Day 192 Wed 25 April 2007 Istanbul, Turkey

Anzac Day and its strangely quiet in Sultanahmet as all the Aussies have decamped to Gallipoli. Arriving at the port at the appointed hour, we are whisked in to meet the general manager of the Kumport terminal, a very pleasant guy fluent in English who is confident we will shortly be on our way. However after rounds of various offices and lots of phone calls, we get the message that Customs will not deal with us unless we have a customs agent. This is particularly disappointing as we had previously been informed by an agent that it was a straightforward process and his services would not be required. Fortunately Caren from Bergen International comes to our rescue and finds a customs agent who will help us but not until tomorrow. Although the bureaucracy is frustrating the help we receive from people is amazing.

Returning to the city, we manage to summon up the enthusiasm for a visit to the Topkapi Palace and set off up the hill from the hotel. As it turns out, it is too late to make a tour worthwhile so we opt to head over to Bayoglu by a variety of means of transport including tram, funicular/tunel (an antiquated underground cable car) and then an antique tram which runs up the main street to Taksim, the Piccadilly Circus of Istanbul. Walking back we find Nevizade Sokak, a street full of restaurants and taverns near the fish market where we have dinner in a setting reminiscent of Bill and Tony’s.