Istanbul (Again)

I said my farewells to Girne at lunchtime. My taxi whisked me away to Ercan Airport at 13.30.

I had a last wander down to the sea mid morning, and spent some time just sitting there. I had to drag myself away, to be honest.

Turkish Airlines did a good job again, as did Ercan Airport. The check in guy weighed my hand luggage, raised his eyebrows and then shrugged his shoulders. 2kg over the 8kg limit, but he let it go.

I was checked into the Terrace Guesthouse about 7pm, in time for a wee walk and some food. That took away some of the pain of leaving Girne’s warm sunshine.

I had my main course (baked stuffed aubergine with rice) in Can - a canteen style place where you just point at what you want, pay and take it away on your tray. The food is wonderful and the prices “local”.

Then I went 100m along the street to Mado for dessert. Baklava with ice cream and tea. Mado is much posher than Can, and as it has 4 floors with views of the Blue Mosque etc, they’re after tourists as much as locals.

Dessert cost as much as the main course. Worth every penny lira.

On the way back to the guesthouse I stopped to admire a bit of Istanbul’s street furniture - the Obelisk of Theodosius (see extras). It’s Egyptian from 1,450 BC, made its way to Constantinople (as it was then), and has stayed here.

The Blip is the seafront in Girne. The other extra is my superb dessert.