8th May 2010 Dubai to Turkey

Met Gus for the first time at the Dubai Airport. We met on the Kumuka website and both were on the same flight to Istanbul, Turkey. Gus is a sheep farmer from Tasmania. Easy to pick out in a crowd. Arrived in Turkey and Gus and I had pre arranged a bus to take us to our accommodation, the Intersports Hotel. As we were driving to our overnight accomodation we saw the remnants of the Walls of Constantinople. These walls surrounded Istanbul and were protection from the land and sea. We had an excellent view of Hagia Sophia a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its dedication in 360 until 1453, it served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral and seat of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, except between 1204 and 1261, when it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931, when it was secularized. It was opened as a museum on 1 February 1935. We also saw the The Sultan Ahmed Mosque or more commonly known as the Blue Mosque which faces Hagia Sophia. The Blue Mosque got its' name from the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built from 1609 to 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice. We also saw the Hippodrome of Constantinople (was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire). Today it is a square named Sultanahmet Meydanı (Sultan Ahmet Square with a few fragments of the original structure surviving. It is sometimes also called Atmeydanı (Horse Square) in Turkish. Checked in and I was escorted to my room by one of the staff who wanted to take my picture (they dont see too many blondes in Turkey). There was a Team Meeting with Kumuka at 6pm and I met the other passengers. Our Tour Guide is Neil (English) and our truck driver is Johan (South African). Katie Wu, was someone else I met on line on the Kumuka website and she is going to be my room mate. After the meeting a few of us went to a nearby Pub for a few drinks.