“Welcome, my friends, welcome to Istanbul!”
These were the first words that I heard as I lugged my overstuffed holdall through Sabiha Gokcen airport (taking full advantage of Easy Jet´s “no weight limit on hand luggage” policy) and was loaded into the waiting minibus that would take us to Istanbul. The third largest city in the world, Istanbul is spread over two continents and as we clung onto our safety belt free seats we gazed out on a thoroughly modern looking Asia (the airport itself is named after the first female combat pilot in the world, and Turkeys first female aviator – a sure sign of a nation looking firmly forward).
Crossing the massive expansion bridge that links Asia to Europe across the mighty Bosphorous River we watched in awe as the streets became smaller and more maze like, the crowds denser and the buildings that clung precariously to the sloping cobbled roads older and more colourful.
American Chronicle | 8000 years in 48 hours..1 mad weekend in Istanbul.