Day 10 - Half-way Point Back to Istanbul

*Sunrise before crossing on the ferry.

Nine hours bus ride later, I woke up at a ferry crossing when our Metro bus was waiting in line with other buses and cars to cross the river. We did not figure out the name of the river. In the East, the sun was rising. When the ferry moved across the waters, I saw the beautiful sunrise above the horizon. Another hour later, we were back in Istanbul.

Julee and I are so impressed by the Turkish transportation system especially the buses. Plenty of leg room, extremely clean, punctual, not crowded, friendly drivers and conductors, and easy service for ticket purchases. We did not use the bus companies Lonely Planet recommended. We immediately realized that all companies offer on-par services. Depending on your schedule, any company would work out well. The only improvement would be a website for the company to provide bus schedule, general pricing and length of journey to help travelers overseas to plan ahead. If we were able to get such information ahead of time, we would have had a chance to visit Pamukule and only stay for the day in Seçulk.

We took the tram after we arrived at the Otogar. At this point, Julee's already purchased a rug so we had an extra bag. We dragged and pushed everything and made it back to Kybele. Only this time there was a sense of finding home. We knew exactly where to go after hopping off the tram.

This afternoon's plan is to visit Topkapi Palace, eat the fried fish sandwich by the Galata Bridge, cross the Bosphorus by ferry, then head to the riverside cafe for nargile and Turkish tea. Tonight I might go back to Çemberlitaş.

We also met the Kybele hotel owner who was featured on Lonely Planet's small Istanbul handbook. He collected thousands of lamps that are hanging from the ceiling of the hotel including each hotel room, the lobby, the lounge and the restaurant. I shook his hand and sincerely complemented him about his lovely hotel.

*Outside Kybele hotel