More poetry
The mosaics in the Chora church were really fantastic and inspired me to Poesy: I am a Pasha With a hat I wear my turban Just like that Some people say That it’s too fat But I am THE Pasha And this is MY hat.
Read moreCategory: Cycling
Interview with Sid and Doris after Phase 1
Q: So the Epic Journey to Istanbul has delivered! What changes did you make as you went along? Doris: I think we became a little more fixated on Istanbul as a destination as we went on, and that straightened the route out and meant less sightseeing. We didn’t go to some bits of Bulgaria and Romania that we originally had…
Read moreDay 53 Sightseeing in Istanbul
In which Sid and Doris go to the Topkapi Palace, after several trips to Istanbul this is apparently their first timeToday were we not sure if we would find some esoteric thing to see, bimble around our neighbourhood here or Do A Sight. On our way down the hill looking for cafes we found the Plaster Board Museum and certainly…
Read moreScheduled Route Re-Plan #2
The Epic Journey was originally conceived of in three parts, adding up to 16 weeks plus a bit in the UK to get home from the ferry:1. An outward leg to somewhere Epic2. A slower bit with some free time taking ferries across to Greece and Italy and having some chill-out time en route, eating leetle feeshes in harbour towns…
Read moreDay 52 On holiday in Istanbul
In which Sid and Doris visit the Rahmi Koc collection of almost everything Rahmi Koc is the main shareholder of Koc Holdings which is the largest company in Turkey. They own Tofas (see Posts passim), they build Ford trucks, they build the Army’s tanks, they own the biggest electrical goods business. Rahmi is a collector with means, which means he…
Read moreBalconies
“This is my flat.It is part of a larger house. When the house was built nobody had balconies.Now we all have balconies, and mine is very traditional, with windows and wooden walls.People point to my balcony and say ‘That balcony will soon fall off the building’.I know they are just jealous.”
Read moreWhat do you think about when not cycling?
1. Domes “We in Turkey love domes. We can make any building shape you like out of domes. We make big ones then smaller ones round the edge, then smaller ones to fill in the bits. Some people build their religious buildings with sloping roofs with straight edges but they are wrong, and we must kill them. Other people build…
Read moreDay 51 Decompressing in Istanbul
In which Sid and Doris see another side of Turkey by public transport (Istanbul not a good place to cycle).After seven days on the trot of cycling, this morning we did not get up and fold all our clothes and electricals into two Ortlieb panniers and set off onto a hot road. We went to a cafe with real coffee…
Read moreRoute Review of Part 1
As we continue to crouch round the PC trying to plan Phase 2 with spreadsheets of road/climb distance, ferry timings, hotel availability, we are looking back to Phase 1 and what actually happened to the route. Two main things :1. We found that 100km a day and 1,000m of up was quite enough, and in fact shouldn’t be repeated day…
Read more
Day 50 Boyalik to Istanbul
In which Sid and Doris leave the sad airport hotel and cycle down the airport motorway until they can break onto country roads to Saray with its Istanbul ferry stop.
Read more