This is my narrative report on our very exciting but packed one-week trip to Turkey. It turned into 8 days in Turkey when KLM canceled our return flight out of Istanbul, so add to the 8 days 3 days of travel. Joseph and I went to visit Daniel despite the regional geopolitical upheavals, and we were rewarded with a wonderful trip, enhanced by our skilled guide: Daniel.

Day 0: Tuesday April 15
All taxes mailed. Joseph arrived before noon, and we spent the rest of the day getting organized and packed. I convinced Joseph to take his old (Main Street Singers) small roll behind suitcase, despite it being slightly torn up. It worked just fine. He took his big black duffel in which to bring stuff back for Daniel (rug); I took a small duffel. Suitcases only 80% filled. Camera batteries fully charged and extras packed. We left nothing out. In our backpacks, we took overnight things. We got everything Daniel wanted us to bring except souvenirs - none in Los Altos.

Day 1: Wednesday April 16
Up about 4 am to play with Sailor and get him a walk, and after quickie breakfast of fruit, off to airport about 5:15 am; parked in Anza Parking and had no problem checking in at Northwest (NW) after getting to San Francisco (SFO) about 6 am. First of many passport checks; no security hassles; bought a few souvenirs for Daniel. Flight to Detroit (DTW) was uneventful with an adequate breakfast on packed flight. I read newspapers; Joseph read books; we bought more souvenirs for Daniel. After a bite to eat at McDonald's, got on packed NW flight to Amsterdam (AMS), unable to improve seats so in row 34 of 38, but we did mange to trade seats so that Joseph and I were in the 2 seats on starboard side together. Airplane was old DC-10. It seemed strange to be traveling with only a backpack and no carry on luggage. Suitcases checked all the way to Istanbul (IST) from SFO. Full moon rose, we had dinner, and went to "sleep" - that is sitting up all night to pretend to sleep for the 4 hours before arriving in Amsterdam.

Day 2: Thursday April 17
We flew in over Ireland(?) and England, then over English Channel and over the barriers to AMS, which is right near the ocean, on a hazy nice day, after getting a light breakfast. We arrived a half hour early and had a long walk to the outbound gate. I inquired about how to get accommodations at AMS for our overnight on return: ask customer service for help. Uneventful.

Our flight to IST was very full and 10-15 min late. We got a KLM breakfast/lunch (muffin, fruit cup, yogurt), and I read a new (April 16) found Wall Street Journal and Financial Times, along with New York Times' Herald Tribune. We arrived in IST about on time rather tired.

Upon arrival, we did Visas (easy) with our $100 bills, got 300 million Turkish lira (M TL) from ATM, cleared passport control, got bags, and found a taxi (taksi ). Through fractured English, we agreed to take the autobahn, adding 5 km to the trip, but going over one of the two bridges over the Bosphorus to Asia. As promised by Daniel, the driver had to stop and talk to several people to find the guest house (Konuk Evi) at the Göztepe Kampusu of Marmara University (a state university). Göztepe (district) was obvious from the freeway signs, but the campus and guest house were not. We seem to have gone around Robin Hood's barn a bit, and it cost 50 M TL (return trip was same route, but only 30 M TL worth of kilometers). Daniel met us in the lobby, and we negotiated into our room (rather nice, with 2 beds, several chairs, and nice bathroom) on 7th floor corner of building. (Daniel and others are on 2nd floor; the two elevators go one to even and one to odd floors.)

So Joseph and I showered and repacked/reorganized for trip to Izmir and Ephesus. In the end, we borrowed Nick Manthei's (Daniel's Beloit roommate at Marmara University) backpack for Joseph for overnight stuff. We delivered goodies to Daniel, including his umbrella he could not find before leaving in February; but he brought only one for our trip, leaving the small one behind. After supper, we were off about 9 pm to catch the bus for which Sarah Davidson (another of the Beloit exchange students) and Daniel had tickets. (Nick had been to Ephesus with his mom earlier, so he did not go; Sarah had not been with her mom.) We took small bus (dolmuş taksi - this is an s-cedilla in dolmus - not supported by older browsers) to local bus depot and waited for transfer to real (big) bus depot and were off. Despite taking neck pillow and eye shades, the night was not filled with restful sleep. I noticed smoke and noise; smoke was a bother for me the whole trip, as asthma and nose were irritated, but it was under control for the whole trip. The bus route is to the Sea of Marmara (marmara means marble; lots of marble was quarried from the area), with ferry across part of it, then via Bürsa south on pretty good roads, to Izmir (Smyrna). Interestingly, the bus had 2 drivers plus a steward, and he served snack and tea about 6:45 am. Tired and sleepy, we arrived in Izmir grand bus depot. Daniel apologized for having weather other than as he had planned, i.e., quite rainy and 8°C. My bottom was sore after 2 nights upright "sleep"ing.

