28th August: Istanbul, Turkey

This blog might be a bit scratchy to start with, as although I’ve always taken notes on trips I’ve never written them up like this and the tech side is also a little baffling to me right now! I’m going to try to write every day, if I can, although uploads will likely be more sporadic. For now, I hope it’s plenty to keep everyone up to date with how are travels are going. Better photos will probably be edited and shared when we’re home, but I’ll drop some phone shots/unedited camera into the blog as I go.

To begin our first full day in Istanbul, we were startled by two fighter jets apparently dogfighting over the city. It turned out to be a practice run by the Turkish display team ‘Soloturk’ ahead of their planned display for Turkish Victory day on Friday, but apparently even some local authorities were taken by surprise and momentarily raised an alarm! Their awe provoking roar was quickly followed by another type, that of a thunderstorm which rolled down the Bosporus from the Black Sea and soaked the European side of the city.

After the storm had cleared – by this point well after midday – we headed out through the side streets near our accommodation. A cig kofte from a small nearby cafe, gave us plenty of energy to head steeply up hill to wander the streets of the old city. We stumbled upon the Grand Bazaar, where we saw the intricate wares of a carpet seller (who claimed one particular rug took 3 years to make) and snacked on pomegranate juice and roasted chestnuts.

Walking further we got a feel for the city, a small amount of which I remembered fondly from a fleeting visit during the 2011 Mongol Rally. The narrow streets around Sultanahmet and the white fences in the gardens outside of the Hagia Sofia were particularly strong memories.

The gardens beside Topkapi Palace were home to countless ring necked parakeets, just like most London parks these days. Heading for the Golden Horn, we spotted an extravagant looking train at Sirkeci Station which turned out to be the modern version of the Orient Express, just arrived from Paris. Just a little outside of our budget for this trip!

Before sunset, we reached the riverfront and found a spot amongst the families on the harbour wall to watch a particularly golden end to the day. The Galata bridge was lined with fishing rods, with some people lucky enough to have buckets of fish. To me the teeming waters just reinforced the buzz of a city alive at every turn.

For dinner, we surprisingly had a rice dish I was fond of – Kaja explained that it was baldo rice – along with a delicious veg stew. They gave us bread with houmous and olive paste and some halva too, all of which was fantastic, and for a fair price. We were both delighted with our first day getting to grips with the trip, the city, and doing so well under budget. It seemed like perhaps we actually could do this! Just then, as we were getting up from dinner, the strap attachment point broke on my old Fitbit that I brought along. The first (very) minor hiccup, but nothing that some Tenacious tape couldn’t solve. I guess a taped up watch adds to the backpacker aesthetic!