Well … We have been away for a week in Turkey having fun in the sun and remembering the events of World War I and in particular Gallipoli. I will break it down into small sections if I can so that you don’t all get too bored ….
We left the UK on Saturday 21st April and got on to out Turkish Airlines flight. The first thing that we noticed was the lovelly seats … turquoise!! Not too bad I guess but very unusual. The flight itself was a good one and surprisingly it had a good amount of leg room compared to some other carriers.
Arrived in Turkey pretty late and got through the Visa Control (13GBP for that) and then through customs and all was fine. On to the little bus provided by Sammy’s Tours and off to our hotel (Otel Kaya). The rooms weren’t too bad although the shower could have been a little bigger and the plumbing could have been done so as not to leak when you had a shower, not to worry all part of the adventure.
The 22nd was sort of our free day. We had the morning off to go and do waht we wanted to we went off to Topkapi Palace in the Sultanahmet area if Istanbul. Not a bad place at all. The girls loved it as there was an 86 carat diamond ring in there so that kept them happy for a bit although they were disappointed that we weren’t able to buy it!!
Then we went for a crusie on the Bospherous which joins the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. This is the reason that the Gallipoli campaign was fought. The control of this stretch of water was important to the result of the war and could have shortened the war if in the control of theAllies .. so the theory went anyway. The stretch of water is also known as the Golden Horn as it is shaped a bit like the horn of a sheep. There are many Mosques along the edge of the Bospherous as well as the City Wall that stretches along to keep out the unwanted visitors of the past Ottomen Empire. Very impressive walls.
the cruise also had some light entertainment along the way. A performance of the wedding ceremony was done and then a Belly Dancer came out to show use her moves. They weren’t too bad and she was even able to earn some money along the way. Craig, one of the guys on the tour, gave her some Lira but asked for some change too. Was very funny to watch and her reaction was great too.
After the cruise it was back to the hotel for a shower and then off to the Gala Ball for the evenings entertainment and meal starting the Tour off. The meal was pretty good and one of the waiters was always running around doing fancy moves as he did so. Was very entertaining to watch. Not sure if it was show or just the way he did things.
the Belly Dancer put in another performance … think she was after Craigs money again … she wanted her change back!! Was great to meet the other members of the tour and see what we were in for over the next week with the characters on the tour. A pretty good mix of characters and Australians / New Zealanders. All reasonably friendly and appeared to like a drink … funny that!
Posted by telfie 