Day 3: Friday April 18
Sarah and Daniel did quite well getting us reorganized, finding tuvalet (pronounced as toilet in French), also labeled WC, and ticket office/booth for (perhaps a) change in plans to go right to Sardis (Sart) by bus, since waiting for museums to open at 9 am and going to Sart in afternoon, hoping to get a bus from there direct to Selçuk, seemed doubtful. (No such bus, it turned out.) So we got on the bus and went off into the country eastward, managing to get ourselves off at the Sart stop, a stop in endless rural and semi-town areas on the main road - in the rain. So we staggered over to a market for directions. The helpful woman (one of many/all friendly helpful Turks) pointed us up the street and suggested we leave our backpacks with her rather than get them soaked. This proved a boon. Hence dressed for cold and wet, we went up the street, where another helpful man pointed in 2 directions. Eastward seemed better, as it put Sardis ruins on the left (proper) side of the street, and after a bit we found the place with the fee collection booth (as Daniel's guide book predicted) and a man trying to keep warm and dry. Of course we saw no other tourists on this cold and wet day. We all got soaking wet shoes (except Joseph) and rather wet legs and some jackets. The second umbrella might have been a nice addition, but it was back in Istanbul. Sardis was the center of the Lydian Kingdom (1st c BC to 6th c AD) until the Persians conquered them.

I think we did right well for being in the wrong time zone and tired - in the rain. We went right out in the weeds to poke around, with Daniel checking his guide book for what was what. We got some pictures, but fewer than if it had been warm and dry. We found Roman, Greek (Hellenistic) as well as Byzantine (Roman/Christian era) things. We found the synagogue, Germanicus, old Greek columns, public latrine, and other stuff, but on the other road, we did not find Artemis, only modest houses and view of the clouds lifting off the steep hills. At least the weather abated for our walk on the other road before going back to the restaurant across from the market for early lunch (and breakfast). Daniel ordered us a good meal. It seemed odd to have 3 people working just for our 4-person lunch, scurrying about and doing everything by hand just right; lunch was good. Thence to the market to get backpacks and across the street where they said the bus to Izmir would get us in 5 minutes. They were right.

My observations here and later were that labor is applied in great measure, but manufactured goods in smaller amounts. Much heating and cooking is on coal. Construction is not as solid (thinner and less steel), and buildings are put up in stages, even left empty until finishing brickwork can be done. WCs cost a fee usually. On the Sardis trip, we saw few if any customers for the local trade.

Back to Izmir in early afternoon, a city (3rd largest in Turkey) near a rugged point of land, where weather was improving and we managed a bus (#54) which would take us to the museums in Daniel's guide book. Getting to the end of the line, with no museums evident, we got vague directions and heading off on foot, ultimately getting to the water's edge. From there we could see the lay of the land, compare it to the guidebook, and Sarah pointed out a winding road, which matched the route to the museums. We went through both the archeological museum and the anthropological museum, pushed along by a group of dignitaries behind us. This may have been how we got into a (closed?) upper room of jewelry, etc. This was all interesting, but Joseph's feet hurt him, and he had to sit and rest a bit. So after this, we took a taxi to the bus depot, rather than force-marching Joseph through town to find our bus, for which we already had the return tokens. Oh well. We got to the bus depot in time for the 5 pm bus to Selçuk (modern Ephesus). The man at the ticket booth, we having found the same guy 3-4 times by now, took us out to show us the bus.

