Well that day ended a bit more frantically than it began...
We started the day with the call to prayer at what seemed like 4am, but maybe that was just the jetlag talking. We were out of bed by 7.30 and had another nice breakfast up on the rooftop. By 9 we were in the Basilica Cistern which is really very cool. The $10 audio headset guide was a bit rubbish as it just repeated what was written on the signboards around the place, but the sight itself made up for it.
Next on the list was catching a tram to the university area and wandering around for a bit, slowly making our way back towards our starting point. We crossed through the Grand Bazaar which was really beautiful and full of lovely textiles, wares and jewellery.
After a quick lunch of durum we wandered around a bit more, ending up back at near our hotel for more turkish coffee. As we had a shuttle taking us to the airport we were back at our hotel with plenty if time to spare. It arrived early, which was better than late, and after winding it's way through impossibly small streets we headed for the airport. Traffic was bad but we made it to Atatürk without a problem. Checked in and all was well, but waiting at the gate our 7pm departure came and went.
Now because our visa came late all of our flight plans in turkey were screwed, and in an effort to save money we had booked a flight to Antalya, to connect to our original flight going to Tel Aviv. We only had a small buffer between each flights so a delay was not what we wanted. We boarded at 7.15, but only took off at 8pm. Our flight from Antalya to Tel Aviv departed at 10pm, so we were now cutting it very fine. The first leg landed at 8.40, and we had our bags by 8.50. From there it was like the amazing race... We didn't know that terminal 3 which we had landed at was 3km from the international airport, so what followed was mad dash to taxi, us imploring the driver to step on it, which he duly did, getting out the taxi to find the airport deserted, running to the wrong entrance, then getting stuck behind a slowwww couple going through security, and then sprinting to the check in area. We had made it.
The girl at reception told us to take out bags to another counter and leave them there because they were too big for the conveyor belt, and because this counter was unstaffed we were confident we would never see those bags again. Next a sprint to the gate, only to find boarding was a slow process as everyone gets bomb swabbed including shoes off. In the time we were there we saw some guy being pulled aside being asked "can you explain this"... He was never seen again
Onto the plane and it was a raucous affair - it seemed like everyone knew everyone, there was much seat swapping and chatter. We were lucky to be sat at the back where we would see the bags being loaded - success! Our bags were there. The plane took off and everyone started clapping, but not spontaneous clapping, this was synchronised like some kind of festival jig. Where the hell were we going...
We started the day with the call to prayer at what seemed like 4am, but maybe that was just the jetlag talking. We were out of bed by 7.30 and had another nice breakfast up on the rooftop. By 9 we were in the Basilica Cistern which is really very cool. The $10 audio headset guide was a bit rubbish as it just repeated what was written on the signboards around the place, but the sight itself made up for it.
Next on the list was catching a tram to the university area and wandering around for a bit, slowly making our way back towards our starting point. We crossed through the Grand Bazaar which was really beautiful and full of lovely textiles, wares and jewellery.
After a quick lunch of durum we wandered around a bit more, ending up back at near our hotel for more turkish coffee. As we had a shuttle taking us to the airport we were back at our hotel with plenty if time to spare. It arrived early, which was better than late, and after winding it's way through impossibly small streets we headed for the airport. Traffic was bad but we made it to Atatürk without a problem. Checked in and all was well, but waiting at the gate our 7pm departure came and went.
Now because our visa came late all of our flight plans in turkey were screwed, and in an effort to save money we had booked a flight to Antalya, to connect to our original flight going to Tel Aviv. We only had a small buffer between each flights so a delay was not what we wanted. We boarded at 7.15, but only took off at 8pm. Our flight from Antalya to Tel Aviv departed at 10pm, so we were now cutting it very fine. The first leg landed at 8.40, and we had our bags by 8.50. From there it was like the amazing race... We didn't know that terminal 3 which we had landed at was 3km from the international airport, so what followed was mad dash to taxi, us imploring the driver to step on it, which he duly did, getting out the taxi to find the airport deserted, running to the wrong entrance, then getting stuck behind a slowwww couple going through security, and then sprinting to the check in area. We had made it.
The girl at reception told us to take out bags to another counter and leave them there because they were too big for the conveyor belt, and because this counter was unstaffed we were confident we would never see those bags again. Next a sprint to the gate, only to find boarding was a slow process as everyone gets bomb swabbed including shoes off. In the time we were there we saw some guy being pulled aside being asked "can you explain this"... He was never seen again
Onto the plane and it was a raucous affair - it seemed like everyone knew everyone, there was much seat swapping and chatter. We were lucky to be sat at the back where we would see the bags being loaded - success! Our bags were there. The plane took off and everyone started clapping, but not spontaneous clapping, this was synchronised like some kind of festival jig. Where the hell were we going...
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