Istanbul

A couple of weeks of rushing; with panic and euphoria altenating. As the day that I had set as that for departure getting closer and closer the time spent feeling in panic increased. Friederike has been wonderful. Somehow her worries about finishing her thesis and mine about the preparations for the trip cancelled each other out.

On Tuesday I booked a flight to Istanbui with the firm knowledge last Monday that I'd have an Iranian visa in my passport on Wednesday. I'm to fly with Turkish Airlines at 11:40am, with Frieddie flying at 10am on KLM using my frequent flyer miles. I came to regret arranging 2 different flights when the weather intervened.

The evening before D day I went for a couple of drinks with Raffy, Jason, Marko, Aaron, Nensi and Atilja. It was hard to relax thinking of all the packing that still needed to be done, though the wine certainly did a good job! It was great to see them all. They were all so supportive, especially Aaron with getting my flat rented and helping me to look after my financial affairs.

The day of departure! Unfortunately it didn't get off to the best beginning. The weather looked great as we left home. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground but nothing serious. The sky was a lovely shade of blue in town. However Schiphol was another matter, fog had descended and got worse. Frieddie's flight left with a short delay but mine only after 2 & 1/2 hours. This would mean that she'd arrive in Istanbul 3 hours ahead of me. To add to the drama I broke the handlebar bag holder while fitting my bike into the box. It was a little embarrassing to call Presto about replacement parts before I'd even left the country.

The view from the plane was white, either of fluffy clouds or snow covered lands, even relatively far Soutl. Though it was beautiful to see, it worried me that I'd have some cold days ahead. I guess there's nothing wrong with finding out I'm a wimp where bailing will be relatively easily done. (As I write this while watching the scenery from the window of the plane the snow covered has passed).

Frieddie was patiently waiting at the airport, as was the minibus that had been ordered. I got some money out of an ATM but unfortunately I left the card in it. One card down two to go. A short ride through town and we were at the pension Mavi, a friendly place below the Blue Mosque near the shore of the Sea of Marmaris. After checking in we went for a walk & have dinner. The tourist centre of Istanbul was 10 minutes away, but surprisingly untouristed at 9pm on a Friday evening. We had dinner at a cool café, watching the locals play games of backgammon and hit on the unaccompanied female tourists. Afterwards we felt very cool by getting a water pipe with apple tobacco, which was quite unlike smoking in that it was pleasurable.