Dr Dopey visits Istanbul

Brought out the suitcase (cat wasn't happy, she knows what the suitcase means), tried to pack lightly this time, kicked the cat off the suitcase, drove to airport and boarded our first flight to Sydney.

During our transfer from the domestic to international terminal at Sydney airport we caught a glimpse of George Bush's plane Airforce One, here for the APEC summit. We heard about the Chaser's incident at his Sydney hotel while at Heathrow (it was all over the news in London).

Sam and I then boarded our next flight to London for our first experience of British Airways business class. The seats were ok and we had lots of leg room but the food was pretty average (that is chicken next to the broccoli) and the service wasn't much better - our Irish flight attendent asked us not to be too demanding on her as she had had a big night and was recovering from a hang over. We also had a crazy lady upstairs with us, but I missed most of her antics as I was asleep (see Sam's blog for more details).

After arriving in London we had a few hours to kill in the first class lounge before boarding our flight to Istanbul.

Yes its a hard life traveling for work, but it really is when you travel 35 hours to get to your first destination only to find your luggage hasn't arrived with you (again) and they have no idea where it is........

Dr Dopey visits Istanbul (Day 2)

September 8, 2007


Day 2 - New day, same clothes

Woke to the sound of the morning prayer call at 5:30 am. Got up had a shower and put my only set of casual clothes back on again, which don't feel any cleaner after being aired out overnight. Hotel room has shampoo but no conditioner so give up on the idea of washing my hair and instead decide that my hair is in fact long enough now to fit into a ponytail (not). It turns out I actually smell better than the 50 thousand Turkish men Sam and I get squashed between while on the tram from our hotel to the old part of the city, even with my lack of deoderant (packed that too).

We get off the tram at Sultanahmet, right in the heart of the old city and was amazed by the blue mosque, outside and in. Sam was sporting some "I'm 4 months pregnant cleavage" so was given a lovely aqua shawl to cover up. Fortunately I don't have that particular problem so was able to show off my 3 day old travelling clothes instead. Inside, the domed rooves of the mosque are covered in beautifully painted geometric designs and the walls with painted tiles.

After the Blue Mosque it was time to do head towards the Grand Bazaar, which is an array of narrow covered alley ways full of stalls selling carpets, glass lanterns, fabrics, gold, painted plates and tiles, and more. Didn't buy anything....yet.

After the Grand Bazaar, we got a little lost walking through the streets of the old city but ended up at the Egyptian spice bazaar, where you can buy a wide range of spices (of course), teas, different types of turkish delight, nougat, stuffed dates and for all the men out there........

.....our favourite, Naturel Turkish Viagra

Although who said Viagra was only for men (more about this later)

Dr Dopey visits Istanbul (Day 3 & 4)

September 9, 2007

Day 3 - New day, no luggage

Woke to the sound of the morning prayer call at 5:30 am. Got up had a shower, washed hair thanks to Sam donating her shampoo and conditioner and put my lovely clean work clothes on with a pair of clean socks (thanks Sam) and a pair of Sam's shoes. Spent a frustrating day working followed by a tedious dinner where we sampled some traditional Turkish food

Sam was given a tablecloth to wear - no it wasn't to cover up her pregnancy cleavage, it was cold outside

When we got back to the hotel I found my suitcase waiting for me! Yea for me!

Day 4 - New day, fresh clothes

Woke to the sound of the morning prayer call at 5:30 am. Got up, usual drill - shower, eat breakfast, go to work. On the way back to the hotel in the evening the traffic was terrible so Sam, Yoel and I decide to ditch the taxi and find our way by public transport following the directions of our Turkish speaking taxi driver, who wouldn't let me go until I could repeat to him "Fenicular, another Turkish word beginning with C or K followed by his arm motioning to go over a bridge". No problem says Yoel, who is from Isreal and therefore an expert in all things relating to the Middle East, or so we thought (it is his first visit to Istanbul).

Needless to say we had some difficulty finding the fenicular, ended up eating at a McDonalds along the way and stumbled across a long paved street mall (like Bourke St Mall) lined with shops and filled with people.

(carved watermelon)

An hour later we end up completely lost and back in a taxi to our hotel with Sam and I trying to tak pic's of the Blue Mosque while our crazy taxi driver speeds through the city darting past cars and pedestrians.

Time to vote - which carpet do you like?

