Istanbul: Hardly "Nobody's Business but the Turks"

Arriving at the uber-modern Ataturk airport in Istanbul last night, any preconceptions I had about the place were shattered.

I suppose that I didn't really know what to expect. Probably something along the lines of Marrakesh or Casablanca (though Istanbul is significantly bigger than either), but my visit to Delhi (with the international airport shielded by a corrugated tin roof!) has taught me not to set my expectations too high.

If anything, upon arriving I felt a strange mixture of China (with recently developed infrastructure such as the lovely airport and the light rail train that I took into the centre of the city) and France, of which the old town (Constantinople proper) is highly reminiscent. Really, Istanbul feels like it could just be any other city in Europe with ubiquitous mosques substituting for churches. Perhaps the Ikea adverts add to this ambiance.

In any case, I spent most of yesterday and today exploring. Last night, after finding a place to stay the night, I wandered down to the Galata bridge to see the sea. I have never in my life seen such a bridge though, with restaurants tucked neatly underneath,presumably floating or somehow attached to the undergirdings of the bridge. I was fascinated, so decided to eat there.

I found a place playing almost haunting (but very enjoyable!) live music, and sat outside to enjoy the view despite the chill. I supped on a rather plain (and worryingly chewy) steak baguette chased down with a beer as I was transported by the music and the scenery. Occasionally, one of the fisherpeople (who were fishing from on top of the bridge, so their lines basically went down into the water right in front of me) would haul up their catch: fish the size of an adult finger. Seemed to me a rather fruitless (or at least highly labour intensive!) task for a Saturday night, but they didn't seem to mind and the fish were plentiful if small.

Today I made it to the Hagia Sofia church/mosque/museum and saw the underground cistern. Tomorrow we'll try crossing the bridge and making a triumphant return to Asia before I head off to Cairo! Three continents in one day wouldn't be too bad for a day's non-work, would it?

Now let's see if I can get out of here before the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, returns from the US and decides it's time to invade Iraq... Last night as I was wandering around Istanbul I stumbled across a rail yard and saw lines of army trucks sitting as cargo on a train. Don't know where it was headed for sure, but it doesn't take much of an imagination to guess!