A day and a night in Istanbul.

The first thing I did in Istanbul was buy a Kebab. I strutted out the station it was 10:30, turned left and used two europes to pay for it, I didnt even change currency. I was told it would take ten minutes to cook but im an impatient person and after five I said that the meat looked good enough and I would take it there and then. This decision would turn out to be a mistake. It was still 11:00 on the 21st and what was going to turn out to be a mighty affliction was currently a greasy after taste.

I had met three Germans on the train they had made a pamphlet for a four week holiday. This pamphlet was something to see, something to write home about. Extremely impressive, itinerary, bookings, timetables, even directions from stations to pre booked guest houses. But the Germans couldn't have planned for the ash cloud and of a group of five only three had made it.

They had two spare reservations and after seeing the travel rubrix they had constructed, I trusted their good judgement. The Hostel was in Suhltamet in the old city just behind the Blue Mosque and Aya Sophia. It had a roof terrace with a view of the Bosporus. Well done Germans.

I checked in dumped my stuff and headed straight to the Aya Sophia. I bum ancient rome, and classics, I really do, its a sad, pathetic, pleasure of mine so I couldnt wait to the old cathedral. Built in 532 finished in 537 in an unbelievable five years, on the orders of emperor Justinian, the church of Holy wisdom is an incredible achievement and a awe inspiring building. The great dome is so high and so massive, one cant really gather the scale, except feel it. The mosaics are rich and ornate, the light warm and golden, this was Byzantium at its best. The Mosque which was a Church is now a Museum. Its a great shame it is not some religions place of worship as its a bit like bells without ringing, but like Jerusalem, everybody wants a piece.

The Aya Sophia leads out onto the old hippodrome of Constantinople. You would have to know it was there to see it. Not much is left except the track which are now roads, and its centre is now a  long thin park. In the middle, in what was once the spine of the Hippodrome, three columns, the most interesting being a spiral column cast by the Greeks from Persain weapons and dating back to 2,487 years old; which exemplifies the age of Istanbul.

I went back to the Hostel and had met a pair of Americanas studying in spain, but travelling europe. They brought some beers and I brought some wine and we headed up to the roof terrace. It was going to be a short night but the bars kept getting re-booted. The Bayern game was on and the Germans wanted to watch it. In the lobby they met us. "Ve have made reservations for 8.45" Superb. They were like my own personal holiday PA.

It cost 10 Turkeys for a pint, which is 5 Europes, which is about 4 Europes more than I was willing to pay. The Americanas weren't happy with the pricing either so we headed into Taxim, It was here I made a further dietary mistake, I saw a man selling Oysters for 1 Turkey. I brought a pair then slopped them down with some lemon. They were lip smackingly good but turned out to be gut wrenchingly bad. No problems yet, so we hit another bar, and drank some more booze, we were all sozzled, I was steaming.

We left and went for some shisha, I ordered a lemon tea, then a mint tea. With the booze and the tea and the smoke, I was pretty relaxed but Istanbul waits for no man. We crammed six into a taxi and headed back to sultanhamet. The city had got under my skin and on the way back an Amercana and I went to another bar, we brought the group with us. This action and the drinks we brought were completely unnecessary and we paid for it in the morning.

Istanbul is feast for the sences, it is sensational, one of the great cities of the world. That evening as I lay in my bunk, with the visions of four people savouring a sloppy but enjoyable evening, I felt a twist in my gut, like a man making a fist in my stomach. Thats odd I thought, must have been the booze.
It wasnt the booze.