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Istanbul, the Bridge between two continents ahead...
fi crossed the greek-turkish Border. It was the first time i had to cross a real border. They don´t like each other so much and so the border is well secured. The Bridge over Evros-River is full of Military and the Border is marked with a thick red Line in the Middle of the Bridge. Reaching the turkish Border-Facilities a gigantic well lighted Flag welcomes me. As a german you are heartly welcomed but there were some questions about the Route of my Trip (they are confused from my beard...) but after telling them that i don´t want to go Jihad in Syria they let me in...
So i entered my 15. Country on european Ground and started the last Kilometers before entering Asia...
My first impression was about the Script. You can read everything again! They use a lot of ü´s and ö´s and so it has a funny look on first sight. If they tell you „Güle Güle“ for Bye-bye you have to smile immediately
My first Night i slept on a plane behind the Border where the Wind shakes me and my tent very well the whole night. I had to fix all my pegs and ropes... But also this night ends in the Morning...
The wind was with me also on the next day. Headwind slows down my ride. In Kesan i took my breakfast-Break and i learned some new Things about local food. Börek is the Favourite for Breakfast and so i enjoyed my tripple Portion with Sheep-Cheese and/or Meat. You can also have it also as a kind of Pasta with Sheep-Cheese. Very Tasty!! You always combine it with Cay, the turkish Black-Tea that is sweetened till Pain-barrier... On the first Day i took minimum a handful of these magic drinks.
In every City a gigantic Flag welcomes you, the turks are very proud of their country and show this as often as possible. The People are very friendly and curious but not intrusive at all. Helpful and always ready to invite you for a Blacktea... Nice People and a benefection after the reserved greeks...
My Journey through the european Part of Turkey was characterized by the 4 Laned Highway-like Roads, the hilly Landscape and the horrible Weather. From Times to times the Headwind comes together with Rain and Temperatures around 10°... not funny at all
On the second Day around noon i reached the Suburbs of Istanbul and have to ride until the Evening. The Lanes get more and more and the Traffic also. The Last Kilometers i was able to use the Promenade along the Bosporus. Just a few Lights from the Asian Side came over the Water... I rode along a lot of Fisherman and Families doing their Barbecue. It´s like in germany when the turkish Families using the Parks to sit together... After a never ending Ride i reached the byzantinian Wall and a leftturn later i was standing in front of Hagia Sofia in the Center of the Oldtown of Sultanahmet...
Strange Feeling to arrive. Opposite of the Hagia Sofia the Blue Mosque is standing and both are beautiful enlighted in the Night. It took me six Months to get to this Point and now i´m there... It reminds me of my trip on Way of St.james as i finished it at Cape Finisterre. Could not /didn´t have to go on from there... A little bit of Emptiness and a lot of Satisfaction filled me up. This time it goes on and so the Emptiness went away and the Satisfaction stayed... So i checked into the Hostel in the Heart of Sultanahmet.
The following Days are characterized by relaxed Sightseeing. The Oldtown has so much to see! Every Corner hides a Mosque and if the Muezzin starts to call for Prayer it´s a call out of hundreds of Throats...
I visited Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque and mainly the first impressed me deeply. 1500 Years of History under one Roof, wow. Unfortunatly a lot of people see it the same way and so the Building is crowded with people... A visit of Grand Basar and Egyptian Basar (The Spice-Basar) round out my Oldtown-Tour.
I visited a Barber to get rid off my Beard and visited a turkish Hamam. The Hamam is the traditional way of Bathing in Turkey. In Ancient Times they had hundreds of them but actually there are just around 60 still running. I choose one small one in a side street so i was the only non-Turk in the Building and so it was a nice un-touristical experience.
The Hamam is composed of different parts. In the first part there is the Entrance and Resting-Zone. From there you enter the Hot Area through a „lock“. There you have the washing boxes with Waterbowls and after that the Main-Hall with a Hot Stone in the Middle. In the Back-Area there is a Steambath. The Bath is covered in marble until the Height of Head and also the Bowls are out of this Material. The Ground is heated and you only can stay inside for a while using the Plastic-sandals they offer you. The Hall and the other Rooms are covered with Domes and the Arches between them give the whole Building it special Flair...
The Ceremonial is traditional separated between Sexes. A Bathkeeper is supervising you and leading you through the single steps. If you choose the full program he also is doing the massage. You wear a loincloth you never take away. After the initial sweating in the Steambath the washing is next. traditional islamic washing always works with fluent water. So the Bathkeeper uses a small bowl to scoop water from the washing bowl over your body. He washes you from head to feet (the genital ares is tabu) and after that you lay down on the stone. There you get a peeling and after that you get a foam-bath and at the end the Massage. They do a good but tough job but after the exerting of the last time it is very nice to feel your muscles relaxing...
After that you get a extensive wash before you enter the steamboat again. At the End you take a last washing before you enter the Rest-Room where the Bathkeeper changes your wet loincloth against a dry one and covers you in Towels. A cold Bottle of Water and a hot Cay round out the ceremony! After this Rest Time you enter the autumnally Istanbul again...
A very nice Experience that i try to exercise again if i get the chance in Turkey again.
On Day 4 i changed into Besiktas, another part of the City to get more than the touristic Oldtown...
After i realized that it will be a longer stay in town cause of my Parcelproblem i relaxed and took it day by day... The first Days were rainy and cold so i took care of me, my Stuff and the Website. After the weather got better i visited the parts of the City on after another. Moving by feet was nice and realxed other hard working parts of my Body. So i walked 4 to 5 Hours daily and visited parts of the City that will not be on the touristic Plan in ten Years... There were some real pearls but also very worn-down Parts...
I also did a Bosporus-Cruise and so i left the City after 10 Days (without solving the Parcel-Problem that i will explain here after i really solved it) with the good feeling of getting a insight on a ferry to Asia...
The historic Heritage of this City is gigantic. Hundreds of Mosques and historic Buildings have to be renovated or preserved. So there is always a part of the City behind Covers- In osmanic Times they used the best Materials so the most of the Buildings are from Marble and so they use tons of it to repair it...
But if you take a look at a newly renovated one it worths every Gramm of it... Economic Uprising of Turkey and the Money that came from Tourism generates enough Money to go on with this process.
But also the actual Growth of the City and Infrastructure goes forward. Skyscraper rise up and mostly they are for exclusive Housing of the upper ten thousands...
Next to the both Bridges they build a tunnel under the Bosporus to fix the Traffic Problems. This Country and City is definitely booming!
It totally worths a visit!