Day Four - I arrive in Istanbul

I get up before breakfast and go for a walk around the hotel, and enjoy a early morning swim in the pool.

Early breakfast and on the road again, it's quite warm so I strap my jacket to the back of the bike until


The pace of life is clearly much slower here as I stop for a tortoise crossing the road.


Local road signs are in Greek
Then I arrive at Greece's border with Turkey

After an unbelieving 2 hours of hassle getting visa's and stamps etc I am finally allowed into Turkey.

A typical Turkish road, the hard shoulder at the side of the road is used by slow cars being overtaken or slow vehicles such as tractors, which could be travelling in either direction.

I also saw very fast car drivers use the hard shoulder to overtake lorries. The closer I get to Istanbul the more crazy the driving gets.

I had no problem using my UK credit card in Turkey at petrol stations and hotels.
Frequently when I stopped locals would come over for a friendly chat and take my photo and ask about my trip
End of the Toll motorway entering Istanbul, cost was only 2.3 Turkish Lire (about £1)

As I enter the city of Istanbul the driving gets more crazy. Its Sunday lunchtime and local families are cooking kebabs over hot coals in parks at the side of the road, smells fantastic.

Thanks to the additional detailed Turkey maps on my Sat Nav I find my hotel in Sultanahmet, interesting décor.

The location is great, very close to the fabulous Blue Mosque

I've been riding in high temperatures for four days and been pummelled by the road, so in attempt to "fight fire with fire" I immediately get changed and go for a Hammam (Turkish Bath).

Its an amazing experience, the incredible building has been used as a Hammam for over 400 years. First you swap your clothes for a towel then into a hot steam room to soften up, after 20 mins a massive scary hairy giant of a man in a towel grunts and calls you over to the large hot marble central massage slab and quickly goes to work on you, he gouges and pummels tired muscles until you cry for mercy.

Then its over to the side of the area, you sit next to a large marble sink and the big ugggh starts with masses of soapy bubbles the scrubs you down with a coarse scrubbing mitt followed by large buckets of water.

Then you sit in an extra hot section for another 30 mins before you can leave for fresh dry towels, then out into the lounge area for a glass or two of Turkish tea and relax.

When its all over I feel fantastic no aches or pains and the cleanest I been for some time.

That night I reflect on my journey so far, I've ridden from the North West to the South East of Europe. Tomorrow I will spend doing tourist things in Istanbul and the day after I will cross the Bosporus and into Asia.