Day 190 Mon 23 April 2007 Eskisehir to Istanbul, Turkey

We check out the canal side coffee shops and have ‘cappuccinos’ which turn out to be frothy Nescafe , with profiteroles, a great Turkish treat, and buy some pistachios from a shop filled to the gunnels with all sorts of delicious comestibles. We planned to drive to Yalova and catch a ferry across the Marmara Sea to Istanbul , visiting Isnik en route. Isnik proves to be a very pretty town on a large lake (Iznik Golu) and full of shops selling the tiles and other highly decorated pottery for which it is known. We enter through a Roman gateway from the east and see much of the attached wall is still in place as well .as three other gateways to north , south and west., all dating from C1AD. Also worth a look is the C14th Yesil Cami (green mosque) with a minaret decorated with green and blue tiles. After a quick Turkish kafve by the lake, (not Nescafe) we set off for the ferry, only to find it is fully booked – hardly surprising at the end of a long weekend.

Yes, it is National Sovereignty and Children’s Day and there are Turkish flags hanging from every building as well as lots of community celebrations, with children dressed in national costume and lots of music and dancing. All this we observe as we make our way back to Istanbul the long way round, eventually arriving at Hotel Empress Zoe in the familiar surroundings of Sultanahmet. The hotel is delightful but with tiny rooms and steep spiral stairs. We have dinner at the enthusiastic Kosk restaurant opposite the hotel.