Day 1 Istanbul - on the road to Damascus

Last minute panic packing and bed by midnight.

Slept ok but awoke to techno alarm at stupid-o-clock and for once in my long snooze driven life I skipped the snooze button and jumpt out of bed - ok so it was more of a roll and a thump. Transit to airport issue free I arrived 2 hours early! ouch! Another first, no last minute check in and dash for the plane. Made a change but an extra 30mins of sleep would have been nice.

Flight was dominated by a rather over assertive Turkish woman who butted in on every conversation and was in attack mode if anyone should nudge or rattle her seat in the slightest. Negotiated taxi share downtown but skipped the usual do you want to hookup later as the girl's dude was way too moody for my liking.

Hotel basic but right in the thick of it. Had an hours nap to shake off the travel headache then took a walk up Beyoglu to take in the Saturday night throng. Think Oxford Street without traffic, without alcohol and without the attitude... in fact, forget oxford street, not enough puke, lost clothing or broken high heals for that matter.

Reached Taksim square, which is a bit like Times Square meets Trafalgar Square meets Champs de Lise (sp?) meets Mexıco Cıty and frogger all rolled into one... traffic dodging is the national sport here and it would have been rude not to have a go - thank the stars for my new bouncy walking shoes :)

Back home to bed by 1am.