Headless, Legless, Armless

 

Bodiless

How come sculptors, after millenia have not perfected the art of keeping all the body parts together? Surely it cannot be that difficult.

Headless

 Wanting to make the most of my museum pass in Turkey I wandered into the Archeological Museum in Istanbul and after wondering about this deeply troubling question I thought it best to find an attraction more fitting to my nature.

Armless?

Just maybe I found the answer in the Topkapi Palace armory. Did the body part become detached BEFORE the sculptor applied his art? Troubling indeed. And what about all those other body protuberances that have been whacked off over the centuries.

Anyway time to move ahead with the travelogue.

Istanbul Skyline

I do not like the idea of having a "bucket list" but if I did have one this city would definitely have been on it. Istanbul, Constantinople, dividing line between Asia and Europe. So many names are conjured up when thinking about this fabled place. 

Hagia Sophia Mosque

The vibrancy of this city is hard to describe with most of the main sites being on the European side of the Bosphorus but the fun restaurant and food markets areas being found on the other, or Asian side. The Asian side is where I stayed.

The Bosphorus

 There are ferries crossing the Bosphorus every few minutes making it easy to hop on one without having to plan ahead.

How many types of olive are there?

Black Sea Coastline

I started following the Black Sea coastline eastwards along a good paved road through many small towns and villages but where I wanted to be from a riding perspective was a little inland  on the Trans European Trail ( TET )

Endless Views

Glad the mud was dry

Rich Pasturelands

I stopped in one little village to consult my map and in no time at all I was seated at a table and enjoying lunch with this incredibly hospitable couple and a few of their neighbours. Thank you for the invite Azime. The Turkish people are so amazingly friendly and it is difficult to even stop at a petrol station without spending half an hour with the owner having a cup ( actually a tulip shaped glass ) of the ubiquitous Turkish tea ( Çai )

Just great roads to ride on