Constantınople

I'm now blurry eyed and dazed ın my hostel lobby ın the beautiful city of Istanbul after an adventurous night of passport controls, customs agents, bus transfers and visa purchases. Adventurous ıs euphemıstıc because the entire night was a hurried and confused blur.

I spent the day packing and saying my goodbyes to the wonderful people of Hotnitsa, especially the Sutherlands who have been amazingly gracious hosts throughout the past two weeks. So gracious that Allan called nearly every hotel ın Veliko Tarnovo trying to find someone who would sell me some Euros or Dollars. Why do I need Euros or Dollars when I'm traveling to Turkey, which uses the New Turkısh Lira Good questıon. The inexplicable answer is that an entry visa can only be purchased ın US Dollars or Euros. Of course I don't fully realize this until Sunday evening, two hours before my bus is scheduled to leave. Luckily Allan and Eileen came to the rescue and made some strategic calls, eventually finding a frıend who could sell me 20 Euros in exchange for Bulgarian Leva. Unfortunately, that was only the beginning. On route to their friends' home, Allan and I became stuck behind a military parade marching through the center of Veliko Tarnovo. Brilliant. The detour led to us getting lost in VT's meandering back streets while our cell phone's low battery alarm chimed incessantly and the low fuel light flipped on. With only 20 mınutes remaining until my bus left, I may or may not have become slightly anxious. I now realize that Allan only wanted to make my last few minutes in Bulgaria memorable - which they were - and he delivered me to the bus station with 20 Euros and time to spare. Whew. With all that behind me, I was ready for anything that the Turkish Border Control could throw at me.

The actual bus ride was almost pleasant: spacious seats, a stewardess who delivered free snacks and drinks, and regular bathroom breaks. Greyhound should take note. The border crossing was annoying at worst with lots of needless waiting around and too many guys with mustaches holding enormous machine guns between 1 and 3 AM. I finally arrived ın Istanbul at about 7 and spent about an hour trying to figure out (without a map or guidebook) how to get to my hostel. I was too efficient because now I am here and have to wait three more hours to check-in.

I'll have pictures and stuff about Istanbul in a few days once I am settled. I'm going to spend today resting and strolling and napping. It should be an interesting time to be here because it ıs the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during daylight hours. This ıs my first visit to a Muslim nation (albeit a secular one), so I have a lot to learn.