Woken at 4.39 by the call to prayer broadcast from the local mosque. Breakfast in the hotel restaurant was the usual fare of fresh bread, goats cheese, tomato, olives, cucumber and sliced meat.
We went for a wander at 9.30 to an Internet cafe then had morning tea of Turkish coffee and baklava at one of the many cafes. There are a lot of men sitting around everywhere, in cafes or on the street outside shops, lots of barber shops - a real man's world! Lots of young guys on scooters, dogs lying in the sun, horse or donkey drawn carts trundling through the streets among the cars. A large number of cellphone shops, but no evidence of young people with iPods at all. Dogs roam around the streets but know how to keep out of trouble. The hotel is right beside the main pedestrian shopping area so is very close and handy. John cleaned the bikes, then we went for lunch with Alan to one of the nearby restaurants. We had fresh bread served with a stiff yoghurt, tomato salad, and meat balls. Meat balls are a speciality of this region.
It was a very pleasant temperate of around 30 today.
After lunch we had a siesta for a couple of hours, then went for another wander around the streets. Bought about a kilo of fresh Turkish delight and returned to the hotel to share it with others while sitting on the balcony having a beer. At 6.30 we went to dinner nearby with Jos, Carl and Rita, and Alan. Similiar fare as to lunch, with different meat. A request for duck saw chicken wings delivered to some! It is a bit of a lucky dip to ask for specific foods sometimes!
Meals are all accompanied with large slices of very fresh crusty white bread and greasy french fries. A beautiful evening, we sat up on the third floor with large opening windows. Returned to the hotel at 9 and headed for bed. Our room has orange walls and carpet which might have been the same colour once but now is a dirty dull pink, with many stains and cigarette burns. Feet go
straight into jandals to avoid touching the floor! We are one of the lucky rooms with airconditioning, so don't have to sleep with the windows open - it is very noisy outside.
Only 220 kilometers to Istanbul, we are nearly at the end of our journey.
We went for a wander at 9.30 to an Internet cafe then had morning tea of Turkish coffee and baklava at one of the many cafes. There are a lot of men sitting around everywhere, in cafes or on the street outside shops, lots of barber shops - a real man's world! Lots of young guys on scooters, dogs lying in the sun, horse or donkey drawn carts trundling through the streets among the cars. A large number of cellphone shops, but no evidence of young people with iPods at all. Dogs roam around the streets but know how to keep out of trouble. The hotel is right beside the main pedestrian shopping area so is very close and handy. John cleaned the bikes, then we went for lunch with Alan to one of the nearby restaurants. We had fresh bread served with a stiff yoghurt, tomato salad, and meat balls. Meat balls are a speciality of this region.
It was a very pleasant temperate of around 30 today.
After lunch we had a siesta for a couple of hours, then went for another wander around the streets. Bought about a kilo of fresh Turkish delight and returned to the hotel to share it with others while sitting on the balcony having a beer. At 6.30 we went to dinner nearby with Jos, Carl and Rita, and Alan. Similiar fare as to lunch, with different meat. A request for duck saw chicken wings delivered to some! It is a bit of a lucky dip to ask for specific foods sometimes!
Meals are all accompanied with large slices of very fresh crusty white bread and greasy french fries. A beautiful evening, we sat up on the third floor with large opening windows. Returned to the hotel at 9 and headed for bed. Our room has orange walls and carpet which might have been the same colour once but now is a dirty dull pink, with many stains and cigarette burns. Feet go
straight into jandals to avoid touching the floor! We are one of the lucky rooms with airconditioning, so don't have to sleep with the windows open - it is very noisy outside.
Only 220 kilometers to Istanbul, we are nearly at the end of our journey.
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