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No longer any need to use the Internet Explorer or run the Internet Explorer rendering engine. I gave up IE after the introduction of Internet Explorer 11
  Page is tested in Fire Fox, Chrome and Safari. Looks like it works OK in all browsers, except the sounds in Safari. Of course, browsing www.aladdin.st in Safari on an iPad is a different story, nothing looks as it should   It was hard to fall asleep but I managed to fall asleep around 6 o'clock and I was out of bed at 12. The Agent will come here to pick me up at 13:30 and I'm off to the air port. I was in the reception 10 minutes past 1 o'clock and I saw our Chief Engineer in the restaurant and I joined him for a cheeseburger. No sign off our Agent but when I finished my lunch and  went for the reception I discovered our Agent in the reception. I said good bye to the Chief Engineer and we were soon on our way towards the airport. We passed the head of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. They had carved his head out from a rock and it was pretty big
Checking in at the Airport and the girl told me to go to Turkish Airline's office. My ticket was cancelled because I had not made it to the 10 o'clock flight this morning. And as it turned out, my flight to Bangkok was cancelled as well. Our Agent told me that my flight was 16:50 and now all flights were full, except one late evening flight. I called our Agent and he called Singapore and according to Singapore my flights were OK. I was booked for the late evening flight but they had to confirm from Singapore or everything would be cancelled again. I called the Agent a second time and we decided that I should buy my own ticket and there was only one seat available to Istanbul by now, a business seat at 18:00. So I was finally on my way  and I stopped for a few beers in the lounge on my way to the gate.
But I really feel like I have a hangover from lack of sleep and I need to get to my hotel in Istanbul for a power nap. But after 3 Efes beer in the lounge I felt better and, well, it was not like Charisma Man was back in town. But I was OK I left the lounge at 16 thirty, 1 hour before boarding and I went to the “smoker's corner”  and there was a coffee shop at the “smoker's corner” and I was soon to discover Efes Light beer. I bought bottle and I went out for a smoke.
There were 3 Stewardesses from Turkish Airways and, well, one of them were kind of pleasant  looking. She was not beautiful, well I guess she was, but not what  we usually call beautiful, but I could not keep my eyes off her.
And when I boarded the flight it was the very same 3 girls working on the flight. And it came as no surprise that they recognised our Hero. We took off and they came with our food. The guy next to me said no thanks and I did the same. - What do you want to drink - Beer, Efes light - Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz - OK - Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz I was in my seat waiting for my beer but there were no sign of the Air Stewardesses going to attend to me. The people were drinking wine and whiskey and the spirit was high. I called the  Stewardess again.
- Can I have a beer? - We don't have beer on domestic flights - Can I have a bottle of white wine? I had a bottle of wine after a few seconds and  Roffe Ruff on full blast in my iPod so I felt pretty good. There must have been a misunderstanding when I asked for my beer. I must have taken beer for granted so it was all OK and yes when the only thing I could hear was bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
MY bottle of wine were soon empty and I asked  for another bottle. But by now we had started to descend to Istanbul. So they swapped my wine glass for a plastic cup. Never mind, I could enjoy  my wine all the way to the gate. At least that was the plan, we stopped on the tarmac and it looked like we would be there for a while.
I ran out of wine and I gave my secret internationally recognised sign for “Please, some more wine” with my eyes and a big smile to the  Stewardess. She rose from her seat and she brought me more wine. Turkish Airline, a very good service. I have pulled a lot of stuff on my favourite air line, Thai Airways, but I doubt that I would have managed to pull this one on board Thai Airways, serving me wine on the tarmac when arriving.
I have said it before and I say it again, Turkish Airline is a very good airline and I would not mind flying with them again. I had finished my wine when we came to a full stop and I was the first passenger to  get off the plane. And now I ran in to a disappointment, bus to the terminal.
 I'm first off the plane
 Come on already
We got off the bus at the luggage claim area and the first bag was my weekend bag. But I had to  wait for yet another few bags before my second bag came on the  belt. I took my luggage cart and I went to look for transportation to The Marmara Hotel on Taksim.
