Midnight Express

I couldn't come to Istanbul for a few days and not make a posting. For folks who know me from work theres a bad man there who provided me a bad Santa Christmas present of the movie Midnight Express and a tub of Vaseline in preparation for my trip here. Lovely people I worked with...
I'm pleased to announce that I'm not only not in prison but I've also not spoken to any police in Turkey at all. It turns out though that the now infamous Sultanhamet prison is just around the corner from my hotel and although I've not been in it there's been a huge refurbishment and its now a Four Seasons hotel.

Since my last posting I've made it out of Bulgaria down through some very unassuming roads to a fairly small border with Turkey. The ride along the motorway from there was pretty easy and then I descended upon Istanbul where I managed to get involved in what seems to be my standard two hours navigating a foreign city. It's a quick readjustment to driving styles here with a lot happening and a load of demands on your attention. I gave up on indicating because it's just a distraction and I just try to move predictably and smoothly. To be honest I've seen similar driving elsewhere in the world, I'm not spooked and got into it quite quickly.

Meanwhile, Ive not said much about the bike yet and I'm aware of that. I have to say that the main reason for this is that so far the roads have been in the main pretty good and the bike has just taken everything I can throw at it. Long may it last. Currently it's in at Borusan Oto for an early service before the off tomorrow and I'll see what it's like to ride knobblies on the road as the Metzeler Karoo's are fitted.

By the time I made it to the hotel I'd been bitten. There's something about Istanbul that struck me straight away. An earlier posting noted that I quite like cities with a little of a rough edge and there's a good few here. There's also an energy, some amazing history, fantastic architecture and the location by the Bosphorus is spectacular, both on and off the water. I'm also partial to a kebab so all the grilled meat is just fine.

In the city I've visited the Hagia Sophia, Cistern, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, had a fantastic experience (without Vaseline) at the Cemberlitas Hamam, been on the city bus tour, a Bosphorus cruise as well as eating and drinking to my hearts content. Another treat of mines is to have an open blade shave so I've managed a haircut and cut throat too (not literally).
Unfortunately the wet and dull weather that's largely followed me from Budapest has caught up with me here now. If you have a look at the flickr photos you'll see some clouds on the way although it's not been all bad.

Before I Ieft Aberdeen Alamo put me in touch with a guy called Hasan who he met on a California Superbike School session previously. On Friday I met up with Hasan, his friend Murathan and their lovely wives in the Balickci Sabahattin close to where I'm staying. Although turning up an hour early due to some brainstorm in setting my watch an hour fast I had a great night, very tasty food, a few glasses of raki and a load of good ideas about a route through Turkey. Murathan brought out his computer and showed me photos from a fairly recent bike trip he had almost to the Armenian border, they were fascinating and I'm looking forward to getting to post some similar ones on flickr in a week or two.

As a closing note for this post I'll wish Hasan all the best as he tears around the Pyrenees on his current trip. I look forward to hearing how this went.