After another excellent Londonskaya breakfast, we slowly packed and headed for Odessa airport. The "taxi" arrived and we set off. Apparently, a decaying road infrastructure and an abundance of maniacal drivers results in the Ukraine having a disproportionate road toll. We saw examples of Ukrainan driving at their best on the trip to Yalta and this final drive through Odessa ensured that we didn't forget the stylish intensity and devil-may-care approach of the best Ukrainian drivers.
At high speed, and mostly on the wrong side of the road, we arrived at Odessa airport. While there seemed to be only three flights leaving on the day, the Ukraine had deployed the full majesty of its bureaucracy. After multiple passport inspections and multiple scans of our luggage, we finally got on a plane. Turkish airlines were actually very good, with plenty of room in Economy and a good lunch (what else, turkey sandwich).
Istanbul airport is about 60 minutes outside the city. We were met by a hotel driver, who took us into town. Mostly, this was a good trip (unlike our Ukrainian experience), but the last few kilometres involved an interesting transit of a maze of very small and very packed streets, which gove us some impression of the old town.
Our hotel, the Maywood is in the old town area (Sulthanamet), very near the key sights, and where most tourists stay. The hotel is excellent; small rooms are clean and well-appointed and staff are friendly and helpful.
To acquaint ourselves with Istanbul, we headed off for a stroll. We found the seafront near the railway station, an area called Sirecki. We could see the Bosphorus on the right and the Golden Horn off to the left.was a mass of people and the water a mass of craft, particularly medium and large ferries.
We had a beer at one place and found another for dinner. The "mixed grill" wasn't impressive, but the tight mass of restaurants in the small side street were doing good business and enthusiastically seeking new customers.
At high speed, and mostly on the wrong side of the road, we arrived at Odessa airport. While there seemed to be only three flights leaving on the day, the Ukraine had deployed the full majesty of its bureaucracy. After multiple passport inspections and multiple scans of our luggage, we finally got on a plane. Turkish airlines were actually very good, with plenty of room in Economy and a good lunch (what else, turkey sandwich).
Istanbul airport is about 60 minutes outside the city. We were met by a hotel driver, who took us into town. Mostly, this was a good trip (unlike our Ukrainian experience), but the last few kilometres involved an interesting transit of a maze of very small and very packed streets, which gove us some impression of the old town.
Our hotel, the Maywood is in the old town area (Sulthanamet), very near the key sights, and where most tourists stay. The hotel is excellent; small rooms are clean and well-appointed and staff are friendly and helpful.
To acquaint ourselves with Istanbul, we headed off for a stroll. We found the seafront near the railway station, an area called Sirecki. We could see the Bosphorus on the right and the Golden Horn off to the left.was a mass of people and the water a mass of craft, particularly medium and large ferries.
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| Spices for sale |
We had a look at the New Mosque (completed 1663) and then the Spice Bazaar. This Bazaar has vendors of all sorts, including jewellery and clothing, but with a large number of sellers of spices and of sweets. Stalls were piled with mounds of colourful spices or of various flavours of Turkish Delight.
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| Ferries jockey at high speed to get under the bridge |
We crossed the Galata Bridge to the "new town" area of Beyoglu (whch only dates from about 1300). The bridge was lined with fisherman casting lines from long rods into the waters below. Crossing the bridge we saw the madness of ferries charging across the harbour and under the bridge, travelling at full speed and barely missing each other as then jockeyed for position. It's possible that they are driven by Ukrainians.
On the Beyoglu side, we took a funicular (the Tunel) to make the most of the climb for us and then strolled up Istiklal Caddesi. Most of Istanbul was strolling this pedestrianised street with us. Smart shops, embassies and very many restaurants line the street.
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| Strollers on Istiklal Caddesi |
We walked home, down the hill from Galata Tower, across the bridge and followed the tramline back to our hotel. The fishermen were still hard at work.
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