Istanbul

From where I am standing my eyes narrow from the dazzling light reflecting from the sea of Marmora. Turning my head to the left I can see the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. The score of ugly commercial vessels lying at anchor were moving against the relentless tides, failed to distract from the past glories of this place - this meeting of waters and of 2 great continents with their widely divergent cultures, we are of course in Istanbul.

The most exotic and enduring of our destinations it is also sadly, where this particular journey must end. As usual Jonny has selected our hotel wisely, since it is in easy walking distance of the 4 'must see' places: The Great Bazaar, Aya Sofia, Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque, I wont bore you by describing them all in detail.

The atmosphere that most distinguishes Istanbul from all that we have experienced before on this journey is the bustling trade. This city of 14 million souls is a heaving mass of commerce: new produce being delivered up alleyways by hand carts, servants running with trays of tea and coffee to merchants who don't dare leave their shops, incessant but good humoured approaches from shoe shiners, shoe sellers, carpet salesman and even restaurateurs to convince us of their best intentions for our welfare.

And weaving through all of this like a miasma are the complex aromas of the Orient: roasted chestnuts, coffee and a world of spices. The experience cannot of changed in 5 centuries.
For anyone who wants to understand the background to this remarkable country, you could hardly do better than to read "Inside the Seraglio" by John Freely. This wonderful book describes the inner life of the Sultans that ruled over the Ottoman empire for 500 years. At its zenith this Turkish empire extended from the eastern borders of Persia across much of North Africa and the Middle East and to the fringes of Austria.