Not very princely

 

Tuesday 24 September

At last the weather forecast bodes well for the day, so we decide to take a ferry to one of the Princes Islands, about 90 minutes each way south. The fare is very cheap - just a couple of quid each way. We had decided to visit Buyukada, the largest island. but we hadn't really researched it very thoroughly and if I'm honest it was a disappointing venture. 

The area around the harbour is pretty - there are gazillions of fish restaurants, some nice little shops and more ice cream vendors than you can shake a stick at. 

But we couldn't get any information about how to get to anything resembling a beach - we just fancied a flop day and a bit of sun - and it appeared that you either had to get on a bus (again, very little information and no tourist office to help), or hire a bike. Neither of us were keen to do the latter - I'm wobbly on two wheels and wasn't suitably attired - and there was nowhere within walking distance for us to sit and soak up some sun.

Dee is also suffering with a stomach upset, so we decide to cut our losses and return to the city. The trip back is spoilt by crazy/stupid fellow tourists screeching with delight feeding seagulls by hand as they swooped towards the boat. Sorry if that makes me sound like a curmudgeon, but apart from the fact that I really don't like seagulls, the crap they were being fed was probably poisoning them anyway. One amusing and somewhat bizarre sideshow is a man selling vegetable peelers with much aplomb - not quite what you expect on a domestic ferry. He's quite the showman and appears to do brisk trade.

I pop into the Grand Bazaar and bartered for a souvenir T-shirt (sometimes it pays to offer cash) and sit on the roof terrace to read for a while before the sun disappears around the rooftops. Dee decides it's best not to eat, so I dine alone downstairs to the accompaniment of the usual musicians and enjoy a last dinner.

Wednesday 25 September

After breakfast we have a couple of hours to spare before our cab arrives to take us to the airport on the Asian side. We walk down towards the Bosphorus, cross a busy dual carriageway and take a pleasant stroll and sit on a bench along the seemingly quite new river path past the fishermen. 

Our taxi arrives promptly and Tour Radar has supplied another nice young man to accompany us to the airport and liaise with the driver. It takes over an hour to get to SAW but it's interesting to look out of the window at what appears to be a very different, more high-rise, urban Istanbul. We're easily on time - the airport is modern and not too busy, though food is expensive - nearly £3 for a Snickers bar, which we decline, and even fast food prices are inflated. 

The flight is on time and we arrive back at Heathrow where as expected it's pretty chilly with very grey skies. I catch the Elizabeth line and change at Tottenham Court Road around 8pm, where I notice that people move around the busy station singly or in pairs - in Istanbul all the tourists seemed to be in packs and at times that's felt a bit overwhelming. I arrive home just after 9pm, by which time it's persisting down with rain so I'm quite damp. I'm missing blue skies and wide open spaces, but also glad to be home after quite a frenetic trip and sleeping in lots of different beds!

What I have learned about Turkiye

I really hadn't realised how ancient Greek and Turkish myths and legends overlap geographically (thanks also to Stephen Fry and his book Mythos). So Troy's not in Greece?! 

Turkiye is huge. The amount of time spent on the bus was way more than I expected and I really should have consulted an atlas. I also didn't realise that only 3% of Turkiye is in Europe. I also didn't know that Asian Turkiye is known as Anatolia.

I saw some amazing landscapes and incredible ruined cities. Mind-boggling.

Nearly all the local people I met were friendly and hospitable. It all felt very safe. 

Smoking appears to be the national pastime. 

I'm not a huge fan of the food, at least that which was on offer to me. To be honest I think I've had nicer meze in my local high street, where I'm very spolit for Mediterranean restaurants. I liked the white wine, but the reds were a bit too powerful for my delicate palate! Turkish coffee isn't for me either, but I do like the sweeties and apple tea (samples of both came home with me). 

Inflation in Turkiye is currently over 50%, which explains some of the unexpectedly high prices.

If I'm to be successful in using squatting toilets, I need to wear dresses.

I'd like to go back for a flop holiday, but feel this tour satisfied my curiousity. Even if I didn't go up in balloon and spent an awful lot of time on a bus.