Istanbul, Turkey
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| Our chariot (taxi) driver rather liked history |
Well, here we are. Istanbul - back where we started all those months ago! Now, if I
said it was raining, would you believe me? The overnight bus from Plovdiv and associated
stops at border points meant we had little sleep. Jumping a taxi at the huge downtown bus
terminal in the bleak early hours meant a fast ride into the city centre. Zooming along at 130kph (“Put your seatbelts
on”, yelled George as we left.), this ride was better than caffeine. Still, unlike last time, we actually made it
to the front door of our hotel. No time
to spare though….quick, I need a bathroom!
We had
organised a few days to recover in Istanbul and used the time to re-visit (perhaps
for the last time) our favourite city.
Well, actually they’re all our favourites but there’s just something about Istanbul. Even
Mark Twain would agree!
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| Cavalry Bazaar - clearly one of us doesn't like shopping... |
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| Old timber cottages behind the Blue Mosque |
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| So, it's goodbye to Hagia Sophia then |
Of course, Wednesday
was Republic Day, so as if in a dream, we walked around town from the Cavalry
Bazar to the Spice Bazar amongst a huge crowd enjoying their public
holiday. The next day we took shelter from heavier rain in
the Grand Bazaar until overwhelmed, then took to the quieter corridors of the
Archaeological Museum. With wet shoes
and a certain lack of enthusiasm, we then spent a day at the hotel enjoying a
late breakfast and a bit of doing nothing much.
We discovered though, that the Museum of Turkish Arts is well on the way
with its renovation plans and finding an Economist magazine in English is a bit
of a challenge.
Finally it
was time to catch the tram to Atatürk Airport and check out of Turkey. No more muezzins’ calls, no more carpets and
no more cats’ meows.
So ends our seventh season, which started with a visit to Troy & Gallipoli, then continued on in leisurely boating style:
a memorable cruise up Turkey's west coast,
a quick sail through the Greek Aegean Islands,
taking a red panda to explore ruin-strewn Peloponnese,
a lingering sail round the Ionians before
dashing to Albania to explore this little visited (by sail boats) country.
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| Pre-haul out in Preveza Marina - washing sails |
Finally, it was back to Preveza for haul out. Windjammer has settled into a yard shared with donkeys, goats and friendly dogs. She won't be missing us at all. With WJ3 safely in her cradle, we took off to visit George & Annette in Vienna before taking our Intrepid trip to Eastern Europe.
We'll be back next year for some more slow boating, the general plan to make it to Italy. More or less. Watch this space for plans as they evolve...
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| Slow boating |
(A reminder of our happy watery trails (the map & tracker) can be found here.)
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| So it's goodbye & A Very Merry Christmas 2014 from us |
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