It’s a special travel thrill to board a ferry in the chill of early morning just after sunrise, heading out to a new destination.
Turkish buses are great! Air travel should be so comfy. The price includes an attendant who brings drinks and snacks. The ride along the sea was pretty bit after eight hours enough is enough.
I love my deluxe double at Jimmys Place.
The Galipoli battlefield tour was fascinating on several levels.
The unspoiled landscape of cliffs, green hills and sandy beaches was spectacular. If it wasn’t a graveyard it would surely be a string of beach resorts.
As the site of a tremendous Turkish victory led by Ataturk, the peninsula is venerated by Turks who have very generously shared memorial space with their hapless attackers.
On the tour were several Aussies with a personal connection to the battle. One read from the battle diary of his grand uncle. Another visited the grave of his aunt’s fiancee. She never married, he said, but devoted all her thwarted love to him and his siblings, exerting a profound influence on his life.
Nine months of battle; one half million casualties and 130,000 dead on both sides.
Up very early yesterday for my five hour bus transfer here. Got a great deal with RSL tours: transfer, 2 nights in Grand Hotel Eceabat and a Galipoli tour for only 118euros. The hotel seems like the beginnings of a 4 star hotel that ran out of money. Took a ferry over to Cannakale to stroll the harbor and admire the Trojan Horse.
Finalized arrangements for the rest of my trip this am. My infatuation with Istanbul wrecked my itinerary ideas!
Like Paris there are layers and layers in Istanbul. Beyoglu is the European neighborhood built when French style set the standard. The stately shopping boulevard, Istiklal, is now a
mishmish of brands like Darty, Gap, Starbucks, Benetton housed in restored 19th century busy-ness buildings. The covered passages alongside recall the same in Paris.
In a total contrast is the working class suburbs of Uskudar on the Asian side across the Bosphorus. Here the style is much more traditional. Trench coats with full head scarves are a must for the stylishly devout.
I was looking forward to the Spice Bazaar but it was so crowded I foot like I was being pressed into a Turkish confection.
Circumstances demanded that I change hotels during which I learned a series of unhappy facts about Istanbul taxis.
1) They cannot be found when it rains.
2) If found, they refuse any trip shorter than 10km.
3) Trips shorter than 10km become trips longer than 10km as you discover Istanbul together because
4) They may have no idea where they are going.
After setting up in hotel Byza and arranging the next leg of my trip, I thanked Allah in the great Suleymaniye mosque, strolled through some nether neighborhoods and am now relaxing over tea and nargilah (hooka) in the Corlulu Alipasa Medresesi.