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Denton in Turkey and Cyprus - part 3 of 1 2 3 4

Published 01/02/2012

The next day was the highlight of the trip as we had time to explore the city. Once again Kayhan was on hand to guide us around and point us in the right direction. Special mention at this point must go to Societies' member, Tony Martinez, who had come out to the workshop and joined us for our sightseeing day. Great to have you with us Tony.

We started off taking public transport through to one of the largest mosques in Istanbul. This was somewhat safer than the taxis as they were trams on rails and so the drivers were restricted in their ability to out-manoeuvre each other.

We made it to Sultanahmet Square, a marvellous place to sit and watch the world go by. We found a great little coffee house to do just that and soaked up the timeless scene as the call to prayer wafted through the air from the various mosques. Suitably fortified with caffeine it was time to explore the Sultan's Palace, an amazing collection of architecture and furnishings with superb photographic opportunities at every turn - a place I definitely want to revisit. Just as we thought it couldn't get any better we went off to the Grand Bazaar and the shop of one of the previous day's students, Mehmet Gulcan. He proved a most hospitable host. No sooner had we sat down in his shop than the tea boy arrived, a young guy who delivers steaming glasses of Turkish tea along the parade.

Refreshed again, we hit the streets. The Bazaar was a full-on assault of the senses. Everywhere we looked we saw, heard, smelt the most amazing things. It was great to have a local with us who understood where to go and appeared to know everyone. Even better when we were whisked into a tiny back street cafe to sample their speciality (and only) dish, a spicy bean stew. I'm a confirmed carnivore and can say it's the only vegetarian meal I have ever eaten and fully enjoyed. A true day of firsts!

Our last day in Turkey started with another crazy drive in a taxi. I had the dubious pleasure of sitting in the front with the driver. Now as an former police officer I am used to being hurtled around in the suicide seat at breakneck speeds, but nothing before has compared to our trip that morning. Squeezing through gaps with millimetres to spare, seeing cars coming towards us the wrong way down a one way street, ignoring red lights...

incredible. The stress of the journey was well balanced by the joy of arrival. Our destination was an open air cafe on the river bank.

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1st Published 01/02/2012
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