Istanbul - Day 1

Having settled into the filthy dorm, I decided to get some lunch - but not before becoming manager of the hostel for 20 minutes, as Ali needed to show dodgy Rob where his equally dodgy friend lived. Once they returned, we got some food. A nice vegetable casserole for me.

Then they got me to come along to some tatoo studio where one of their dodgy friends worked. It was closed, but the whole building was full of carpet-maker's studios. Interesting to see how it's done. We parted ways as I decided to trek down to Sultanahmet Cami. Unfortunately, it was prayer time. The call for prayers was one of the most awesome things I'd ever heard.

It was getting cold, so I decided to go back to the hostel. But not before I got hassled by some Kurdish carpet dealers. Must be real low season, if they thought that a dero like me might buy a carpet. Still, it was interesting to hang out and watch them play backgammon and listen to Kurdish dance music.