Our visit to Gaziantep marks the end of our brief detour into south-east Turkey. However, we’re not quite ready to go home yet. So, instead of just driving past Istanbul, we decide to actually try to visit for at least one or two nights. En route, we stop at the Ihlara Valley in Cappadocia, at the same spot we visited half a year ago. While we’re there, we also meet up with Renato, whom we met in Izmir, and who happens to be in Cappadocia with his good old boy Toffi (a good friend of Apollo’s).
The next day, we drive the last few hours to Istanbul and find a surprisingly peaceful camping spot in a forest on the Asian side of the city. The following morning, we set off early and soon reach the Eurasia Tunnel under the Bosphorus. Although crossing into Europe via a tunnel under the sea is an interesting experience, it is also somewhat anticlimactic. However, the detour via the iconic 15 July Martyrs Bridge would not have been worthwhile. Regardless, stepping foot in Europe again after nine months in Asia is somewhat overwhelming, evoking a mixture of joy at slowly approaching home and sadness at finally leaving this part of the great journey behind.
We spend two full days in Istanbul. As expected, it’s a bit tricky with Apollo, but he copes quite well despite the many stray cats, the lack of green spaces for him to relax in and the limited time he has with us, while we walk around the huge city. During these two days, we walk a lot and explore the Golden Horn, the Sultan Ahmet Mosque and, of course, the Hagia Sophia, which we don’t enter. As tends to happen with overhyped places, we’re somewhat underwhelmed by this church, turned mosque, turned museum, turned mosque. The fact that it was covered in scaffolding and the entry price was ridiculous didn’t help. We then head west to Eminönü, walking through the narrow alleys of the Grand Bazaar with its numerous shops and hans, before climbing uphill to the beautiful Süleymaniye Mosque. From here, we also enjoy a wonderful view of the Golden Horn and Galata.
After resting in the hotel for a while and going for a stressful walk with Apollo (for all involved…), we take the bus to Galata and have a wonderful dinner, followed by coffee and cake. After that, we walked around the quarter for a while, before heading to the iconic Galata Tower. Then we went back to the hotel.
The original plan for the next morning was to take a ferry over to the Asian side. However, the weather was poor and we were feeling rather overstimulated. After many months of relative solitude and quiet van life, Istanbul is quite intense for the three of us. So, we decided to just walk around Eminönü and to the Galata Bridge. Standing there and watching the ferries cross the Bosphorus, we take one last look at Asia and, with tears in our eyes, said goodbye to this amazing part of our trip.