20 Hours in Istanbul

We have been home for almost two weeks. That may not excite you...but to our crew it is a welcome break from being on the road.
Twenty five years ago Ann and I were looking at apartments in downtown San Diego. The "Frost House" (the home of 19th century lumber barons) in Golden Hills was high on our list. The apartment was located in the attic of the historic home and had an incredible view of downtown and the harbor...if you didn't mind standing on on tiptoes to look out a small round window high in the gable. We have often talked about a thought we had as we looked out that window; A book titled "365 Sunsets from the Frost House"....we had the idea of mounting a camera in the window and taking one picture a day, every day, for one full year, at the same time of day and of the same view.
Nothing ever came of it, we didn't rent the apartment, but I have never forgotten the view or the idea.
Since we have been in one spot for more than a week and had some time to spare...I thought I would give you the Istanbul version of our decades old project. No spiffy names for this one...just watching a day pass by in Istanbul.

6pm

4am

2pm

Dracula, a Full Moon & Roman Ruins

We are home after a hectic few weeks of travel. Our route? Istanbul to Antalya, back to Istanbul thru Bulgaria to Romania, a stop in Bucharest and a return to Istanbul. The first half by car and the rest by train.
Stanley in Antioch Psidia

Our Romanian hotel was not too far from the lake and island where the grave of Count Dracula is located. Our schedule didn't have room for us to stop and pay our respects to the Count...figures, there was even a full moon for ambiance.
Now back in Istanbul there are just a few days to go before the kickoff of the The Silk Road Exp 07 and we are at full throttle with repacking and pulling all the loose ends together. We are really tired, but looking forward to a great season in the mountains.
Passing through Antioch Psidia Stanley played historian/archaeologist and tour guide. He had spent the weeks prior to our trip reading up on the Roman occupation of Central Anatolia.

Downtown Antioch

Bosfor Express

Elle and Stanley's Cabin

Crossing The Danube

The SRE07 will take in the Black Sea coastal villages of Turkey stopping in for several weeks at our Dogubeyazit digs and then concentrating on the Iran and Iraq border villages in southeast Turkey. The kickoff is approaching fast-- stay tuned!

Running on Fumes

Urgup Cave Pension

The last three months have zipped past us...and over us. We are running on fumes after logging about 10,000 overland miles crisscrossing Asia Minor.
We are home for 4 days and then off to Romania returning next week in time to pack our gear to hit the trail as the Silk Road Expedition 07 kicks off. July thru September is prime time for hanging with the nomadic tribes. More on the SRE07 next week before we lock and load for the summer run.

Elle and Stanley

Last Week's Visit to a Tarus Range Village Mosque

Istanbul Sirkeci

One of the only mega-city Train Stations in the world where all reservations and tickets are still drafted by hand and carbon paper. No computers, no Visa cards...everything is manually completed and filed on a clipboard. Even though it takes most of a day to get tickets...the nostalgia is worth the hassle.

8 Forms Filled Out for our Romania Run

Bad Cookie

Within a few days we should be ready to move into our new flat. The fixing up process took a turn for the worse last week and we ended up eating another remodel cookie. Plaster, paint, ceramic, plumbing and electrical...it all fell apart as soon as it was touched. The repairs were extensive and have left us tapped out financially and physically...the upside is that we are planning on making this our permanent Istanbul base. If that works out then the hassle will be worth it.

Over the past two weeks we have moved from winter to summer without stopping for spring. The pictures show a 3 week window of the seasons in our little corner of Asia.
Our Wandering Elle

Karakoy


Wrapping Up in the Aegean


Cesme


Artichokes

Falling Apart in Istanbul

After close to 5000 miles of travel we are back in Istanbul for a few weeks and have a major move across town, visitors from the States, and loads of writing ahead of us,(I don't seem to be "springing back' like I used to). An elderly friend of ours used to say "just relax and fall apart"...exactly what we plan on doing...soon. In the meantime we offer another Ocular Buffet for your peckish palates.
Elle Near Tatvan

