27th February - 2nd March, Istanbul, Turkey.

 After a 2 hour border crossing and a 10 hour drive we arrived in Istanbul in the dark. Needless to say the drive into the centre was manic at best, with Turkish drivers living up to their reputation. 

 We found a hostel in the Sultanahmet area in the old city, The Bahaus Hostel had a great location but catered for the younger traveller (god we sound old)!

 After a good nights sleep we ventured out to do some sight seeing.

 Us outsıde the Blue Mosque.

 Entry to the Blue Mosque is free, and well worth a look as the architecture inside is really beautiful. 

 Went for a beer and sampled the first kebab of many............

 We strolled back to the hostel past the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofya Mosque,

  The Aya Sofya Mosque was 20 Turkısh Lıra each for entry (about £8)

I'm sure that usually this would be worth it, but it was full of scaffolding on our visit.

 We spent half the next day gettıng lost in the Grand Bazaar, Turkeys biggest market. Full of brightly coloured stalls selling traditional Turkish goods. 

In the afternoon we went over to the spice market which was very busy and full of hustle and bustle! 

 On our final night in Istanbul we met up with a mate from back home and his girlfriend (who we had randomly bumped into the night before)! We went for a traditional Turkish bath (Hamam) whıch was the most relaxing experience possible, this cost 30 turkısh lira.

 The 4 of us then went on to a small local shisha cafe for some tea and a smoke!

(Pıctures from Adam to follow) 

3rd March - 5th March, Aegean and Med Coasts, Turkey.

 After leavıng Istanbul we drove south along the Aegean coast where at last we spent our first night camping. We stayed near the town of Canakkale as it is close to the ruins of Troy. 

 Yolande finally getting a good airing! (Campsite 15 TL a night)

 Early the next morning we drove to the ruins of Troy where we spent an hour taking in the atmosphere! The site wasn't as impressive as we imagined as much of it had been destroyed by time or inept excavations, but the sheer history of the place made up for it. 

  Neil ready to jump out and burn the city!

   OUCH! My achilles! 

 After another short drive south we arrived in Selcuk where we camped up for the night (Campsite 15TL a night) ready to see the ruins of Efes. 

 We wondered around Efes for a couple of hours where there was a lot more to see. Finally the sun was shining with the temperature hitting a lovely 20 degrees!

 After leaving Efes we carried on along the coast to the Med staying at the little town of Bodrum. As its off season we're finding it difficult to find many campsites that are open, so we settled into a little hotel near the harbour.