There was a hotel/ transportation service and I asked for a car to The Marmara on Taksim and they were going to charge me 100 Scooby Dollars. Now it was only beer missing.  - Where can I buy beer?
- Not available at the airport, but I will tell the driver to stop at the first convenient store. - OK, let's go already! We left for the parking place and we had to wait for a few minutes before the  car arrived. We were soon on our way plunging down the high way towards DOWN TOWN Istanbul.
We stopped to buy some beer, no Efes Light so I bought 2 bottles of Carlsberg and the beer was empty when the driver dropped me at The Marmara. I gave him 50 Scooby Dollars and I entered the hotel. I was a wee bit suspicious, it didn't look like a 5 star hotel. But what do I know, I booked a 4 star hotel in Rome, Italy and it was not much  better than a hostel. But I was right, this was not my hotel and I had to ask for a taxi again. I bought 2 Efes Light in the bar.
This was obviously a problem, smoking in the car was OK, but not to drink beer. But 20 Scooby Dollars in his hand solved the problem and we were soon on our way towards The Marmara Taksim. The wanted to check me in on the 19th floor, I asked for a low floor. - Just in case of fire, I said  But I was a wee bit tipsy and I decided to be a DARE DEVIL and I accepted the room on the top floor. Well, one of the perk is that I'm just one floor under the restaurant/ bar on the top floor.
While I was checking in the room service was stand-by with 4 bottles of Efes light  Taksim Square from The Marmara Hotel
 Bosporus from The Marmara Hotel
 The bar/ restaurant on the top floor at The Marmara Hotel
I had a beer in my room while up loading the latest drivel to www.aladdin.st and burning a TAXI CD and when I was ready I took the elevator to the 20th floor. I asked for a bottle of Efes light,  and this was a quick one, no music and people. The restaurant was full, but the bar was empty. One of the girls told me about a club and I decided to go check it out.
But first of all I decided to walk down the walking street I had seen from the top of The Marmara Hotel. I was 100 meters down the street when I heard music and I decided to go check it out. I got in to the smallest elevator I have ever seen and I went to the 6th floor. Not here and I went  to the 5th floor.
The club was on the third floor and I had soon ordered a beer. The bar tender offered me Turkish sweets and I rejected. - No thanks, I'm on diet The third time I gave up and I gave it a try, it was excellent. Reminded me  of the TUTTI FRUTTI candy we used to eat when we  were children.
There were not much people, the walking street was packed and I was soon to learn that Turkey is like Spain, nothing is happening before midnight. I had many more beers than expected at the place and it was  way past 11 when I left to look for a taxi.
I walked back to Taksim Square and I found a taxi and I gave him the card that I got from the Waitress at the hotel. We were soon on our way to what was told to be Istanbul's hottest club, the Jaquline. 
The driver gave it his best with the TAXI CD, pliers and screw drivers, but he never managed to get the CD player to work. Never mind, we had been on the way for 20 minutes when I asked him to take me back to the hotel. The meter was on 30 Scooby Dollars and I gave him two 20 Scooby dollar bills. - Problem!!  - What!!??
He didn't have any change and I told him to keep the change. I passed the cafe I had passed on my way to the walking street. They had some very delicious looking pastries on display and I had decided to have my breakfast at this place. I stopped there for tea and pastries before I went back to the hotel. +++++++++++++++
Monday 26th of August 2013 and I woke up at 7 thirty, I managed to fall asleep again and I was out of bed at 10 o'clock ad I went for breakfast. Tea and some bread with cheese. Second helping and I got something that looked like dill bread and sausages with roosted potatoes. The food was excellent and I was full when I went to ask for Turkish Airline's Office and a Tailor.
 Bosporus from my hotel room
 Bosporus from my hotel room
I have had enough trouble with my ticket and I wanted to go make sure I had a reservation out of here. Turkish Airline's Office was close to the hotel and I only had to ask for directions 2 times.  Took me an hour to get my ticket, something has obviously gone wrong and my reservation was still cancelled. But I had a seat when I left and I was happy.
