Turkeys M Hideaways Day 2
Turkeys M Hideaways
Day 2 - 04/08/06 Arrive in Istanbul
After a few hours of sleep, we awoke to the smell of coffee and the sounds of the bustle of morning procedures. Looking at my watch I saw we had 90 minutes before landing to clean up a bit and have breakfast.
After a 9 hour flight we landed in Frankfurt at 11 AM and went right to the Business Lounge next to our arrival gate, B25. We found a computer stall and spent a few minutes organizing the photos and catching up on the first day's journal. Our gate B50 was in the same terminal, but down a level. We had to go through passport control and then security again. Our flight was late coming in, so we sat in the waiting area for about an hour before boarding a bus that took us to the tarmac and our trip to Istanbul.
The flight was only 2.5 hours and we were able to make up a little time as we crossed the Alps and then headed south over checkerboard fields and the lands of Eastern Europe. When we landed in Istanbul we had to proceed to Immigration and stand in line only to find out we had missed a stop, the visa check-point. We went back to another line, paid our $20 each for a Turkish Stamp, our "get into Turkey" pass! Then it was back to passport control and we were granted admittance. We found our luggage easily, it had been marked priority, and went straight through customs, which was a wave and smile only!
Our OAT airport representative met our flight and led us to a taxi. It was raining and most people were bundled up and complaining about the weather! We followed the route near the Sea of Marmara and saw the ancient walls of the Ottoman Empire. We arrived at our hotel near the historic Sultanahmet neighborhood, where we were shown to our room. The building was once an old palace, now remodeled to accommodate visitors to this historic and beautiful county. We were able to ask for a larger room and moved right away, the view is not as lovely, but it is a bit larger with higher ceilings than those on the second floor. We settled in, unpacked a few things and I discovered I had not reloaded the drivers for the wireless system on the computer so we could not use the wi-fi system in the hotel. Even after borrowing a laptop from the front desk, I was not successful.
We met our tour director, Meltem, who gave us a brief orientation. Because of our late flight from Denver, we had missed the lunch and city tour with the group. But we did meet everyone and have a chance to get to know them a bit. We asked directions to the nearest internet café and were told by the desk clerk to go past the historic Blue Mosque, over the tram, and we would find someone who knew how to get there. The first gentleman we asked gave us specific instructions, even to the point of leaving his shop to take us a block and pointed out the exact spot! We climbed two flights of stairs, found the smoky internet café and proceeded to learn a new keyboard in Turkish - and we thought those in France were different!!!! The people in the café were so helpful and kept checking on us to see if we needed any help.
As we left the internet café we walked down the block and saw a kebab shop on the corner. As we looked, the proprietor came out, welcomed us, gave us a sample and we were hooked. I ordered the chicken and Gennie the beef. They wrap the meat in a thin pita (like a tortilla) and add pickled vegetables. It was delicious. They waved goodbye to us and we walked home. Once back, I decided I was going to get my camera and go out to take a few night shots. With some puddles, reflections, and the lighting, many people were out photographing the sites.
As I returned to our room, Gennie had done most of the typing so I had to proof-read and add a few notes. At 11 PM we had finished, showered and were ready to go to bed.
Accommodations: Sultanahmet Sarayi Hotel - - - Meals: B, L, D
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