Istanbul

Today we were due to meet up with the bulk of the group for the main tour in Istanbul, but we still had a lot of driving ahead of us. Fortunately, it is possible to cut more than 100km off the drive by taking a ferry across a long, narrow stretch of the Sea of Marmara, and bypass the city of Kocaeli (also known as Izmit). The ferry terminal is near the town of Yalova, a pleasant resort town, and the crossing to Darica takes approximately 40 minutes. Little did we realise that we would be hearing these names a lot more before the week was out. The ferries run almost continuously across this stretch of water, and the view here is down towards Izmit and Golcuk. Although the centre of Istanbul was still another 100km away, we seemed to drive forever through areas of urban sprawl and heavy industry. Everywhere we looked, there were apartment buildings in various stages of completion. Typically, these were 5 storeys, with the ground floor often used for shops, and the upper floors built out over the ground floor. There didn't seem to be much to their construction; just stick up some columns, slap some concrete floors between them, put in an internal stairwell, and then some walls and balconies around the outside. I remember thinking at the time how flimsy they all looked... But if this was the Turkish version of a slum, albeit with playgrounds, satellite TV, and a mosque just down the road, then it didn't seem too bad a way to live.

At last, we crossed the Bosphorus, and made our way inside the old city walls. After some initial confusion about whether we had found the right hotel or not (which also involved some impressive feats of driving by Aran), we settled into the Hotel Ayasofya, our home for the next 2 nights. Mervyn and I were in a ground floor room facing the street, which was hot and stuffy, but by now, we were almost used to it. At this stage, we said allaha ismarladik (goodbye) to Aran, and said merhaba (hello) to the rest of our party, which included many old friends from previous eclipse trips, and some new faces as well. We were also introduced to our guide for the rest of the tour, Meltem, who after some familiarisation, led us up to the top of the hill for a tour of the Blue Mosque. By now, the Kiwis were pretty experienced mosque-goers, so we had no trouble getting in. As this view (taken with my 24mm wide-angle lens) shows, the Blue Mosque is even bigger than the Great Mosque in Bursa. It gets its name from (you guessed it) the blue tiles on the inside. It also has 6 (six) minarets which, considering that your average neighbourhood mosque has only one (or maybe 2 if they want to be really flash), shows just how important this mosque is. Afterwards, Meltem had us play the "Name Game", which involved the whole group in standing in a circle, and taking turns to recite their own name, plus those who had gone before. Yours truly was last in line, so I had the hardest job of all, but it worked, and it wouldn't be long before we all felt we'd known each other for years.

On the way back from dinner, several in our group remarked on how hot their rooms were too, and when I discovered that some of them had been able to procure a portable air-conditioner, I thought I may as well try for one too. The man at reception insisted that there was a/c in our room, and sent the maintenance guy in to show me. He walked in, looked everywhere for it, then phoned the man at reception. Having made my point, I expected to be offered an apology, or maybe a fan. Instead, the manager came out to apologise, and to offer us another room. Unfortunately, there was only one other room available - the top floor suite, which normally goes for US$175/night, but we could have it at no extra cost. I was gobsmacked when I saw it - a queen size bed, a sitting room with a fold-out sofa, a balcony, a bathroom big enough to swing a cat in, satellite TV, and... an air conditioner! We took great delight in inviting the rest of our party up one by one for tours of the "penthouse". Of course, this all but guaranteed that Mervyn and I would get the dingiest of rooms in every other hotel from now on, but we didn't care. For the next 2 nights, we lived like kings!

Sunday 8 August

After breakfast, we toured the Hippodrome (once the site of chariot races, now a large avenue with assorted obelisks) and then entered this, the Basilica Cistern, which dates from 532 AD. It is in fact the original underground water reservoir for the city. This huge complex, which has only been partially excavated, shows the impressive engineering skills of the Byzantines. The water level is now only a couple of feet, just deep enough for the fish which "patrol" the lanes between columns. The use of an elevated walkway, colourful but subdued lighting, and classical music wafting through the caverns creates a wonderful ambience.

One of the more surreal aspects of the Basilica Cistern is that the columns which support the vaulted ceiling are not all the same, but some are in fact quite ornate. For example, the base of the one shown here is carved with a figure of the head of the Medusa. The fact that it is positioned upside down inside a large civil engineering works suggests that the Byzantines simply made use of whatever was at hand (something new, something old, something borrowed...). Except that this column didn't come from Istanbul, but from much further away, as we shall see later...