Back at the hotel and our Concierge had 2 Tailors, one needed 3 days and the other Tailor could finish tomorrow. And this is too late. - Maybe he can finish today if he gets a tip - You can try 
I took a taxi and the Tailor and a girl was waiting for me. The girl was working at a real estate agency above the Tailor and she was there to translate. It was impossible to get a shirt for tonight. I was  nagging and he said maybe. But he didn’t have any nice fabrics.
The girl suggested that would go to the bazaar behind the spice market. - There are many shops with fabric We went to her office and she wrote down the address for me and I took off to get a taxi. And I got a tour out of it. The spice market is as it turned out one of the place to SEE when in Istanbul and I walked through the market to reach the market for fabrics.  On my way to buy fabric
 Spice market in Istanbul
 Spice market in Istanbul
 Spice market in Istanbul
 Spice market in Istanbul
 Spice market in Istanbul
 Spice market in Istanbul
 Spice market in Istanbul
 Spice market in Istanbul
It was so nice to get out from the spice market. The place was packed and, well it is not like  the street were much better. But on the street there would be a chance to find something to drink, something I would need now.
I found a place with fresh orange juice and I enjoyed my juice while walking towards the streets with all the fabulous fabrics. 3 different fabrics and I went to see if I could find a Tailor that could finish my shirts today, or at least 1 of them. No luck, but I found a shop where they sold shirt buttons and I bought 2400 smiley buttons for my shirts. I will give them to my Tailor in Bangkok and I will have smiley buttons on my future shirts. Finding a taxi was not easy, but when I reached the tram station I found a taxi and we were soon of towards the Tailor. And this square with the trams was the first place I recognised from when I was here 2006 with Rainbow Warrior.  On the way back to the Tailor
 Plenty Cruise ships in town
 Fishing from the bridge
 On the way back to the Tailor and I have got all the SIGHT SEEING what I need
There was no one at the Tailor when I returned and the girl came down from her office. She called the Tailor and he would be here in a few minutes. I was thirsty again and I told her that I was  going to go get something to drink. I asked if there was any convenient store nearby.
- You can have coffee in my office if you want. - No thanks, I don't drink coffee, I go for some water or juice I walked down the corner and there was a bar and I ordered an Efes Light - We don't have Light - An ordinary Efes please There was a guy from Germany enjoying a beer and we started to talk. He had been living in Turkey for 25 years. He obviously liked it here and I agreed with him. Turkey is a very nice  place. I spotted the girl from the Tailor walking down the  street. Jesus, she get more and more beautiful every time I see her.
I called her and she was out looking for me about the coffee in the office. But she saw that I had a beer in front of me. And yes, she was disappointed seeing me drink a beer. I told her that I would be up in a few minutes. Our Tailor passed by and he took my fabrics and I left after 2 beers. The Tailor and the girl were waiting. I had been talking with the girls about clubs in Istanbul before and now she had a long list of clubs i Istanbul for me. She had attached her name card and I made a mental not to destroy the card as soon as possible. I don't want to risk calling her tonight after have had 20 beers.  Well, would not be the first time I make a tit out of myself.
 She had a whole list of different clubs in Istanbul for me
 She had a whole list of different clubs in Istanbul for me
 The Tailor and the girl
The Tailor said it was 99% chance for him to finish one shirt tonight and I asked the girl to choose the material. She chose the purple, good choice and we asked the Tailor to finish this shirt first. I  left them and I started to walk back towards my hotel. The girl gave me directions and I took this  as an opportunity to do some sightseeing by foot.
Istanbul is a very nice city and the small streets were full of coffee shops, restaurants and bars. - Come in for a beer - I can't hear the music - We have music - OK Efes light, only 3% alcohol and I can spend the day  drinking beer without getting dunk. OK, I will not be able to drive a car, but 3% alcohol and I will remember how I got back to my hotel.
