Sunday, 19 May 2013 at 7:20pm
Uneventful drive to, and across, the Turkish border...all documents checked, visa issued but stuck in upside down. Obliging soldier with bloody great machine gun opens a gate to allow the caravan through without negotiating the twists and curves at the checkpoint. All very helpful actually.
Drive to the border city of Erdine, get lost, which is pretty exciting (in retrospect only), but reach the site eventually, pitch up and eat some lunch.
Decide to drive into town, which has perhaps the most beautiful mosque in Turkey. Give Richard and Monica a lift and we park the car easily in a guarded park, then walk the town and bazaar together, finishing with a drink. I have a particularly gritty Turkish coffee.
This is a really attractive buzzy, afluent city.
Day 2
Up early for guided trip around some of the main sights of Erdine, the highlight being the Selimiye Mosque, designed by Mimar Sinan. A good lunch is included and all in all a great day. Coach driver truly inspired as he gets us to the sights, despite the many roads closed for 19th May - a national celebration of the founder of the Republic in 1923, Ataturk.
Glad we did the town the day before, though, as visiting sites, as important as they might be, doesn't always give a feel for the city/country/people/life...as it is now.
Having said that, just sitting on the Mosque for 30mins was truly fascinating.
Back to the site to discover a heavy hailstorm has caused a few problems, thankfully not for us.
Istanbul tomorrow.
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