27th August: Kerswell, UK to Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul offered fleeting, teasing glimpses to our tired minds. In the distance at sunset through the plane’s far windows; minarets between buildings upon exiting the train station; and the pink-lit Hagia Sophia upon a hilltop through the windows of a packed and stuttering tram. All to be encountered over the coming days, alluding to so much promise not just here on the very western edge of Asia but right across this continent.