Mountain Home

View From Our Window

Along the Syrian Border

Persian Village

The Kids And The Euphrates

Stanley In The Taurus Range

The Navigator, Babe, Boss Lady


Rockslide Near Samandag

Hummer

Our border to border run got off to a rough start. It must be my cycle of chaos because this month, our rent, insurance and other bills were all due on the same day…and that happened to be the same day our income was scheduled to arrive in our Stateside bank. With the Easter holiday things ran late. This tweaked our plans and kept us in Istanbul past our departure date to make sure everything was paid before we left…and to give us moolah for the miles.
My Ticket to Somnolence...Maybe
Being 10 hours ahead of PST we were sweating this one out…finally we saw via E that it was available. A quick run to the ATM made things worse. The transaction processed as usual, the receipt was issued, my card returned and the screen said “Please wait for your money”…and then, after several long minutes, a series of “ka-thunks”, a “ping” , the sound of bills being sorted, and the visible lurching of the cash withdrawal door unsuccessfully trying to open…ended with these words on the screen “Please try again, our connection was lost”. Another try, the same result and the score was now…Steward 0-ATM 2. According to the security guard at the bank the ATM “thinks” it dispensed the cash…twice.
Finally another ATM issued us enough to keep the landlord happy, the truck insured and get us on the road on a slim budget.
So…it is thus: 1:43am in Central Turkey after a long mountainous drive from Istanbul seasoned with a slightly stressful preceding 36 hours and I am tired but unable to sleep. We have an early departure planned with a 14 hour drive ahead of us through some of the most rugged terrain in Asia Minor. I must admit with shame that I indulged in a moment of self pity. For that, I apologize.
A look out the window of our ramshackle, 120 year old pansiyon and things got better. Just like the river outside my window…life flows. I am now going to hum like a monk, and try to drift to somnolence.

Out and Back

Eğirdir Gölü near Isparta

The gods of compositional chemistry are active again and we are heeding the call to head east and then south into the Taurus Range to research and write before turning full east to the Iranian border. Adana, Antakya, and Dogubeyazit are our first stops…our return route should take us through Kapadokia if time permits.
Picking up on our UK gear-up fiasco from December, we have found an outfitter who can add the necessary outback gear to our truck…just 900km away from Istanbul.
We are planning on a lightning strike trip out and back, hopefully home within a few weeks. Keep your eyes on the “Global Nomads Live Window” for GPS and brief updates.

Petri Dish Party

Disasters make for good literature, and while quaint doors beckon of quaint interiors...our week in Greece was a complete mess. The village life of this island was beautiful, if you could live outdoors…but in our little rental things went toes up fast.

The Setting? A mostly abandoned village (for a reason), a 1000 year old dwelling in a medieval wall, big bugs in the bed, and sewage floating thru the house made for some lasting memories…not good ones, but memories nonetheless. It was a long 10 days.

We are in the middle of nuking our gear clean and a reboot for a departure towards the mountains within the next few days. More later. For now...we will show the beauty of Greece...minus the beast.

Oh Thank Heaven...for 7/11

I have had a lifelong relationship with 7/11 stores. Several of my uncles were the first to buy into the Southland Corporation’s franchise back in the mid-60’s. And being a San Diego based outfit, there are 7/11’s everywhere you look in SoCal. I worked at 7/11…got fired from 7/11 and rehired at 7/11 as a teenager. As an adult working the streets of SD, 7/11 was an hourly stop. They were family. 7/11 is uniquely Southern California culture.


For 25 years I had a Super Big Gulp within arms reach 24 hours a day. One superbly crafted 64oz plastic cup lasted me 15 years. From the PD to Montana, Oregon, France, Beirut and back to Los Angeles, it traveled as my own personal beverage butler. Due to worries over its life expectancy it remained behind when we made the move to Istanbul.

