Posted by Dan

Istanbul, Turkey

The sound fills and echoes through the derelict building next door. Tumbling around its empty walls before bursting from the hole where a window once opened, as if pumped from a bigger speaker than that of the minaret it first came from.

The song of the mosque pulses over the rooftops. The voices collide as they take flight. The call to prayer multiplies tenfold, even one hundredfold, as every mosque in Istanbul calls worshipers to Friday prayer.

Posted by Krista

Burgazada, Turkey

Happy birthday to meeee, happy birthday to meeee, happy birthday dear Krista, happy birthday to meeee!

My birthday treat was a great escape from Istanbul – the city that has stifled us for a month, the city that we both love and hate, are excited by but frustrated with.

So, on the 1st November, we took a boat ride across the Bosporous, to Kadikôy, on the Asian side of Istanbul. From there, we boarded another ferry, which chugged by sunset to one of the five small islands that rise steeply out of the Marmara Sea.

By the time we arrived at Burgazada, one of the smaller islands, it was late, and in the black, we watched the slither moon sink over the sea. It was going to be a difficult task to find a camping spot in the dark, but our friend Gokhan had told us about a secluded beach where we could safely put up our tent.

Following his slightly sketchy directions, we pedalled out of the ferry port, excited to be in the quiet and tranquility of the island. Cars are not allowed on any of these five islands, so people get around either on foot or with horse and carriage. The only sounds that evening were the clopping of the horses’ hooves and the sound of the wind and waves. Oh, what joy!

We set up camp, following the routine we know so well. When we climbed into our sleeping bags and lay on our backs, we remembered the travelling life again – and how good it can be.

The next day was camp cooking, swimming in the sea in autumnal November sun, yoga stretches and reading. Then a pack-up and a bike ride back to the port. I kept looking over my shoulder to check for traffic – which of course never arrived!

Posted by Krista

Istanbul, Turkey

The Bosphorus strait separates the two halves of Istanbul, placing one half of the city within Europe, the other half in Asia. Spanning this channel of water is the Bogaziçi Köprüsü – the bridge that connects the two continents.

Our great new friends, Bryan and Gizem, who cycled from Holland to Kazakstan and now live in Istanbul, told us that this bridge is usually closed to pedestrians and cyclists. However, just once a year, the Istanbul Eurasia Marathon takes place and on this day, all cars are banned.

What an opportunity to cross the bridge on foot and walk from one continent to the other!

Bryan, Dan and I caught a ferry across to the Asian side of Istanbul. In the pouring rain, with the roads like rivers and the plastic bag covered marathon runners far ahead of us, we traversed the long bridge, celebrating the marathon’s aims of friendship and peace.

If only it were so easy to bridge the gap that divides… the gap between countries and continents, between governments and people, rich and poor, between people of different tribes and cultures,,, the gap within our minds.

Can we not all walk across the bridge together and realise the fact that we are after all, living on this earth as part of the same great human family?

Posted by Krista

Istanbul, Turkey

I feel a great sense of achievement. In 1996, I set out to cycle solo from Australia to England. Two years, 12,000 kilometres and many adventures later, I arrived in Istanbul – the Gateway to Europe – … only 3,000 kilometres to go to reach my goal.

But it was November and Winter had arrived. Facing Winter in Eastern Europe, fresh from Communism, was not an attractive prospect. So I took a detour and cycled south through the Middle East and North Africa, hoping to reach England via sunnier climes.

However, this was not to be.

I was refused entry into Libya and upon my return to Cairo, my bicycle was stolen. My trip ended there.

Now, 10 years later, Daniel and I have finally reached Istanbul, having cycled from London across Europe … and I have completed the missing piece of my previous journey.