September 11, 2007

Sam and I ended up back at the Grand Bazaar today and decided I couldn't leave Istanbul without experiencing a carpet seller trying to sell us a carpet. So while looking at lamps we were approached by a carpet seller because of course when you are looking at lamps you really are after a carpet, why else would you visit the Grand Bazaar? So went went with him darting through the narrow lanes until we arrived at his shop. He was very polite and we had a glass of apple tea while they explained the process of making and the different types of carpets. So we ended up with a pile of carpets on the floor in front of us with the carpet seller asking me which one do you like, this was when we had the $2,000 silk-on-silk carpets sitting on top. Now I was more after the experience, however Warwick did mention that I should get a carpet while in Istanbul.....

So I managed to get out of the carpet shop by telling the carpet seller I would like Warwick to decide so he allowed me to take photos of the carpets. Its time to vote, which carpet do you like? I'm not going to give you the prices but they do range from $200 - $3000 AUD each.

Carpet 1

Carpet 2

Carpet 3
Carpet 4
Carpet 5

...and the winner is.....

September 12, 2007

Thank you all for your votes, however Judge Warwick's decision is final (and no it wasn't the most expensive one Sam G) and it was Carpet #1.

Managed to get the price down a bit thanks to Deborah (I had stage fright) and ended up with my carpet folded up into a nice neat bag for transport in my trusty, reliable, always-arrive-on-time suitcase. Let's see if we can get it through Heathrow this time.

Back on the plane

Last morning in Istanbul and I decide to make the most of it by heading down to the old city again to the old Roman underground water system called the Basilica Cistern.

On a water related note there is a huge aquaduct in Istanbul that may or not be related to the Basilica Cistern, however there is a main road running through the arches of the aqueduct.


Instead of building the roads as wide as the arches of the aqueduct the Instanbulians (or is it Constantinopilians) have 2-3 lanes of traffic merging into 1 lane to pass under the aqueduct, which is very interesting when you are a passenger in a taxi of a crazy driver during peak hour traffic who decides to:

a) put the pedal to the metal
b) drive down the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic
c) pull over onto the tram lines which are dedicated for trams only


...will add more tomorrow morning when we actually visit the basilica cistern

Bye Bye Istanbul....Hello UK

September 13, 2007

So I did actually visit the Basilica Cistern this morning. Its a huge water reservoir built under the city in the 6th century to supply water to Istanbul.

The water was transported 19 km away from a forest to Istanbul via large aqueducts. The cistern is surrounded by 4 metre thick brick walls and coated with a special water-proof mortar (can you tell I copied this from the plaque inside the building?). It is pretty amazing what they could do back then though. Its no longer used for storing water for the city it but does still have a fair bit of water inside and dripping from the ceiling (you can't think about where that waters coming from or where its been, just remember to keep your mouth closed, particularly when looking up at the domed roofs). Plus there are lots of fish swimming around in the water.

There are 2 columns at the back of the cistern that have giant medusa heads at the base, one upside down and the other on its side. Apparently scientists believed they were placed that way deliberately, why would you think they weren't (dodgy slaves?) and how do you prove something like that?


On my way back to the tram I walked over the Galata Bridge that crosses the Bosphorus river to get my last view of the city. Walking along the bridge you can get a good view of the mosques.

Its times like these when your're just wandering around that you find the real gems. At the end of the bridge there's a walkway under the road that allows you to cross from one side of the street to the other without risking your life to the Istanbul traffic. The walkway is lined with shops, but not just any kind of shop.....

Yep guns and at 25 Turkish Lira (~$25 AUD) they're a real bargan. On that note it was time to get the hell out of Turkey and continue on to our next destination, Newcastle UK

...and yes my luggage did arrive this time, including the carpet.

UK - 7 flights down, 6 to go

September 17, 2007

After spending a day in Newcastle we flew back to London for the weekend and luckily the weather was fine and sunny. As soon as we got off the tube on our way to the hotel Sam had identified a Pret-A-Manger (actually she had already worked out we had a Pret near the hotel even before arriving in London), where I had to try Sam's favourite, roast duck wrap (its pretty good)

That was the start of a weekend of catching up on our favourites......

.....asian food at Wagamamas (we were both dying for asian after being in Istanbul for the last week)

.....the thick bittersweet hot chocolate at Cafe Nero

.....Ben and Jerries icecream (Phish Food for Sam and Choc chip cookie dough for me)

Of course it wasn't all about food, we also did a bit of shopping at Covent Garden and even some sightseeing (we had to kill time somehow, the shops don't open before 12 pm on a Sunday)

We also met up with Sam's brother-in-law, sister-in-law, niece and nephew who live in London and took a boat ride down the Thames to Greenwich. And I made a new friend

And on the street corner near our hotel we found a lovely carpet shop - see you just can't get away from Istanbul (they also do carpet valuations but I don't really want to know, just in case)