Telltale 114

Wooow, This creates obligations. I have posted Telltale 11 - 113 in the last weeks and got quite some reactions. Soo, much that I am overwhelmed with the number of responding e-mails and realise that a lot of you were following the website to keep track of me and Sylphe. Well that is of course good to know and exactly what the Telltales were meant for. So, I will have to improve my life.

Living in a house with Sylphe anchored off in front, makes everything a bit easier. Continous internet connections and possibilities to browse the internet do help, compared to having to upload things to the website via a mobile phone (although we were always able in every country we visited).

So, the number of e-mails that came in was huge and I will respond to all of you. But it turns out that the fact that I have chosen Itsanbul as my fixed location is apparantly a teaser for all of you to promise to come and visit. And that is more than fine with me. Yes, Istanbul is a magical, different place. Interesting, rich, varied, cosmopolitan, hospitable, good food, sometimes cheap and sometimes outrageously expensive,..it offers all. The mystical part of it being half muslim, half westernised makes this place intriguing for all of us. (and sometimes frustrating for the people who spend more time here). But, all in all, it turns out that Istanbul is high ranking on every ones list of places he/she wishes to visit. And you ought to.

So, use/abuse me and take this opportunity. Come and see for yoursleves. I have limited (but available accommodation).
I can pick you up from the airport, on the condition that you fly into Sabiha Gokcen Airport (the "other" ATATURK airport is completely on the other side of town and takes two hours by car, so not do-able). The airport code for Sabiha Gokcen is SAW and the new airport in Istanbul, conveniently located 10 km from the house.
Istanbul city down town is 35 km and is easily reached by ferry!!! Yes, that works a lot faster than a car in this city of 16 million people. And all cultural highlights are located close to each other. We will work out a visiting plan.

And to see where you should come to: Haruns paradise. Click on VIEW LARGER MAP to be able to zoom in and out and get the whole picture.



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The New Year 2010. Bloody Hell I can still remember like yesterday that we celebrated the Milennium. What happened to the last decade??
Istanbul is a magical place, but huge. On New Years Eve we decided to go down town and see the celebrations. We ended up in a three hour traffic jam to get there, but that aside. The reward was there,.... as we joined Rifat to view the Midnight celebrations from a very unique and exclusive spot. His private Ortakoy Penthouse where the four of us opened the champagne while we watched the fireworks go off from the boats in the Bosphorus. The beautifull Bosphorus bridge gave a flashing lightshow and to overview the complete town and seeing the different fireworks go off made a memorable celebration. The mosque and the bridge are probably one of the most photographed items in Istanbul. We were there.........



It is beginning of January and the weather in Turkey is exceptionally warm, especially compared to the huge snow and cold that the rest of Europe is experiencing. Having lunch in a T-shirt with 22 degrees is quite the treat. Another treat was that Sandra brought 40 floating golfballs. Now I can finally live another dream. Hitting off golf balls from the deck of Sylphe, and later picking them up with the dinghy. Even while working in Africa some 15 years ago I had this vision, so 2010 started well with making this possible as well. I will practice my swing again.



More trouble to come.........