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Sunday 31st October - Friday 5th November Thoughts on Istanbul The Hotel Pamphylia Family: Having spent 10 days at Hotel Pamphylia we started to feel part of the family that was the staff. Gulgan, the day receptionist; Deniz, or otherwise known as David Ginola, the night receptionist; Omar, who although didn't seem to have a job there, spent half his life there smoking cigarettes, drinking Turkish çay, and chatting to the guests, predominantly women; the Personnel Manager who spoke no English but with whom we always had a good laugh; the waiters who were always waiting patiently for us to finish feasting on our breakfasts like gannets; the two cleaning ladies, who always ensured we had fresh toilet paper, fresh towels and a neat bed despite having to work around our slightly cluttered room. Omar: We've already spoken about Omar who of course we'll miss for his guide book wealth of information and hospitality, but we think that most of all we'll miss Deniz for his interesting and often quirky conversation of an evening when we sat with him drinking coffee and tea. We had a slight feeling we would get on with him as he introduced himself as Japanese and as David Ginola! Interesting! Sedettin and the Aya Sofia Bufe: Once he found out that we were English, Sedettin lovable catch phrase 'I love you England' seemed to become the answer to everything whilst serving us endless cups of tea. You could tell he had an eye for the ladies - he kept telling Paul he was a very happy man, which of course he is. The food was good and cheap, even if that red sauce did have a little bite to it....Daan! Mehmet: the first introduction of himself was propelling Paul to the barbers for the well-needed hair and beard cut! He is a loveable rogue and on one of our many visits for a cup of tea we spent a good half hour helping him sort out his love life via SMS with a girl back in Belgium. Good Luck with that one mate. The sights: For us the 'must see' in Istanbul was the Blue Mosque with its 6 elegant minarets and beautiful interior, though not so blue as we imagined. We also visited the Basilica Cistern, an impressive underground reservoir built by the Romans. It was an amazing space, even if the art installation of white hanging balls did detract from it a bit. Having read Pompeii by Robert Harris last year, it helped Paul to visualise some of the spaces in the book. The Grand and Egyptian Bazaars were exciting places but their over-touristy feel made them quite disappointing compared to our expectations. You could still smell the spices in the Egyptian Bazaar but the atmosphere didn't hit us with any force. The tight winding shopping streets that catered for every possible need and used by the locals were far more exciting. In many ways the Bosphorous Cruise was the highlight excursion of our week's stay being a good escape from the city and the scenery was beautiful. However, the constant harassment of the passengers by the waiting staff on the ship tainted our impression of what was supposed to be a far more relaxing excursion. We gradually started feeling at home in Istanbul. Sultanahmet started to become more and more familiar as did the sights and sounds of the city. The entrance lobby to the hotel has recently become our sitting room from where we can venture out into the now familiar streets to wander around and eat food. Just as Sultanahmet was becoming more familiar to us, we were becoming more familiar to the local traders, and so the initial harassment began to fade (although a few traders never got the message!). We got used to the constant calling of the mosque at numerous times in the day and night, calling people to prayer or to eat for Ramadan. And the Ramadan festival itself we must have visited most nights to pick up a çay or a portion of traditional rice pudding or baklava for dessert. Daan and Jeroen: It's amazing what a few days cycling together and a common passion can do to the relationship between two pairs of very different people. Meeting the boys again in Istanbul has been wonderful. They always made us smile and took the mickey out of Kate, and a really good relationship seems to have built up between us. After leaving Istanbul, it's unlikely that we'll see either of them before the end of our trips which actually seems like a sad prospect and we'll miss them very much. If things go to plan for us all, there'll be no more bumping into them in random hotels in the middle of nowhere. Of all the people we've met so far on this trip, we really will be keeping in touch. Anyhoo....... Saturday 6th November We left Istanbul by ferry on Saturday lunchtime after saying our goodbyes to the hotel staff and the numerous guests waiting in the hotel lobby and finally to Daan and Jeroen, who waved us off at the ferry. We were both feeling very sad at the prospect of leaving but we were both physically rested and our bikes fully serviced and so were in theory ready to cross Turkey. We didn't however feel it and were both very pensive and subdued as we crossed on the ferry to Yalova. At least we weren't having to face the horrendously dangerous main road out of Istanbul to Ankara. We had decided that this exit from the city was the safest option considering what we had been through getting there! Having got a reasonably late ferry, we didn't start riding until nearly 1 o clock so we only aimed for a shorter 35-mile ride that afternoon. After a 10km climb to warm us up we then had a long descent into the next valley where we picked up a gently undulating road beside a great lake. The scenery was absolutely beautiful as we passed huge expanses of olive groves and orchards where local villagers were harvesting the year's crops. We were feeling very welcomed by the dozens of tractors crammed with villagers waving and cheering encouragement to us as we pedalled. As the sun began to set we quickly found some water to fill up our water bag and slipped into an olive grove ready to put up camp for the night. We were quite relieved that it was Ramadan as it meant that we were able to find a beautiful spot without fear of being disturbed and uprooted. We presumed that food was the only concern for them at that moment! We were also looking forward to camping again as we had been cooped up in our hotel for so long. It was so quiet and peaceful, with a beautifully clear sky and sharp piercing stars - so different to the busy street outside our hotel. Paul and Kate x
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Challoner's, Fasiledes, Amersham, Buckinghamshire