Tag Archives: Istanbul
Euro 24 Match Day 13 – Czech Republic v Turkey
The winners of this will undoubtedly qualify for the knock out phase. Czech Republic In the mid 90s I did a train side trip to Terezin from Prague. The WWII concentration camp was extremely harrowing to see & read about. It was mainly occupied by intellectuals & artists and their families. Children were encouraged to […]
Euro 24 Match Day 9 – Turkey v Portugal
Turkey (Türkiye) For many people Turkey means Istanbul. The amazing city rightly gets lots of attention. Soaring mosques overlooking the glistening Bosphorus that divides the Asian & European sides of the great city. I have visited Istanbul many times and here are a few pictures from down the years. Portugal A short train ride from […]
Euro 24 Match Day 5 – Turkey v Georgia
Neighbouring countries battle it out in what could be termed a Black Sea derby! Turkey In 2015 I visited Georgia overland from Turkey. The journey started in Istanbul – the suburb of Pendik on the Asian side to be exact. This gave the opportunity to travel on the brand new Marmaray Line which runs 60 […]
Tuesday Train – Haydarpasa Station in Istanbul
Back in 2009 trains from the Asian side of Istanbul ran eastwards towards the Middle East. This is where we took the Dogu Express to Ankara before continuing on to Aleppo in Syria. Outside the station stood an old restored engine on some railway tracks, overlooking the Bosporus shipping. The station itself was a real […]
Severely Delayed Tuesday Train – Ankara, Turkey
In 2009 I experienced one of my favourite ever journeys. Istanbul to Ankara by the Dogu Express, on to Adana on the Toros Express, bus to Antakya, and finally taxi over the border to Aleppo in Syria. The journey started with a frog march from our hotel to the port to catch a ferry across […]
My Iconic Travel Moments – 2011 to 2019 (#5)
Number 5 – Train to Georgia You may well know by now that I love an overnight train journey – throw in a dining car with fabulous views too and I am completely bowled over! In 2015 I travelled to Georgia from Istanbul, taking a train to the edge of the Kurdish region of Turkey […]
Euro 2020 Match Day 10 – Switzerland v Turkey
The match between the bottom two teams in the group takes place in Baku. Switzerland Zurich is Switzerland’s largest city and a place I have been two twice. Indeed it was the last overseas city I went to for leisure purposes in February 2020, when we used it as a staging post to visit Liechtenstein. […]
Euro 2020 Match Day 1 – Italy v Turkey
Euro 2020 match day one – Turkey v Italy, Rome’s Stadio Olimpico
Monday Morning Blues – The Ayasofya Mosque In Istanbul.
The beguiling Ayasofya Mosque in Istanbul started out as a Christian Orthodox Cathedral called Agia Sofia when Istanbul was named Constantinople. Built in 537, it was converted to a mosque when the city fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. When Ataturk founded the new secular Turkey a few years after WWI, the mosque was […]
My Iconic Travel Moments Part 3 – 2011 to 2019 (#5)
Number 5 – Train to Georgia You may well know by now that I love an overnight train journey – throw in a dining car with fabulous views too and I am completely bowled over! In 2015 I travelled to Georgia from Istanbul, taking a train to the edge of the Kurdish region of Turkey […]
