Just a quick note to let everyone know that we've arrived safely in Istanbul. Sorry Dad, we barely made our connection in Doha so didn't have a chance to give you a call. We got another look at the amazing architecture, though, and it brought back good memories of our visit there just over a month ago.

We have an 8 hour stopover in Istanbul before catching a final flight down to Antalya, the "Turkish Riviera", on the Mediteranean coast. We always know exactly when we will arrive there because Shannon is keeping accurate count of how long until she sees her pal Luke from Yellowknife.

Turkey is the 10th country we've visited on this adventure. Our passports are nearly full of visas and stamps and we've finally run out of advance planning and are heading into this country blind, happy to follow the Pontins around for a week or so and then head off in whatever direction tickles our fancy. I'm already itching to get back to Istanbul and immerse myself in this historic crossroads where Asia and Europe come together. Where Christianity really took hold as a world religion and where the footprints of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Mongols, Ottomans, Young Turks and Kurds pepper the pages of history in all directions.

For the first time in our travels some of our luggage didn't quite make it to our destination. We weren't surprised given the fast transfer in Qatar. They will send our bags down to Antalya tomorrow and gave us USD150 for our troubles. I may just buy myself a new pair of underwear and swim trunks with some of that. In the meantime, time for one last coffee, and maybe some baklava, before flight time.