Thessaloniki is a bit of a wasteland, a bit dirty and boring so Ill skip our day there...from here we caught a sleeper train to Istanbul. After sleeping on the airport floor in Athens and all day waiting in Thessa, the hand basin in our private carriage became a makeshift foot and underarm shower hehe ALL CLASS we are...The sleeper was suprisingly good, comfy even. We slept until the border at which point we were woken by a man yelling at us to surrender our passports and get off the train. An interesting experience when there isnt much english goin around and its 3,30am. You just trust your not getting ripped off with the visa entry...there wouldnt be a hell of a lot you could do even if you were! The train got into the city at about 9am and we found our hostel and passed out till the afternoon, then got up to sample our first turksih kebab. Let me just say it aint no Uncle Tobys! They cut open a bread roll and wipe up the fat drip tray with it..then they fill it with meat and a few bits of salad..no sauce unless you ask, so it can be quite dry...although I guess thats what the fat is for..lubricant.!
The next few days we did the tourist route...pausing for a day because poor trent got a tummy bug :( Among the notable sites were the two large mosques - Aya Sofia and The Blue Mosque. They are beautiful from the outside and we were keen to take a look inside, but the entry fee for one was just stupid and the other we visited during prayer, so we admired from afar. Later we visited an old underground cistern, used to supply the city with water. Check out the photos, I think they came out nicely. The same afternoon we had a poke around the Grand Bazaar and met a few characters. Some delightful, some a**holes...all part of the experience of bargaining I guess! Its fun to look around but not as cheap as we would have liked.
Around the hostel we stayed at in the Old Town there were some beautiful alleways decorated with creeping vines, hanging lights, turkish cusions and the ever present hookah! The old town has so much more charm than the New Town, which is practically the same as every other main city we have been to. Same old stores...H&M, Nike, Billabong etc etc. I didnt rate it too highly although it looks like it has a good modern bar scene which we unfortunately didnt check out.
We also visited Topkapi Palace and saw among other things, the Circumcision Room of past Sultans. A whole room dedicated to that! The palace was nice, reminded me of Aladdin so I loved it hehe. Ill never forget the wealth we saw there. Rubies, diamonds, emeralds, pearls...adorning everything. A VERY wealthy empire id say. Later on we returned to the bazaar and bought ourselves some matching leather poofs and a hookah...the start of our very own international backyard lounging area!
Istanbul isnt only interesting for its history and monuments, its an interesting city to walk around as a female. Things are a bit different for the fairer sex. The country is predominantly muslim and dress standards in Eastern Turkey especially, follow the religions strict rules. I was mindful to dress modestly, although even when I did I was still stared at left right and centre. We heard stories of women being felt up and leered at, and its just plain annoying and rude from my point of view so I had to remind myself it was just the norm in turkey. I also wasnt looked at or involved in conversations between men and Trent and I. They would speak to Trent and ignore me, that can be annoying too, except for when theyre trying the sell.
The very last morning in Istanbul a cab driver didnt think his first two trips around the block to stare at me were enough, so he followed it up with a third driveby and a leer.. I was more than happy to get on the bus and leave at that point...Leave for our next stop....Gallipoli...
More soon xoxo
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