The bus took us to Selçuk southeast of Izmir; the bus ended up with a flat tire 12 km from town, so we crowded into another bus to get into the town, before dark, and wandering through, dropping off some folk, we spied Artemis House, which Sarah and Daniel thought was our most attractive price/benefit place to stay. So after getting off, I traced a route by dead reckoning to Artemis House. We walked around a bit, found supper, and turned in early for bed - a real bed! Daniel and Sarah preferred restaurants which take their meal coupons (books of coupons issued to them usable at variety of restaurants and markets all over - these coupon books constitute their "board" paid to Beloit). Artemis House was 10 M TL ($6+) for bed, breakfast, transportation, and guided tour of Ephesus. We had a quite satisfactory room with 4 beds and a bathroom, even if my shower never got better than barely tepid.

Day 4: Saturday April 19
We were all up early enough after our (Joseph and my) first night in a bed in 3 nights, having slept well. Artemis served a very nice breakfast, though we lingered a bit and had to be reminded to be ready to leave for Ephesus shortly after 9 am. (We did get attacked by a single woman from So. Calif. who seemed to want to talk to Americans at breakfast. I would not be traveling alone through Turkey, Syria, and Jordan at that point in time.) We checked out and left bags (packs) there, taking their van to the upper entrance to Ephesus (Efes).

This Ephesus is a Greco-Roman era town, the 2nd of 3 such over the span of time. It was cool, cloudy, with only light rain. We had a good guide provided by Artemis House, which added greatly to the excursion. I did buy an Ephesus guide book, and we would have done well with that and Daniel's guide book; however, the personal guide added things not in the books. (We did miss a few stops, partly because two in the group did not dress warmly enough and pushed the guide towards the end: the brothel, Varius Bath, and a couple of other things.) It is really fascinating, and knowing that only 10% of the city has been excavated and renewed shows how big this city was. It was the capital of Roman Asia Minor and only one of 3 cities with street lights on at night (lowest grade olive oil torches) (one of the others being Antioch [Syria]). We really liked everything: the main roads, some temples, the public bath, public latrine, story that anyone of any substance came with at least 3 slaves to the baths (one to watch the clothes, one to give a massage, and one to warm the master's seat on the marble latrine), commercial district, theater [large!], fora (agora) [huge], and highway to the harbor were all impressive. Come read my guide book for more. We were there from about 9:30 to 12:30 and would have enjoyed another hour, I think.

The guide took us all to a place for lunch around the hill (good lunch) and then back to the B&B. We made Artemis the home base for the day. I began by having a look at the rug gallery run by the owner of the B&B (Jimmy). After a short time, we all went up to the large inventory so I could look at rugs that fit what I wanted to get. Daniel said the prices and quality seemed perhaps better than he had seen in Istanbul (better prices in the country), so when I found one I liked at a price I was willing to pay and the size I thought I needed, I bought a Turkish rug for myself, and I am very pleased. Since we are not experts, I hope and trust that the quality and authenticity matches my pleasure having it. They even provide a carrying bag in which to take it home, and it ultimately was the checked baggage coming home. It is wool on wool (wool on cotton is finer work but more expensive), and like Daniel's rug, has very bright and interesting colors, including golden brown. (Daniel says he likes mine as much as he likes his own.) So after getting 660 M TL from the local ATM ($400 price) a short walk over by where the storks nest on top of the ancient wall/aqueduct, we were off to see the museum and market in Selçuk.

The market was interesting - lots of local produce and lots of merchandise, the kind for sale on every sidewalk in Turkey - on our way to the museum. The museum has lots of objects from the Ephesus excavations, which added to the whole picture we have to that city. Joseph's feet gave out - new boots not broken in - so he stayed at the B&B while the rest of us walked over by the St. John's church (did John really bring Mary to live in Ephesus after Jesus's death?) and to get a good picture of the Byzantine/Ottoman castle on the hill nearby. In the end we walked to dinner and returned to the Artemis House for games and reading until they took us over the bus depot to catch the overnight bus to Istanbul via Izmir (they sold us tickets at the front desk). Three red eye rides in 4 nights.

