Kms walked: 300 / Total Kms: 3900

CON-STAN-TI-NOPOLIS !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OQ_hQXRRMA

As promised, I am in Istanbul ! And Ahmed is looking over my shoulder.

Ahmed is a great guy we met with his friends, back to the association they made their studies in:

http://www.safavakfi.org/default.asp

Great thing they do... We discovered this association first by meeting a Rumi mosquee and...

Long story. We were wandering around the channel before the Bosphorus, and then we stepped on what seemed to be a garden. We went into it, and were welcomed by an extraordinary guy we discussed with several other times after this first encounter. Mohammed. A Islamic Rumi (rumi was an islamic poet very well-known by the hippies who ended creating a branch of the islam itself - check it out, it's incredible) This guy was wonderful to us, and I can't stop thinking of him.

We also met lots of europeans and americans. A belgium guy going to Australia on his bike as well. But I think the most interressant experience... No I can't tell. Really. I mean, between living at an anarchist's place (one more !) hosting a chinese traveller with whom I talked about the unbearable lightness of being, and been introduced to Rumi, Mohammed, who was THE encounter of this travel, for me (and hasn't finished to inspire me - I'm really thinking to make a book out of this meeting), the workers (and ex- workers: Gukran, Akfi - I talk for you ^^) of safa vakfi and the two wonderful german people we met, Andreas and Caroline (pictures coming soon) I really can't tell what was the more... Constructive for me.

Istanbul is undefinable. Gigantic. Everything is bigger than the thing you just came to see. Bigger mosquees (the Suleymane Mosque is unbelievably big), bigger rivers, bigger windwalls... I really needed to find anchoring points in the city - and I did.

Out of Greece / Out of Hell

I can assure you you never seen quite something like the greek tradition of answering people's questions.

Hey, mister, do You speak english ?

Hey, sorry, madam, do you know where...

Hey, sorry miss ! Do you...

HELL.

Hopefully greek girls are incredibly beautiful. Out there, one told me they are incredibly impossible to get in relation with too. I'm not astonished.

Turkish people have the more strong sense of hospitality I've ever seen.

Concerning Iran, I have my visa, and now it's just a matter of time.

Comments

[Gurkan]

Hi,

I'm Gurkan, from Istanbul. I read your writing. How is going your trip? Where are you now? Did you leave from Istanbul?



Let's meet again.

Have a nice journey.

Gurkan

[Sébastien]

(Joyeux Noel au fait. A premiere vue je dirais qu'il n'y a pas Noel en Turquie, qu'en est-il ?)

[Sébastien オウム]

Ca me fait plaisir de lire que tu as ton visa iranien. Je viens de realiser il y a une semaine environ qu'une de mes assistantes de japonais que je vois toutes les semaines est iranienne (surprise, je croyais qu'elle etait bresilienne !), donc apres coup j'ai pense a toi. Mais si tu as deja ton visa, tu n'auras donc pas besoin de cette rencontre providentielle.

De mon cote ca va impeccablement, du tiens aussi, tout est parfait. Salutations !