Imagine our surprise to be cruising along in southwestern Turkey a few weeks ago and run across this vision…this mirage of ice cold beverage beguilements a world away from home. While the sign, logo, and association were valid, nothing inside was familiar. No Slurpee’s, no Big Gulps, no Hot Dogs. There wasn’t even an ATM stuck in the corner next to the magazine rack.
Beguiling Beverage Blowout

It is true when they say you can’t go home. Can you do a favor for this poor guy on the far side of the world? Go to 7/11 today and buy a Super Big Gulp (Dr. Pepper please), sit in the parking lot and sip it while you sing “Oh Thank Heaven for 7/11’s Baseball Trading Cups”. You sip...I'll smile, and life will be good.

Boots Up

Yeah! Boots Up
Within the next few hours we will be driving south, and then west to the Aegean Sea. From there we are hoping to hop a cheap ferry to a remote, cold (winter here still) and little visited Greek Island rich in Christian and Islamic history.
We have some island interviews scheduled for our Adventure Columns and are linking those with a mandatory Visa renewal. We will be "boots up" for the next 8 days.
After That? Our spring season is busy;

• A move across Istanbul to digs closer to our Istanbullu family (now I won't have to walk to be force fed)
• Set up of our mountain base apartment in Dogubeyazit (just floors and walls right now)
• Hooking up with the tribal nomads as they start migrating to higher climes.
• Village life under the stars
  Not sure of the timing and details...just flowing as the days dictate.

Prone to Wander

In a moment lacking in subtlety one of the prettier members of our crew (anonymity demanded) made the following comment; Dad needs to be on the move constantly. He could never settle down…anywhere.
While I thought that was a bit harsh I was assured that it was intended as a compliment and not a slight. I held off on my response until yesterday when we passed this family owned basement workshop, located in 500 year old Ottoman craftsmen quarter deep in a hidden Istanbul neighborhood far from the tourist’s traps and reeking of surliness and surprise. It was certainly not a place for the timid to tread.
Wading through the clutter and speckled with flying chips I talked with the owner and agreed to return for çay and a longer visit. I walked away from this jewel of a find and the promise of a friendship—a bit richer for wandering on the far side of the world. Prone to wander—Lord I feel it.

World Wide Trouble Makers

With Levent & Kemal
You've got good friends when they are happier than you are when you finally get wheels. Our first stop was a mandatory Turkish inspection by our Istanbullu family. Without a word I gave up the keys and they were off on a test drive while I tended their shops. Only in Turkey can a SoCal boy get a car, lose it 5 minutes later, then inherit and run a cell phone shop and dry cleaners while the owners joy ride in his new truck. You know its home when it all seems normal.

Turkish Trickery

I have a low tolerance for surprises, my pride and previous responsibilities have taught me to avoid them at all costs. Having said that, I have discovered that the most intimate member of my crew has been in collusion with our good friend Levent and his clever clan.
"Patron" The Boss of this Family

These dear friends have been sailing under false colors, meaning that I bought their bill of goods, hook…line…and sinker, and fell prey to an afternoon of food, fun and fecklessness in remembrance of my arrival to this planet 45 years ago.
While I must protest for the sake of posterity…I am helpless in the presence of good Turkish cooking and look forward to next year. I suspect nothing.
With Begum


The Spread

Bags from the Beach

It’s the little things in life that can make your day. Some great friends in Lompoc, California have kept in touch with our wandering crew by sending online gift certificates for the holidays and birthdays from a stateside bookstore.

The kids have spent hours online browsing through books and DVD’s before making their choice and pushing the “send” button. The expectation builds each day as they watch for the mailman and the “big blue bag”. 3-4 weeks after ordering it arrives after swerving through Sweden.
This is our 4th “blue bag” that we have received while here in Istanbul from our SoCal beach buds & buddettes….Thanks, you have given us a little bit of home this week.

A Very Exciting Day

Under pressure from several fronts on my recent attempts to strain the dregs of my satirical soup, I was disinclined to acquiesce and post second-rate updates until today’s mutiny. So, with little pleasure, I bring to you our “day in pictures”…the product of anarchy in our home and the responsibility of the juvenile delinquent members of our crew.



That pretty much sums up our day. Exciting Hmmmm?