Wednesday 1 May 2024

We leave Hungary and head for Turkey. Not with any Greece.

We arrive in Istanbul

It’s May Day. Labour Day. There are 250,000 people marching, against Erogan’s decree not to march. The entire city is locked down and barricaded off. We are met at the airport by a car, and the driver warns us that the usual 30 minute trip will take longer and that he will take a most circuitous route in order to get round the demonstration, which was extremely widespread. These photos were taken from the car

Indeed it was a slow trip. It took us 2 hours to get to the hotel, and even then it wasn’t actually the hotel. Our driver finally took a one way narrow street the wrong way, up a very steep hill, and stopped at the barricade. He then made a phone call and opened the doors. He removed our suitcases and the barricade was opened for us. A pair of porters (is that a trunk of porters?) met us and escorted us across a deserted highway, into the staff entrance of the hotel, through a maze of corridors, up a service lift, down a corridor, up another service lift and voila (as they don’t say in Turkey) we were in the lobby. It’s now nearly 8pm and I am whacked. Straight to bed for me. She turns on CNN and discovers that there have been 257 arrests in Istanbul.

Here’s a photo from our hotel room. This is the street we crossed to access the staff entrance, and the next morning when all demonstrations are forgotten

Thursday 2 May 2024

Neither of us are feeling good today, and we cancel our tours. I spend the day in bed. Cherrie walks up to the Pera Museum, which she finds interesting

The Galata Tower was on our list to see but it is closed for renovation. Looks like lots of stairs to me, so a good thing.

On the way back Cherrie indulges in coffee and a sandwich

What a city of contrasts

She delivers me a curious salad croissant, complete with microwaved lettuce, and she has also visited a pharmacy to stock up on potions for both of us.

What a sad sack of a day in Istanbul. Oh, and it’s still raining.

Friday 3 May 2024

Today we cram as much as we can, but it’s not enough. First to the Palace area where we visit St Sophia’s Mosque (Sophia is not a woman. Of course she’s not. Sofia is a term for something. We’re only half functioning and so cannot complete this explanation)

Wonderful trees outside the Palace

Speaking of the Palace

A nice view of the Bosphorus from the Sultan’s terrace

Did I mention the cats?

We are both tiring, and so a quick visit to the Grand Bazaar before returning to the hotel

Will these bugs ever leave us we wonder? At least we’re losing weight. Oh, and it’s raining.

Saturday 4 May 2024

A quick run around the Blue Mosque

Before the full treatment at the Turkish Bath. How I wish Cherrie had had a camera with her. Actually, reject that thought. We are starkers, all modesty scrubbed away. Covered in very expensive mud of some sort, we are seated opposite each other on low marble benches and next to a marble basin which continually runs water. Not recycled I pray. It has already taken both attendants, hers and mine, to extricate me from the bench to an upright position once and here they are about to have another go. But this time, all that is achieved is my projecting across the marble floor on my large and very slippery bum. Laughter all round. In a military operation of kinds (Tim, Derek, remember) I am upright at last. We exit the Haman two hours after entering. We are the only ones shining. It’s still raining. But it was a memorable, and wonderful, experience.

At midday we board a boat for a two hour cruise of the Bosphorus. My knowledge of world geography is surpassed only by my knowledge of quantum physics. I did not know that Turkey is surrounded by three seas. The Black, Aegean and Mediterranean. Nor, that Turkey occupies two continents. Even Istanbul sits in both Europe and Asia. It is the Bosphorus Strait that separates them.

The rain has stopped and the sun comes out for a brief moment

We sailed with dolphins

That sun was fleeting

Cherrie takes the wheel

To get a closer look at Popeye. Olive Oil and SweetPea were below deck, making spinach pie

Curious pruning

At 2pm we are all boated and washed out.

Back to bed, but we do rise for a stroll to dinner. We have difficulty finding food that appears appetising to us, but needs must. How else will we keep our figures? The crowds of Istanbul are out and about

In bed before 8pm. At the end of our trip we have one more day in Istanbul before flying home. May we please be feeling better by then, so that we can experience this city with all faculties in working order

Sunday 5 May 2024

It takes 20 minutes to get to the airport on this sunny Sunday morning. We arrive at 11.20am for a 1.30pm flight. And just as well, too. So many people, so much confusion. There is a queue for the wheelchairs, so I walk to the gate. It’s a distance but we take our time and arrive to another very long queue. A very nice wheelchair man, as it were, spots me, and in an instant I am sitting at the head of the queue, with my carer close behind.

The sun is shining into the plane. We’ve now seen Turkish sun.

We were booked to do a balloon flight over Cappadocia at 5.30am tomorrow. But we are in agreement that such an early start, in what will be very cold temperatures, is not good for our health, so we have cancelled.