So on the official website for the Turkish Border control it says that you need to pay the visa entry fee in the currency of your residence in the EU (so British pay in Pounds, Germany in Euros etc.). Well FYI, that info is totally wrong. Luckily I had just enough Euros to make the payment at 3am at the boarder lastnight, whereas 5 british kids had to do a currency exchange right at the border at the mercy of whatever exchange rate the cranky visa dude decided to wanted them to pay…
Anyways, got into Istanbul, found me a hostel, dumped my bags and took of to get my bearings. Its a great contrast to most of the European cities I have been in lately, but the few hours of sleep started to take its toll on me after lunch time and I went back for a siesta and missed out on a photo walk. But I did manage to make it to the Istanbul Couchsuring meet and greet for a beer. On the way there there were hundreds of riot police lining the streets poised to take action if any protests started up again now that school is back on and the protesters are back in full swing.
Its now 2am and I have been awake for way too long. It actually feels like I have been in Istanbul for 2 days already. This is some weird outdoor pet market that I stumbled across and the Blue Mosque in the background.