The bus ride back to Istanbul had more stops than coming down - too many - some even only a half hour apart. It was getting light when we took the ferry back to Istanbul, and with our tiredness, I sprung for a taxi to Marmara University rather than taking various dolmuş or whatever. So we got "home" about 7:30 am, got showers, and went to bed until noon.

Day 5: Sunday April 20
By the time we got up and going in early afternoon, the day, in my view, was mostly done. Since we really wanted to get on to Istanbul time, I didn't want to sleep too late. The dawn of the day had still been cloudy and rainy, but the afternoon and evening were clear and breezy, but rather cold. Daniel finally got information on when and where his mid term exam was scheduled for Monday (changed from another day). Joseph and I bought some fresh fruit to improve our diets (Nick and Daniel have a Migros discount card), and we managed to write postcards, try out the local Internet Café (AOL failed there for me), Daniel "studied" for his exam, and we all went to Kadiköy for dinner. (Kadiköy is a district not too far away, nearer the Bosphorus and a ferry dock to get over to old/new downtown Istanbul, with lots of cafés and other interesting places. It is a mere 800,000 TL away by dolmuş - was 600,000 until recently.) I did not stay up late, but I think the rest of the crew went out again, perhaps.

Tap water is not considered safe to drink in Istanbul; everyone, even locals, buy bottled water. So we stuck to the same regime and never had any intestinal problems other than adjusting to the local food diet. The food is really quite good, rather filling, with portions better suited to what we really need, and inexpensive. The Beloit students get breakfast "free" as part of the deal there, but only at one restaurant across from the University. (The university is in a compound with wall and wire and guards at the gates, augmented by police and guards around the place.) They pay for their other meals with their ticket books or cash. A satisfactory breakfast runs 2-3 M TL (savory bun, muffin, tea, and maybe orange juice), and lunch and dinner are also reasonable. Dinners with Daniel ran often 3-4 M TL each. Remember that 1 M TL runs about 60¢. The US dollar was losing value the whole time we were there.

Day 6: Monday April 21
We were all up for breakfast before 10 am and had breakfast with Sarah across the street. (Joseph and I had some of our fruit first.) Their tea (çay) is sometimes rather strong, but breakfast place is about right. Daniel gave us a brief tour of the International Relations end of the campus, which is near the guest house, so we saw a bit of activity as students gathered for mid term exams. (International Relations classes are taught in English.) The ATM worked. Joseph and I read and watched BBC and CNN while Daniel was at his exam; he appeared sooner than we expected, as his scheduled half hour exam took him 10 minutes. So we went off to Old Istanbul by ferry from Kadiköy.

Museums are closed on Mondays, so we struck out there. We walked through the Topkapi palace by the archaeological museum and went on to the top of the hill to see the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque) and Hippodrome on this somewhat hazy day (they mostly all were hazy on the water). The gardens between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia (Aya Sophya) was very nice to sit in and see the beautiful buildings around the area. Some helpful dude gave us some information about the mosque and Kaiser Wilhelm gazebo, but we toured ourselves with Daniel's guide book. The interior is impressive, with 4 massive columns supporting the center dome. The construction has survived the many earthquakes over the centuries. It is very hard to photograph the interior of big buildings, and I cannot figure out how to get my digital camera to do the best job (Daniel seems to do better with his Olympus than I do with my Minolta). So with all the museums closed, we wandered over to the Basilica Cisterns from ancient day and saw the underground water supply. They have carp in the water to test for poison, just as miners would have canaries. Some parts were constructed from older Greek ruins by the Christians/Byzantines, and we saw some odd columns and bases made from two massive medusa heads.

After some lunch late, we took the ferry back about 5 pm and returned to Marmara, where we fussed around a bit and had supper; I was still full from the meaty lunch and only had excellent tomato soup and some baklava. Joseph and Daniel played backgammon and I chatted with Nick until I pooped out for the day.

Day 7: Tuesday April 22
Since on Tuesdays the museums are open, we got up earlier for breakfast (more of our apples and bananas too) about 9 am (Nick breezed by on his way to his exam that day) and we were off to old Istanbul by ferry. It is a good walk from dolmuş stop to Kadiköy ferry and from Istanbul ferry stop up to the activity, so every day was lots of walking.

