Dan and I allow ourselves when travelling independently. I have to say though, we've paid 25 Euros for a room before which has been nicer than the one in this hotel. Yeh, it was nice, but not THAT nice.

Our tour guide was called Yuvaz, and we had a group of about 30 people. All of whom were either Aussie or Kiwi, with the exception of one Brit and two South Africans, with most of us aged in our 20's. (I was almost expecting an older crowd as it was a fairly expensive tour - but we managed to get ours 2 for the price of 1.) The meeting was good, told us where we were going, what we were doing, what to expect etc etc. I also learned that Istanbul is not the capital of Turkey, they have a Canberra like town called Ankara which is the capital city.

After our meeting we all set off for dinner together at a local restaurant which served awesome traditional food (Dan had a shish kebab and I had a mixed grill). After we'd eaten we headed up to their rooftop terrace lounge area and all fell into the cushions and watched the World Cup while we all got to know each other, enjoying beers and shishas.

The next day was the first proper day of our tour. We were spending it in Istanbul, checking out the cities well known sites. First stop was down to the New Mosque (Which we'd seen the day before) to feed the flocks of fat pigeons, before making a short walk uphill to some more historic stuff. We hung out at the Hippodrome, which was basically an area in the old city where they'd hold their chariot races and the sort. In the square now you can see lots of stolen things; A big water fountain from the Germans, an Egyptian Obelisk and a Greece statue too. Theres also another obelisk there too, one that the Turks made out of bricks and covered in bronze. The bronze is no longer there so it just looks like a stack of s***ty bricks.

From the Hippodrome we crossed the road to the famous Blue Mosque. We took our shoes off, covered up on the big wrap/cape like things and went in and marveled at the interior. From the outside it is the same as the one in Cairo we'd seen, but the inside of this one was stunning. It is decorated in beautiful blue ties, with fantastic carpets and the weird lighting the they use in there really added too it all. We had a sit in the corner while Yuvaz (Who from here on in will be known as Kev or Kevin because of his uncanny likeness to Kevin Spacey) told us about the design and use of the place, and a little more about Islam.

From the Blue Mosque we crossed another road to the Hagia Sophia (Or Saint Sophia). It is now officially a museum, but it was originally built as a wooden (Catholic) church by Constantine in the 430's, but that burnt down, as did the second one. The third attempt at building the church in the 540's was more successful, and it is what is still standing today. During the Ottoman rule however, it was decided to chuck some towers on it and put up some Arab scribes and turn it into a Mosque. A Mosque with Jesus and Mary frescoes covering it.A lot of them have been purposefully damaged over the years, and that's why it is now officially a museum, so there's no more arguing over which religion it belongs to. Kev told us a story about when they turned it into a Mosque that it wasn't quite facing the right direction of Mecca, but overnight it had just mysteriously moved to the right spot. They said Arch-Angle Gabriel twisted it and you can still see his thumb print in one of the columns. (Other columns were said to have come from one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world - although we can't remember which one). There was also another battle between the two facing religious sites (Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia) in that they each wanted the bigger dome on the roof, The Hagia Sophia won this battle quite easily.

We had lunch at a supposed well known eatery in the same area; Pudding Lane. It was apparently a big hang out for all the hippies, and they had photos of quite a few celebrities up on the wall - I particularly liked the one of Bill Clinton. After our delicious kebab lunch we went outside and decided to indulge in some Turkish ice cream. We paid a ridiculous amount for the stretchy, marshmallow type ice cream, which, was served, to us by a big stick, but it was so incredibly yum.

After lunch we set off to the Topkapi Palace, we sat in the beautiful gardens of the first courtyard, and talked about the palace for a bit. Only a few decided to pay the entrance into the rest of the place, so we decided to spend our afternoon on our own.

Kev gave us the tips of what to go and do and see, so we decided that a nice relaxing (and cool) way of seeing the city was to go for a cruise up the Bosphorus - the stretch of water, which splits Istanbul (And Turkey) into either the Asian side, or the European side. The cruise was lovely, although we got a little wet, and we saw some amazing palaces and houses along the way. After our 2 hours on the boat we headed back for the Grand Ottoman Legacy, our fancy hotel for an afternoon of relaxation.

Dinner was of our own choosing that evening so a small group of us decided to head back to the place we went the night before, have dinner and drinks on the roof, while watching the Socceroos get annihilated by the Germans (We were the only few Aussies up there - the rest were German and loving it!). Bed after the soccer for our early start on the road tomorrow.