After a quick tour of the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, and a thorough history lesson from Meltem (2200 years packed into one hour), it was time to eat! One of the best feeds for your money in Istanbul is here at the Pudding Shop. If, like me, your only previous knowledge of Turkey comes from watching "Midnight Express", then you may be interested to know that this is the place where Billy Hayes bought the drugs that got him into so much trouble. But you won't find drugs for sale here today, just good food at reasonable prices and friendly service.

Squaring off against the Blue Mosque is the Hagia Sofya, which was built in the 6th century AD as a church, converted to a mosque by the Ottomans, and today is a museum. As such, it is a fascinating mix of Muslim (the niche to mark the direction of Mecca, and Arabic inscriptions on the wall) and Christian (stained glass windows, and golden mosaics of Christ, Mary, and the Roman emperor Constantine). The main dome is over 30m in diameter, and cleverly supported by a system of arches and flying buttresses. Much of the interior space was cluttered up by scaffolding for the purposes of restoration. Next stop on our walking tour was the Topkapi Palace, home of the Turkish sultans and their court from the 15th-19th century. The numerous courtyards and exhibition halls were a bit overwhelming for me, so I returned to the hotel to wallow in the air-conditioned comfort of our suite. Later, Robin and I set out in search of a fix - an Internet fix, that is. Near the Hippodrome, we spotted a hotel with an "Internet Cafe" sign. Well, it turned out to be nothing more than a PC set up in the hotel's luggage room, but it was all we needed. Once we got the hang of the Turkish keyboard (there are 2 letter "i"'s in the modern Turkish alphabet, one with a dot and the other without, and for the purposes of domain names, the two are not interchangeable!), I was able to telnet directly to my workstation in Hawaii with a delay no worse than connecting from Australia to the U.S. As we returned to our hotel, we narrowly avoided being struck by a flying pot plant, that apparently had been knocked from the rooftop terrace. Never a dull moment in Istanbul.

Monday 9 August

Mervyn and I bid farewell to our luxury pad, and then our group went shopping at the Grand Bazaar. With over 4000 shops under cover (and hundreds more in the surrounding alleys), there clearly wasn't time to explore them all. The shops were a bit more up-market than the humble stalls I imagined, but at least the merchants weren't pushy, and were happy to let you browse. We were then taken by bus outside of the old city to the Chora church which, since Christianity is very much in the minority in Turkey, is also now a museum. It is renowned for these exquisite Byzantine-era (12th C AD) mosaics showing biblical scenes. We were on our own for lunch in the modern part of Istanbul, so I thought I'd try a Turkish pizza in Turkey. Being a Kiwi at heart, I ordered one with lamb, which was delicious. We all met up again at the Pera Palas Hotel, which was once the starting point for travelers on the Orient Express, and still has a room set up exactly as it was when occupied by Ataturk himself.

In the afternoon, we visited the Spice Bazaar, with its exotic assortment of colours and smells. I succumbed to the temptations of Turkish Delight (but they didn't have any coated in Cadbury's chocolate). By now, Mervyn and I were feeling pretty at ease in Turkish society, so we elected to venture a bit further afield, into the extended market in the alleys beyond. This seemed to be the kind of area where the locals went shopping, as there weren't many tourists. As I was making my way up one alley, a van was working its way down, and people were stepping out of the way. As it approached me, I felt the crowd press in on me, though it was more like a rugby scrum than a random density enhancement. Something clicked inside me, and I opted to take my chances on the other side of the street rather than stay where I was. I gave an almighty shove, and leapt to freedom. As I took off, I noticed that the zipper on my shoulder bag was halfway open, and that I had probably narrowly escaped having my bag pilfered or snatched. Of course, it serves me right for going that far off the tourist circuit, and it could happen in any city of the world, but this was the first (and only) time I didn't feel safe in the streets. I attribute my lucky escape to the "Evil Eye" charm that a merchant at the Grand Bazaar had pinned on me that morning in lieu of change.

Feeling just a bit spooked, it was nice to be able to relax on our own private boat as we sailed up and down the Bosphorus at sunset, making the ceremonial crossing from Europe into Asia. Here we are approaching the second of two major suspension bridges that span the Bosphorus in Istanbul, high above a waterfront mosque. We arrived at the train station about 90 minutes before our overnight train to Ankara was due to depart. For train veterans like Mervyn and myself, this segment of our journey was no big deal, but for some in our group, sleeping on a train was a new experience. The carriages are quite modern (only 8 months old) and built in Turkey. Kind of like the sleeper car Mervyn and I had been on from Brussels to Moscow in 1997, each compartment had an upper and a lower bunk, which could be folded away to leave two seats. Unlike the Trans-Siberian carriages, the air-conditioning here worked almost too well. What I found most distracting was the night-light, which couldn't be turned off, but some black masking tape soon solved that problem.

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