First stop was Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofia), which was the major Byzantine church, then probably a mosque, but now a museum. Daniel's previous tour guide there wanted to give us a guided tour, but we told him he educated Daniel so well we would do the place on our own. The structure is spectacular and solid, although it has been thrown down by earthquakes in the past 2000 years and been burned a few times, just as all the major buildings were. Very nice mosaics and Byzantine and Ottoman evidence, e.g., the original Byzantine icons and crosses were all removed or damaged by the Ottomans under Muslim protocol. There was a huge scaffold from the ground floor up the top of the tallest dome for work, with elevators and stairs. The second level had a good photo exhibit of the various mosaics, having been reconstructed in the past century. The Turks plastered over the religious mosaics, and many have been uncovered and reconstructed. We saw Mary's hand print with that of baby Jesus, if you believe it, and the spot where Mary's tear melted a hold in the wall/pillar. We all took more pictures and walked around the two levels again. This stop was noteworthy for the ugly obnoxious American (grad student?) who was pushy and insisting on the student admission (only listed on the Turkish side and only for Turkish students, of which Daniel is one).

Then off to the Archaeological Museum after Fanta and cips [like jeeps] (French fries were sooo slow) in an outside café. Given the time, about 2 pm, we went smartly through the various exhibit areas and covered it all before 4 pm. Although a bit of a rush, I read Bud Jamison's extensive book on the place later. The Mesopotamian exhibits were unique and especially interesting; we started there. The law of Hamurabi is there, along with Sumerian and Assyrian artifacts of various kinds. On to the Hellenic and Roman areas, we saw lots of marble statues and sarcophagi, including their extensive set from Sidon (Lebanon), including the amazingly intricate Alexander Sarcophagus. This is not for Alexander the Great, but it includes detailed scenes of his mythic exploits on the sides. We did find the small area of things from Ephesus to complete our view of that site. The range of artifacts and statues covers such a long stretch of human artistic development that we could have spent much more time there, but we thought it might close by 4 pm; it didn't.

Despite some who had tired feet and glazed eyes from museums, I was not ready to give up the day, so off to the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts at the Hippodrome. This has the 800 year old Turkish carpet fragment and lots of intricately done wood inlays, ceramics, etc. The 16th to 17th century Ottoman work was the best. Although the carpets and some ceramics got old, I was glad I went through it. They locked the doors before we left at 4:30 pm, after seeing a modern carpet like exhibit with 3-D use of the same techniques. Daniel had done both this and St. Sophia & the Archaeological Museum, so for him, this day was largely duplicative of his previous explorations.

Back in Kadiköy we met up with Nick for dinner at 6 in a very nice place. I had a plate of ground lamb with tomato and eggplant; others had equally interesting things. (Sarah didn't find us.) On our return to Marmara, we took Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, i.e., a dolmuş driver who was unstoppable by immovable barriers, traffic jams or street construction. When I said "what is he going to do now, detour through this center's loading dock?" he did swing abruptly in and out of the driveway to pass one car. He even backed up a block and went up a the street on the wrong side of a one way section.

The weather continued to improve, i.e., hazy with a few clouds but sunny with no rain. High temp were in the 50's F, so every day was jacket weather. Everyone, it seems, smokes cigarettes - except some of the students.

Day 8: Wednesday April 23
Two of Daniel's (and other Beloit students) friends had invited them and us to go on an explore to an island in the Sea of Marmara. Sarah had a geology field trip, so the rest of us met with Fatih (smokes) and Murat (doesn't) at 8:30, grabbed some breakfast to go, and headed off to get the ferry, on this national holiday for the founding of the Republic. All the buildings had huge flags and pictures of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, i.e., 4 story high flags waving in the breeze. We didn't know where we were going, as the 2 Turkish students speak no English, and Nick & Daniel's Turkish was not quite up to what we were getting in to. So bus (not dolmuş) to Bostanci and different ferry out to sea.

