We tried to book a first class sleeper compartment to take us all the way to Istanbul but was advised that the tracks in Bulgaria and Turkey were being upgraded and the train journey would only be about seven hours and then transfer to a series of buses to complete the journey.
We saw more decaying infrastructure as we traveled south through Romania but also some broad acre farming, mostly sunflowers, corn and wheat.
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| Romanian Border Guards and Customs Officers navigating the poorly kept tracks to board the train. |
The Danube river marks the border between Bulgaria and Romania.
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| Our last view of the Danube River, we had followed it all the way from Ulm in Germany not far from its source in the Black Forest. |
Once over the border we transferred to the aforementioned bus and travelled through the night changing buses twice more. A cramped journey but interesting scenery before it got too dark as we climbed across the eastern ranges of the Balkans.
ISTANBUL
We cannot imagine anybody not enjoying themselves in Istanbul, the city straddles the Bosphorus Straights that separate Europe from Asia and is a mixture of the best (and maybe the worst) of both continents. It's a vibrant, hustle, bustle and jostle your way through crowded streets, alleys and market places sort of city. Its buildings are a mixture of ancient, old, modern and new, and off the main streets it's nearly all cobbled laneways that were likely laid down hundreds of years ago. The shopkeepers and merchants are all good hearted rogues and masters at extracting the maximum amount of money for anything you try to buy. We got to know that we would never get down to
their lowest price and felt OK with paying what we thought was value for money even though the shopkeeper was grinning from ear to ear.
We had booked an hotel close to Taksim Square, one of many popular districts that are great for shopping, eating and sightseeing. We would get a taxi in the mornings to wherever we wanted to go and then spend a few hours finding our way back in the evening; an impossible task navigating the winding alleys that all look the same. It took us a week before we could find our way back to the hotel without asking for directions. Our home in Istanbul was called the SuiteNess Hotel that was tucked away up a hidden alleyway that probably looked frightening to first time travellers to the east. The place was excellent, newly renovated to a modern standard with marble floors and walls. We even had a large balcony that overlooked a couple of mosques toward the Bosphorus. We could listen to the "call to prayer" five times a day that seemed fitting and right in this place but maybe a bit of an imposition in Mount Claremont we agreed.
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| Heading to the GrandBazaar in the Sultanahmet district. |
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| Even in the bazaars and markets the devout stop for prayer. |
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| Tea for every need being sold it the spice market - not all of them work! |
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| Don't ask! |
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| The Hagia Sophia Mosque |
They fry fish on the boats, slap it between a big slice of bread with some salad and sell it for 6 Turkish Lira ($3 Aus), wonderful meal but a few bones to contend with.
How we got out of here without buying a carpet is still a mystery.
The Blue Mosque is one of the largest in Turkey and an architectural marvel, it's grand in every aspect and the height and decoration on the dome ceiling is something to see.
A strict dress code, shoes off, head scarf on and no bare legs showing. Woman are restricted to certain areas - just like my shed at home.
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| Sign says "Don't sit on the steps", theres another one under the woman on the left! |
I was last in Istanbul in 1975 when traveling overland from England to Australia and the Pudding Shop was a favourite haunt for all east/west hippy types searching the noticeboard for lifts. It's still there, although changed from its original smokey, seedy appearance .
We met the owner who bought the place 35 years ago, he's covered the walls with memorabilia of the so called "hey day" of the Pudding Shop. He was interested that I'd been before and pleased that I'd returned and treated us to a pudding on the house.
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| Barb hanging out with the Sultan. |
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| Turkish Delight - full of eastern promise |
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| Barb checking out the history of the Harem (and deciding whether to get herself a Eunuch) |
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| The Harem ceiling - mostly viewed by the women I suspect! |
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| Not the Sultan. |
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| Barb checking her look in the Harem mirror; very disappointed that they weren't recruiting but she leftt her CV and has asked me for a reference. |
The Dolmabahece Palace is a must see example of European architecture and design. The largest Palace in Turkey and decorated throughout with priceless diamonds and jewels and gold ornaments, fantastic artwork and carvings. Unfortunately no photos allowed inside.
By boat to the Black Sea, our intended destination when we started this journey in Rotterdam.
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We met Gail and Wayne on the boat trip up the Bosphorus, they're from New Zealand but are now living and working in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - easy company.
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Time to go home, we fly via Abu Dhabi to Perth arriving on the weekend of the 2 August. Thanks for the emails and comments.