I was looking for a place with Dolma, I had not been eating since breakfast and I was  getting hungry. So I stopped at a Japanese restaurant for some salmon sushi on my way back to the hotel. A bottle of Efes light with the sushi and I was pondering the idea of hot sake, but then I might risk getting drunk so I skipped the sake.
They called me at 9 o'clock and the Tailor had delivered my first shirt and I changed clothes and I took a taxi to Bosporus sea front. And this was the very same spot where we had a good time back in 2006 with the crew from Rainbow Warrior. I walked around the area and I had a few beers before I took a taxi back to my hotel room. Well, I went for some pasta at a restaurant before I returned to my hotel. Still, no dolmas and I will have to find a place tomorrow, my last day in Istanbul.  At Bosporus sea front
 At Bosporus sea front
+++++++++++++++
Tuesday 27th of August 2013 and I was out of bed at 9 o'clock and I had a shower before going down for my breakfast. They recognised me at the restaurant and I was soon having a cup of tea in front of me. At 11 o'clock the Tailor came to deliver my 2 remaining shirts. The red and the  purple shirt we asked them to start with. The shirts were “smart” looking and I gave the Tailor the remaining money.
Yesterday, when the girl saw me coming back from the Bazaar she came running to look at my fabric. She was obviously full of expectation. And she brought the other people from the office to have a look and they gave me the thumbs up. So now I have shirts to last me until I'm back home. I took a taxi to the shopping mall and I had a  milk shake before returning to my hotel. I took the elevator to the 20th floor to see if they had Dolma at the restaurant. They had egg plant dolma, not the cabbage dolmas and I left the restaurant.
I tried the restaurant in the lobby and they were going to check. The cabbage dolmas was finished and they offered me pepper dolmas. Well, pepper dolmas is like stuffed peppers, but it was dolmas or bust. I had my dolmas with a pot of tea and it was OK even if it was not the cabbage dolmas. When I was ready the girl asked if I wanted 3 bottles of Efes Light. - No thanks, today it is tea only. I went outside to take a taxi to the Bazaar area for a walk. I was going to spend the afternoon  there before returning to my hotel and my bed. A few hours of walking around and I will have a good night’s sleep before leaving for the airport tomorrow.
We took off towards the Bazaar area on the other side of the Galat bridge. And going there scares the shit out of me. Istanbul is not located on hills, it is more like mountains and the roads are very steep and what if the brake stop working in the middle  of one of those steeps? We would be in free fall reaching supersonic speed in 0,5
I understand why they don't have any bicycles in Istanbul. I have not seen one single bicycle since I arrived. Well, I saw one bicycle today.  Hmm, I was actually never seeing the bicycle, it was a guy dressed in a bicycle outfit and a helmet carrying something that looked like a case for suites. But it was a bag for his bicycle.
Anyway, I'm always stand-by in the middle of the  back seat. If the shit hit the fan and the brake stops working and the driver are screaming in  panic while plunging down towards our death I can pull the hand brake from the back seat. You never know how people react in time of distress and I'm better off being prepared for any worst case scenario.
 So a hot tip is to sit within reach of the hand brake when travelling by car in Istanbul. And that goes for both going up and down the steep streets. Going backwards will for sure not be any better than plunging down the steep front first.
So I'm in the middle of the back seat ready to pull the hand brake with my camera in video mode. Imagine what a success a video of us plunging down the vertical street in a out of control taxi would be on YOU TUBE. Millions of hits instantly.  At the Bazaar area
We reached the Bazaar area without any mishaps and I was walking around for 2 hours or so before I took a taxi back to the Taksim Square. I walked down the walking/ shopping street from  Taksim Square and it seemed like there was no end to the street. And it was crowded all the way to the horizon.
But it was all the same shops that you find in Skåne, Bangkok, Sydney, Bombay or where ever you go. Well, for one exception, the ice cream  shops. The ice cream people made a show out of putting the ice cream in the cone. Like a  Pizza maker swinging the dough over their heads trying to attract customers to the restaurant.