Our explore was to the island Büyük Ada (Big Island). The ferry was full, and the island was packed with people. Between the holiday (national Children's Day) and a pilgrimage day (St. George's day), we took our threads to tie on to bushes and hiked with hundreds of pilgrims up the pathway to the Orthodox church (St. George's church, which was open to the public on St. George's day) at the top of the island on this nice warm day. There was a huge crowd at the top, and we avoided the line to go into the church but looked around (lots of candles burning). It seems that the day was a significant one for climbing the "Road of Suffering" to St. George's church to make a wish or give thanks. It also seemed to be an occasion of rapprochement for Turks and Greeks. It was a very nice view from the top, and we sat and had a bit of a snack. The next island over was Heybeliada, also somewhat built up with homes, some spectacular. These islands have only horse drawn carriages, except for the police wagon and the ambulance. Hence we eventually wandered down the cobblestone road with the horse carts going up and down and all the people. I had a Coke at the turn around at the top to head off headache, successfully, but after we got down and through town, we all had a sandwich and Coke (both very nice) and watched the people and town go by. This was another day of lots of walking (Joseph's feet hurting, but he did well again). Although warm up the hill so T-shirts would have been fine, the jackets came on again by the water.

The ferry back to Kadiköy stopped at all the other islands on the way back, so we got to see the activities in the other dock areas, several with brass bands and speeches on this national holiday. We returned to Marmara by bus, with Fatih and Murat going on to the next stop. They were great hosts, and it was great fun to take an excursion that was far from anything touristy - only local Turks were where we were that day. We had another good supper late and hit up an Internet Café, where I managed to get to see my e-mail for the first time and responded briefly: Doak Cox died. I went to bed, but the "kids" went out to a couple of cafés and a bar or two for music and entertainment.

Day 9: Thursday April 24
This was our last full day, and we set it aside for Topkapi Palace, as it was closed the day we were over doing too many other things anyway. We got up for breakfast after bandaging up Joseph's foot with adhesive tape and bandages, but even with ibuprofen, he felt he could not take another day of walking and would have to stay home. Aha, after breakfast, Nick (totally asleep) is at least as tall as Joseph and has big feet! And he had an extra pair of shoes, so Joseph borrowed a pair. Thus feet were abused in new places and the day of walking was a success. We Jaquettes went over early, and Sarah and Nick joined us at 1 pm for the inner extra admission areas of Topkapi, which none of the Beloit students had done.

So dolmuş to Kadiköy and ferry over, walk up the hill, and into the palace grounds. The had add-on admissions for a bunch or areas, and it was actually a rather expensive day: I ran out of the 80+ M TL and borrowed from Daniel by the end of the day. We did everything at Topkapi and spent the day. The outer courts are handsome, as is the outer library. (Nice free WC too.) After making the tours of the outer areas, we stopped briefly for a bite at the café while Daniel went to find Nick and Sarah. We had a fine view up the Bosphorus and both bridges from the café for our snack. We then took the tour through the harem, i.e., the family home area of the sultans of the Ottoman empire from 15th through 19th centuries. The guide included English, so the earphone thing I rented was partly superfluous. It would have been better if we had not been pushed along at their pace; ours would have been much slower to see all the nooks and crannies. These living quarters were exquisite in some areas, and the explanation of which concubines and wives had which area, which princes were where, and how they had outdoor area and a pool from which they could see the sea but no common people could see them - all interesting. Then we went to the Treasury, another fee, to see the Ottoman jewels and artifacts, surrounded by hordes of school children (5-7 grade?) pushing along at a rapid rate. Much excellent stuff, including 60+ c diamonds. There were oodles of Chinese porcelain in green, blue and multicolor and fine stuff from centuries of accumulation by the Turks. Interestingly, tulips are from central Asia, and they were popular for a long time in Turkey, from where tulips went to Holland. This is where we saw, briefly, the right arm and top of head of John the Baptist, inherited from Byzantine empire, encased in gold. They might be John the Baptist; he was certainly not a big man: maybe 5' 2" max. Overall, we saw a lot of great gardens, but the trees were not yet in leaf nor tulips yet up. Spring had not yet arrived fully, reflecting the most severe winter in 15 years.

