David's Diary: Sunday, June 29, 2003

Istanbul in Sixteen Hours

We need to make our way to Istanbul because tomorrow Jocelyn's friend Nabiha is arriving from Tunisia. Karalee and Allen are going to stay on the boat to have some time to themselves, while Jocelyn, Kevin, and I drive to Istanbul. We picked up a rental car this morning and left Bodrum just after 09:00. The road leading North from Bodrum had two lanes in each direction. It followed the coastline providing us with spectacular views of the sea. After a couple of hours of driving the road became a two-lane highway and our progress slowed as we headed inland and passed many of fields.

Ephesus

Around lunch time we arrived at the ancient site of Ephesus. The site is well preserved and provides a feeling for what life was like in Roman times. Ephesus was a Roman Provincial Capital. St. Paul lived in Ephesus for three years and founded a sizable Christian congregation. This is the second place where we have heard about St. Paul. The first was when we were in Malta. St. Paul was shipwrecked on Malta for three months and is credited with making Malta the Christian nation that it still is today.

Library of Celsus

We entered the site and walked along the dusty paths trying to imagine the streets thronging with people. Modern engineering principles were used with water and waste being carried through pipes under the marble flagstones. A highlight of our visit was the Library of Celsus. The imposing facade is still standing, but only a few of the 12,000 niches carved in the walls to hold scrolls remain.

Great Theatre

It was blazing hot as the sunlight was reflected off the walkways and buildings. We walked to the Great Theatre and sat down on the ancient seats to have a rest. At its peak the theatre could hold up to 25,000 people. The seats further up are pitched more steeply to provide a better view and acoustics to all of the audience.

Night Ferry

We left Ephesus in the early afternoon and ate some sandwiches in the car while we were on our way. We still had a long way to go and all through the afternoon we continued along crowed two-lane highways. It was not unusual to have thirty cars lined up behind a lumbering farmer's truck, before a gap appeared and we could all start passing.

The car rental agency had recommended that we take the ferry at Yalova to Istanbul to shorten our trip. We turned off the highway to head for Yalova, but got lost and ended up on a tiny rural road following the sea. We eventually made it to Yalova, but the fast ferry was full and we were told to drive further along to take a slow ferry.

After a few stops and directions we made it to the ferry terminal. We entered the parking area only to realize that there would be at least a two-hour wait for the ferries. Once inside there was nothing we could do, so we soaked up the atmosphere. We were the only tourists there and all around us were Turks returning home after a day at the beach. There were numerous vendors walking up and down the aisles of cars selling corn on the cob, pretzels, and other treats. We bought corn on the cob and ate it standing up.

At 10:00 PM we finally boarded a ferry just as the sun was setting. We arrived on the other side of the Sea of Marmaris at 10:30 and drove off into the night. We followed the highway signs for Istanbul, but somehow ended up on the wrong highway. We crossed the Bosphorus on an eight lane bridge, then continued to the North of Istanbul. I finally headed off the highway and tried to navigate into the center of Istanbul. We saw a few signs that we recognized, followed the tram lines, but eventually the road stopped. We back tracked and at midnight stopped at a gas station to get a better map and directions.

We had not eaten dinner and there was a Burger King right next to the gas station, so Jocelyn, Kevin, and I stopped to eat. It was the first time we had eaten at Burger King since leaving Canada, exactly two years ago today, and we enjoyed every bite. We backtracked to the tram line, I did a u-turn and suddenly a police light was on behind me. I was given a ticket and had lots of paperwork to complete. I then told the policeman that we were trying to find Sultanahmet. The policeman then kindly got out and had me back up a one way street in order for me to turn around, but none of us could believe that he would sanction another illegal act after just giving me a ticket for an illegal u-turn.

It was not after 1:00 AM. I turned into the narrow roads of the ancient town of Sultanahmet and within a minute was completely lost in the twisty roads. We finally stopped next to eight or nine young men who were sitting out on the street. Hoping one of them spoke English I asked for the way to Sultanahmet. One man approached the window, smiled at Jocelyn, then told us to drive one block then turn right. We followed his directions and were relieved when we finally found our hotel. We checked in at 1:30, found our room, and all three of us collapsed into bed after one very long day.