We set off early and hit the motorway out of Thessaloniki, Greece. The traffic isn’t bad at all.
Following the Greek coastline east, we enjoy the scenery although it’s a pretty hot day. We didn’t really think we knew anyone in this area, but as we pass the town named Drama we realize we might know a few that might originate from here 😉
After a few uneventful hours on the highway, we reach the Turkish border. Having read the blogs of some of the teams that have passed through here the previous days, with some of them having spent 5 hours to get across, we brace ourselves for the horrible excercise in bureaucracy that is surely about to descend upon us!
25 minutes later, and we are in Turkey. Colour us surprised.
After yet a few more hours of highway baking (we are starting to get the hang of this: you just can’t care) we get closer to Istanbul. It’s really noticeable, what with the traffic getting crazier by the minute.
Snorre, who has previous experience in driving in other crazy places (like Beirut and Cairo), gets his priorities straight:
1. Don’t get killed.
2. Don’t kill anyone else.
After getting lost only 3 times we find our way to Sultanhamet, the old town of Istanbul. The initial plan was to stay in Istanbul for only one day, but since it is Eid, the feast at the end of Ramadan, all consulates are closed, so we know we will be here longer than that.
We start exploring on foot in the old part of town and realize – we could have been stuck in worse places than this amazing city!
See the fastest-growing gallery in the part of town where we are right now.