Waking up at the campsite we set about stashing $2,100 of cash into the
roof interior and headrests of the Micra in a bid to hide it from Turkish
border guards. Stuffing notes into the car’s cavities like it was only monopoly
money, we then realised the value of our car had just tripled. Losing the car
keys at this stage, like one of the other teams had done a few days before,
would’ve spelt disaster.
On to Turkey and the border crossing went largely without incident,
which was surprising given the coup only a day before we left for the rally.
Having said that, upon finally reaching the front of the green card queue the
Turkish official gestured that it was his lunch break. So we sat, and watched
him.
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| Teams queuing at the Turkish Border |
Rather than search our car for weapons, bombs or caps with
controversial Greek flags on (Alf), the guard stamped us without hesitation
with a glare of “whatever you have, you’ll need it in there”. Much to our
pleasant surprise the Turkish people are the friendliest, happiest and most
united people we’ve met so far on the rally. Flags were draped literally
everywhere and there was barely a single car that didn’t give us a wave.
Motorway driving in Turkey consists of changing lanes 3 at a time, inventing
new lanes and driving the entire extended family around in the back of your
Suzuki Alto. We were heading for Istanbul.
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| The famous Bosphorus Bridge on which tanks stood barely a week before |
Yas from Team Thunderbirds had kindly allowed us all to stay at her
father’s house for two nights whilst we explored Istanbul. When we arrived our
jaws dropped to the floor as we were met by arguably the most stunning
panoramic view of the city. Perched high on a cliff top, the Strait of Hormuz was in full view of the garden, confirming that we had officially crossed the bridge from Europe into Asia.
As we were setting up our tents a deafening wail
broke out over our heads. It resembled a cross between Tarzan’s jungle call and
the sound you’d make if you stuck a toothpick under your toenail and kicked a
wall as hard as you can. It was the local mosques preaching in Arabic across
the city and although it was a new experience for us all, normal conversation
was almost impossible.
Posted by: Rich
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| Our clifftop view over Istanbul |
Posted by: Rich