July 5, 2011

• The Silk Road Overland
  Saturday 2 July 2011
  
  I’m flying FlyDubai to Istanbul early tomorrow morning. This is the starting point of my summer travels, but because of the early take-off, I’ve decided to book a hotel room near the airport – to avoid having to get up at 3.00 AM and drive from Fujairah. And since I’m staying at a hotel tonight, I guess my summer travels starts today.

  There’s nothing noteworthy to report from my first day of travels, except for one thing. When I got to my hotel room at HolidayInn, I discovered that although I had free access to a kettle, tea bags and sugar/creamer, there was no complimentary water bottle. I went down to reception and bought a bottle of water, but I couldn’t help commenting on the fact that this was probably the first time in my life I’d checked in to a hotel having to pay for the first bottle of water. The confident receptionist told me that this was because I was staying at a HolidayInn Express. On regular HolidayInn hotels the water is free.

  So now I know that.

  The Silk Road Overland
  Sunday 3 July 2011
  
  I guess my Istanbul to Xi’an Silk Road overland trip started when I touched down at Sabiha International Airport in Istanbul at 11.55 AM today. The airport reminded me of Stockholm Arlanda Airport a bit because of the forests and meadows I saw here and there when the shuttle bus left the airport for Taksim Square. Apparently, it’s the new up-and-coming airport in Istanbul.

  As I want this to be an overland journey, my first task was to get to the train station and book a train for Adana near the Syrian border (Antioch, near Adana, was a major Silk Road town). However, I was completely unsuccessful. All the trains to Adana (or Kars or Tetvan) were fully booked for the next four days. In the end, I managed to book an overnight train ride to Ankara for 4th July and one for Adana for the following day. I don’t hate coaches or anything, but I’m extremely biased towards trains, on the verge of being a train fanatic.

  Right now, the main impact of being in Istanbul is the weather: below 30C in the day and around 25C in the evening. What a welcome break from Fujairah! A guy referring to himself as George Clooney managed to convince me I should try his restaurant around the corner from my hotel in Sultanahmet. I don’t regret it: the kofta was great and the oversized cushions way too comfortable. I almost fell asleep between finishing my meal and paying my bill.

  The Silk Road Overland
  Monday 4 July 2011
  
  I decided to start the day by joining going to the Phaner Orthodox Patriarchate for Orthros (matins or morning prayers). Obviously Orthros used to be a big deal in Hagia Sophia, but since 1453, it’s been downsized considerably. Today, there were only four monks and a priest. They seemed a bit thrown by my presence: the parts where they monks are bowing towards the congregation became a tad imprecise. I got the impression that very few people ever join in with the morning or evening prayers. A pity, since the Patriarch of Constantinople still resides in Istanbul and there is a church which is open every day (8AM-4PM).

  Around 10AM, I met with a colleague from Fujairah, Umur. We went to see the Basilica Cistern, which was absolutely beautiful. It’s underground and the lighting is gorgeous. It was built in the 6th century. I’ve been to Istanbul five times before but never seen it. Why I have skipped it before, I do not know!

  Next, we went to the Grand Bazaar. Since this is a Silk Road trip, the bazaar was a must. Istanbul was one of two major western end points for the ancient Silk Road. After the bazaar visit, Umur, who is from Turkey, ordered the best dish at a nearby restaurant, I can tell. His Iskander kebab with yoghurt and melted cheese looked extremely yummy. Always order what the locals have, when shall I learn this? (My chicken kebab was OK, but not spectacular.)

  My afternoon plan – to visit Istanbul Modern and have a big mug of English tea at Starbucks while using their WiFi – failed on all accounts. Istanbul Modern is closed on Mondays, and Starbucks don’t do English tea in Turkey, nor do they have free WiFi access (you need a local mobile number). They didn’t say they don’t do English tea because this is Turkey and we should all have Turkish tea, but I still got that feeling from the way the Starbucks guy was looking at me. Now, somehow I can’t imagine the same happening with coffee: Starbucks only doing Turkish coffee in Turkey. Don’t think so! Be that as it may, I eventually found a great cafe/bar with free WiFi and a view of the Blue Mosque so all was well with the world by mid-afternoon.

  The ferry trip across the Bosphorus to Haydarpasha train station on the Asian side was magical. The sky after sunset was a strong fiery orange and the blue water a sort of cobalt blue.

  The overnight Ankara Express was a fabulous train. It looked brand new and was very comfy. I particularly liked the fridge and the slippers. I slept like a log. Also, the train left on the second and arrived 30 seconds early.

  • 9:47 am
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