Istanbul

We were all really looking forward to meeting up with Davey and Cath in Istanbul, so much so that Maxie felt very certain they were going to be there on 2 October (a full day earlier than they had actually planned). It didn't help that a Mr David Bryce was booked into room 531 at the Yasmak Sultan the morning of the 2 October. It took us all that morning to sort it out! It made their actual arrival on 3 October that much sweeter.

That week Turkey was still celebrating the end of Ramazan with three days of public holidays which the Istanbulles seemed to enjoy in massive gatherings on the streets and parks and bridges and mosques all over the city - much to our amazement.

By the second day Cath was starting to recover from her terrible London cold so we attempted the long walk from Sultanahmat, over the Galata Bridge, along the buzzy Istaklil Caddesi (Turkish for street) to unremarkable Taksim Square. On the way we took the lift to the viewing platform of the ancient Galata Tower for 360o views of this huge, spread out city straddling Europe, Asia and the Middle East. By now we had all very quickly fallen in love with the warm and wonderful Cath, and felt privileged to share the time with her.

She gave us a guided tour of Topshop in Istaklil Caddesi, giving us a great insight into her work for the store and some of the pressures she is constantly dealing with.

As always on our walks the shops with musical instruments are a great drawcard.

The Grand Bazaar was a maze of small Turkish handcraft, textile and designer rip off shops under a huge old, arcaded building the size of a small city block. As always Rob and Davey were attracted by the musical instruments.

We enjoyed the Spice Markets, adjacent to the busy Yeni Mosque, and full of tourists and locals buying up spices, teas, nuts, dried fruits and the irresistible and delicious sweets that we all associate with Turkey. Cath loves her tea so that was a big drawcard.

We only deal with men in Istanbul; the majority of women we see are restricted to parenting roles and looking virtuous in their decorous garb. The men in the Spice market make a "big thing" of their Turkish Viagra: dried figs!!

This picture was taken in Safran, one of the three Anatolian restaurants we tried in our week (almost) in Istanbul. We loved their gozlemes, a combination pide/pancake filled with your choice of spinach, cheese, ground meat or potato. They are made on the spot over a gas fired brazier, always by women in an ersatz Anatolian village kind of costume. They tasted great. This restaurant took the cheesiness factor a stage further by having a band playing traditional music and by handing out assorted veils and fez caps, which we tried to ignore.

It was impossible to ignore this little girl, in the restaurant with her mother, who was overcome by the music and found the urge to dance irresistible. She was fantastic!

Davey and Cath were our favourite couple in Istanbul. We shared so many funny stories and colourful vignettes of their lives together in London. In between the laughter we managed to squeeze in visits to the amazing Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the incredible Archeological Museum.

We started our last night in Istanbul at our favourite place: the terrace of the Yasmak Sultan, drinking our $10 Efes beers, laughing over the latest story and watching beautiful Hagia Sophia transform itself in the gathering dusk.

It turned very windy that night but we had to have one last, up close experience of this most beautiful 1500 year old church/mosque, the centrepiece of my Istanbul experience.

and the grandiose Blue Mosque, just opposite.

We left for home on 6 October after our wonderful (almost) 6 weeks of travel and Davey and Cath returned to London. It was incredible to meet Cath in Istanbul and to see Davey so happy with his life. We will love seeing them in Australia when they are able to make it and wish them both every happiness with whatever they are doing until we see them both again.