I walked up and down the walking street and I bought two bottles of orange juice before walking back to my hotel. I'm ready to go back home now and I will call Sophia Muay Thai Gym first thing.  Back at the walking street at Taksim
Back at the walking street at Taksim
Back at the walking street at Taksim
I was waiting for the elevator to take me to the restaurant on the 20th floor. I could hear loud music so there was obviously some party. But is the music coming from the club lounge on the 18th floor or from the pub/ restaurant on the 20th floor. I was unlucky, it was a party on the 20th floor and the restaurant was closed. So I went down to the lobby to see our excellent Concierge. I asked for an Italian restaurant and he suggested CENTO  PER CENTO. He wrote down  the address and I went to take a taxi outside my hotel and I was soon on my way to the restaurant.
We ended up at yet another “HIGH” street in Istanbul. Several restaurants and the Italian restaurant were looking nice. The food was very good and I had 2 pots of tea with my food and I thought it would be nice with some chocolate mousse with my tea I asked it they had whipped cream, the mousse was served with orange sauce and that didn't sound very good. So I asked for whipped cream but they didn't understood. The waiter had a phone with a dictionary and we were soon having the Turkish name for whipped cream But they didn't have any whipped cream and I was surprised, a high end restaurant without whipped cream? Never heard off before, I paid my bill and I returned to the hotel. It was 11 o'clock and the streets were still crowded, Istanbul, 17 to 10 million people living here, twice as many as in Sweden. I was imagining how much garbage we produce every day. And what are they doing with all the garbage. I could not see any garbage along the streets as in Bangkok. And the streets of Bangkok are full of rats, here I haven't seen one single rat. And they don't give me a fist full of straws every time I buy a bottle of water. 65 million people in Thailand and we can imagine the mountain of plastic straws produced every day if everyone gets 2  straws per day. Istanbul, twice as many people as in the whole of Sweden and what will happen if all of them decide to go to the bathroom at the same time?
+++++++++++++++
Wednesday 28th of August 2013 and I woke up at 7 o'clock, good, now I will be tired tonight and if I'm lucky I can sleep all the way to Bangkok. I had asked if I could stay until one o'clock yesterday and it was no problem. So I went for my breakfast and they recognised me and I was  soon having my tea. 3 days and 3 breakfasts, must be a record for me, otherwise I always sleep during the breakfast.
I paid my bill at 1 o'clock, well, it was almost 13 thirty as I forgot my pass port and stuff on the room. They helped me to get a taxi and I was off to the airport. Leaving the Marmara hotel behind and I can really recommend this hotel, very friendly staff and on a very good location. So this is the place to be at when in Istanbul. I arrived to the Airport at 1400 something and I checked-in and I had about 5 hours to go before  departure. I was positively surprised when I entered Turkish Airways lounge and it made it straight in to #1. Seoul was pushed down to #2. Dubai was great, but the showers were a disappointment, but what keeps Dubai on place #3 is that they had restaurants with smoking allowed.
Istanbul, several food outlets and I took a seat just at the grill for Turkish meatballs. The best food I have had since a very very long time. I had 2 huge helpings before I got embarrassed. I waited for 30 minutes and by then I suspected all the passengers seeing me with the 2 helpings had  gone for their flights.
I discovered the cake corner and there were Turkish sweets, and they had big cups for the Earl Grey tea. Turkish Airways Lounge is for sure #1 and there were so much food and sweets. I f they only would have had a smoker's corner. Well, I'm puffing on mu e-cigarette and things are pretty OK. And hold on, a beautiful girl is coming. She is pushing a cart full of dessert.
Turkish Airways Lounge in Istanbul is by far the best lounge I have ever been to. And it came as no surprise, they have been very friendly here in Turkey and service had been excellent. I already   said that Turkish Airways was one of the best airlines I have been flying with back in 2006 when I signed off Rainbow Warrior.
I huge lounge with a corner for kids and a library  with a pool table. I will not bother to mention the showers. When you are in  this class of lounges showers are standard, so no need to mention them.
