2013 Eastern Europe

Postcards from:

Istanbul Turkey
Sofia Bulgaria
Belgrade Serbia
Bar Montenegro
Bijelo Polje Montenegro
Peje Kosovo
Pristina Kosovo
Budapest Hungary
Bratislava Slovakia
Warsaw Poland
Gdansk Poland
Braniewo Poland
Kaliningrad Russia Federation
Las Vegas, Nevada USA

Istanbul - Entrance to the $72 four star Hotel Prince where I stayed back in 2001 and now again for my first two nights in the city. Poor WiFi signals and one of the lesser desirable rooms prompted me to cut my stay short.

Istanbul - Entrance to the $72 four star Hotel Prince where I stayed my first two nights in the city. The breakfast buffet is still excellent, but masked Muslim women and their noisy kids spoiled the experience both of my days there.

Istanbul - Entrance to the $72 four star Hotel Prince where I stayed my first two nights in the city. Poor WiFi signals and one of the lesser desirable rooms prompted me to cut my stay short.

Istanbul - Decorated gate into the museum grounds.

Istanbul - This dog sat watching tourists come and go at the entrance to the museum grounds. A cargo ship passes on the Bosphorus in the background.

Istanbul - Looking out across the Bosporus at the Asian side from the hill on which sits the Hagia Sophia.

Istanbul - One of the gates into the museum grounds.

Istanbul - Tour bus sits at the group entrance to the Hagia Sophia.

Istanbul - Another shot of the Hagia Sophia.

Istanbul - One of the discarded photos of the Hagia Sophia contained this image of an Asian fellow who appears to be wearing an American Revolution military hat and chest strap.

21 January 2013

Greetings from Istanbul... again,

This is a continuation of the Kurdistan 2012 story and follows visits to northern Iraq and several notable central and eastern cities in Turkey during the past three months.

... The over night bus from Aydin arrived before dawn in the Istanbul otogar. At 05:00 nothing is open, not even the Metro subway. So, I walked around the area of bus agent offices inquiring about schedules for buses into Bulgaria. When the Metro underground started running at 06:00 I bought a 3TL jeton (token) and rode into Anksaray and then walked over to the Tram line to get down to the Serkeci stop near the Hotel Prince. I'd hoped one of the guys I'd met twelve years ago might still be working there, but no luck. I booked a room for two nights after negotiating a 130TL rate. The room I got was much smaller than what I remember from my earlier stay and the WiFi functioned poorly and the breakfast failed to meet my expectations.

During my hotel shopping exercise I found a cute little boutique hotel behind the Hagia Sophia and booked it for two nights at a negotiated rate of 105TL. The WiFi in the Hotel Valide Sultan Konagi is strong and works well, but the lobby computer is set up for Turkish users only and we were unable to get a QWERTY keyboard mapped. The top floor dining room where the breakfast buffet is served

On my third day in the city I realized my 90 day visa would soon expire so I dashed out to the airport for a consultation with the tourist police handling foreigner visas. They spoke on English and were no help at all. My original 90 day visa will expire on Tuesday, 29 January, so I must make plans to get into Bulgaria before then.

Tires rolling over cobble stones make a loud and distinctive sound clearly announcing a vehicle approaching from behind well in advance of it actually reaching where you are... usually. Yesterday during the 14:00 calls to prayer there was so much noise being made by all the holy yellers I failed to hear a yellow cab racing down a narrow street behind me. The sidewalk ahead of where I walked had a construction barrier blocking the exit from a tunnel like structure which I noticed just as I reached it. Stepping off the curb to walk around the obstruction the racing cab missed my foot by inches. Fortunately, my survival instinct created a reflex that bounced me back up on the sidewalk and out of harm's way, but it was close.

My stay in the Princess Hotel for the last night in Istanbul allowed me to be somewhat closer to the bus station. Previous scouting trips established the only company heading into Bulgaria would be the Metro Bus at 14:00 for a seven hour trip to Sofia... assuming no unexpected delays along the way. More in the next postcard from Bulgaria.

Peace,

Fred L Bellomy

Map of Turkey: click on map for scalable version.

Istanbul - Another view of the Hagia Sophia as I wandered around the area crowded with tourists.

Istanbul - Performance ice cream vender entertains children and adults alike with his humorous preparation and delivery of ice cream cones to delighted kids. Part magician, part child psychologist and just a big kid himself, walking by his window is a treat for all.

Istanbul - At first you see it and then you don't. Performance ice cream vender entertains children and adults alike with his humorous preparation and delivery of ice cream cones to delighted kids. Part magician, part child psychologist and just a big kid himself, walking by his window is a treat for all.

Istanbul - Tour bus sits at the entrance to the Hagia Sophia.

Istanbul - View of the rear group tour entrance to Hagia Sophia.

Link here to go to the full Istanbul 2013 postcard page with all photos.

Istanbul - Tour entrance to the Hagia Sophia just up the street from the Hotel Valide Sultan Konagi where I stayed two nights.

Istanbul - Derelict property near the shore of the Sea of Marmara just waiting for someone to convert it into another boutique hotel

Istanbul - Derelict property near the shore of the Sea of Marmara just waiting for someone to convert it into another boutique hotel.

Istanbul - Another derelict property near the shore of the Sea of Marmara just waiting for someone to convert it into a beautiful boutique hotel.

Istanbul - This building appears about to fall down, but eventually will be converted into another boutique hotel.

Istanbul - A detailed look at a portion of the city's defensive wall being destroyed by erosion.

Istanbul - "Hey! Where is the cone? I can't hold the ice cream in my hand without one!" Performance ice cream vender entertains children and adults alike with his humorous preparation and delivery of ice cream cones to delighted kids. Part magician, part child psychologist and just a big kid himself, walking by his window is a treat for all.

Istanbul - Swinging that long metal "scooper" around he hits a cow bell hanging above and fools the kids with a magician's repertoire of tricks that delight everyone. Performance ice cream vender entertains children and adults alike with his humorous preparation and delivery of ice cream cones.

Istanbul - A portion of the city's defensive wall facing the Sea of Marmara.