So after a rather expensive lunch (I had nearly nothing), we took off. From there we walked through the covered Bazaar. This is certainly expensive. The shortage of tourists was evident, as over half the people there were merchants. Sarah bargained with one merchant but bought nothing. Daniel did buy a couple of tops from a street vendor, as he was commissioned by father of a high school classmate who collects tops from all over the world. Thus a success. We generally avoided eye contact and did not reply.

Another long walking day; Joseph survived just fine, thanks to Nick's shoes. Daniel and I went to Internet café to check on our flights (no phone numbers for KLM in Turkey) and had a quick bite to eat. I went to bed, but Joseph and Daniel went out later.

We packed in the evening, including getting Daniel's rug (purchased in his first week in Istanbul in February - a fine specimen) and his breakable gift things. We mostly packed everything up. Daniel and I managed to get his rug and Joseph's camera bag into the big duffel. We intended to check the roll behind suitcases and carry the valuables, i.e., my rug bag and the duffel. We set aside things in our backpacks for overnight in Amsterdam.

Day 10: Friday April 25
All in all, it was probably better to have the 6 am flight canceled, as we did not have to get up at 2 am to get organized and get a taxi to the airport. So we did get up and had breakfast with Daniel after final packing. The ATM would only give me 400 M TL, so I had to get more from Daniel's ATM card to pay the bills. We had 400 M TL for the guest house (8 nights) plus miscellaneous other stuff and taxi ride to the airport. I was convinced to have over 50 M TL for the taxi, even though Nick and others said 30 - 35 M TL should be the bill (ours as 50 M TL on arrival). After good-byes, we got our taksi and were off. The taxi driver wanted to have some conversation, so he passed his crib sheets with English in Turkish so we could have some little conversation. We sent via the bridge (the long way?), yet the fare was under 30 M TL.

Checking in and getting out of Turkey was no problem; we even had time to buy some lunch while we waited (airport was expensive, e.g., after lunch we had 2.5 M TL for Joseph's ice cream and 1 M TL for my one piece of baklava). KLM said the flight was over full , so we had to check the two rug bags; I was a bit worried about that.

We waited and read, had 3 passport checks, and had a jam packed full flight to Amsterdam, which went and arrived on time. Istanbul had separate boarding and arrival gates at some of the terminal, so the arrivers and departers do not mix; interesting. I started Linda Greenlaw's book The Hungry Ocean.

KLM service center was helpful and got us discount referral to hotels near the airport, so we ended up at the Crown Plaza for the cheapest we could find: ¤ 99 plus taxes. Room was very nice with two queen sized beds, so we did have a good night, but the room and dinner were over $200 - quite a shock after prices in Turkey.

Day 11: Saturday April 26
We got up about 8 am, and after a nice free breakfast (or were we charged for it?) at the hotel (croissant, egg, toast & jam, tea, fruit, etc.) and leisurely getting ready, we got back to the airport by shuttle about 10:15 am for our nominal 10:30 am boarding. While we waited for the van, I did wander around the front garden circle with its very nicely done tulips and few other flowers (hyacinths, etc.), so I did see some tulips in bloom in Holland. We managed to get through the lines at passport control and 2 rounds of security to find the gate and get into the controlled boarding area about 10:30, then on board to a full airplane, a MD-11, with seats across at row 14 of 40. We were not early enough to get good newspapers, but I got the weekend Financial Times. (Amsterdam airport urinals have fly decorations as part of the porcelain; the airplane only had stick-on ants in the toilets. We aim to please; you aim too, please.)

A family of 3 arrived late to fill the row we were in, so we just had aisles across. After 10+ hours of flying, two hot meals, snacks, and reading with watching only one of two movies, I finished The Hungry Ocean (good book!) and started A Walk in the Woods - and laughed. Except for some screaming kids, the flight was very good. Our route was north west from Amsterdam, north of England and Scotland, north of Iceland, through central Greenland, well above Hudson bay (well north of a great circle route), and down over Banff, Victoria BC, and Seattle. We arrived a half hour early into San Francisco.

After negotiating customs and passport control with no problem, we got the Anza shuttle to the car, paid the bill (it was cheap with my coupons), and drove home to a very happy-to-see-us doggie.

Updated: January 14, 2006 from November 17, 2003 (Created May 6, 2003)