But I must mention the “suites” for passengers with more than 4 hours between flights, of course free of charge. Good to now for the future. And as mentioned, food and drinks everywhere. But I was full after the Turkish meatballs and the cake corner. There were a guy  baking some pizza stuff and in one end there was a Cook making pasta. I could go  on and on and for sure, no need to leave for the flight hungry or thirsty.
When the girl came with the cheese cart I told her I was on diet, but the cheese looked very good. Turkish food, why is it that we can find Italian restaurants and the fast food restaurants everywhere. A Turkish restaurant, I can't remember seeing any Turkish restaurants and this must be the best food in the world. OK, Pasta is not bad. But I have never  had any better food in a airline lounge before. So a hot tip is to fly with Turkish Airline next time, go I to their lounge and try the meatballs.
I say maybe, but this might be one of the best thing you have ever tried, but leave  some space for the Turkish Sweets around the corner form the Turkish grill corner. Skip the cakes and cookies, a chocolate or strawberry  cake can be found all over the world so go straight for the Turkish sweets.
They say Turkey is cheap but I found it to be as expensive as the rest of the world but I'm pondering the idea to have a VISA RUN to Istanbul instead of Singapore next time. A weekend in Istanbul is never wrong and I can go see the girl in the office above the Tailor. It was soon time to leave for the gate and I ran in to a disappointment, we had to go by bus to the  aircraft. This was not what I had been expecting and I was not happy to go on a bus.
I climbed on board and I was greeted by 2 Stewards dressed like Cooks. I got my seat and I was very pleasantly surprised by the cabin. 
Plenty space for my legs and the seat was comfortable and the seat could be turned in to a flat bed with a push on a button.  Waiting to take off
 Istanbul from above
 Istanbul from above
 Istanbul from above
 Istanbul from above
The doors are closed and secured just a few minutes after scheduled departure time. We start taxing towards the runway and I was chewing on some chocolate they had offered us before  departure. Drinking water and I was in a pretty good mood. I could see that there were plenty aircrafts in the line to take off before us and we had to wait at the beginning of the runway.
I could also see aircraft landing on the runway next to us and I was really hoping that they would stay on their runway. The worst airplane crash/ disaster. 2 fully loaded jumbo jets collide, well, the Pan American jumbo jet landing on the KLM jumbo jet taking off in the fog. The KLM had been waiting for several hours on the runway to take off and suddenly the Captain decide to take off. Suddenly they are hit by a Pan American flight landing, all passengers in 2 full Boeing 747 dead. We took off and from above it is easy to see how Istanbul is built on steep hills and there was light for as long as I could see, a huge city. We were soon served a snack and I asked for a Potato & leek soup to start with and lamb chops as main course. I took a sleeping pill when I finished my lamb chops and I started a movie. They were soon bringing the dessert cart and it looked so good I couldn't say no. I had some white pudding with raspberries and blueberries and some chocolate stuff. A cup of tea and I stopped the movie and I went to bed.  We start with some excellent Turkish snacks
 Potato & leek soup
 Lamb chops (Look at the rosemary, that's how I like to see my lamb chops)
Please note the red pepper, I could easily have had 20 more of those
 Approaching Bangkok and we fly over the old International airport Don Muang
Please note the golf coures between the runways
 Approaching Suvarnabhumi International Airport
 Approaching Suvarnabhumi International Airport
I had an excellent breakfast when I woke up and I finished the movie I had started when we left Istanbul. I finished the cheese platter and they brought me a plate of something else and I was full  when we approached Suvarnabhumi. We flew over the old Bangkok International Airport Don Muang and we were soon landing at Suvarnabhumi.
The Stewardess handed me a premium lane card when I left the air craft and I expected to be pass the Immigration in a jiff. So just to pick up my bags and get a taxi back home. So our Hero's adventure in Istanbul has come to an end and the adventure continues in Bangkok. So HANG ON, this might be fun!
    
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To www.aladdin.st since December 2005
Visitors from different countries since 26th of September 2011
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