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By adam | July 14, 2008
This post is being written in Asian Turkey, as we crossed the Bosphorus Bridge yeterday and officially changed continent! We spent two days in Istanbul fixing up Bertha and enquiring about an Azerbaijani vısa for Amy, with mixed success. James and Visesh spent a day getting all Bertha’s… quirks looked at by mechanics that did not speak a word of English - sadly there is no scanner here but if you could see their notebook full of diagrams, comics and pictures you would understand the magnitude of their achievement.
Bertha gets some well deserved TLC from Murat
Amy and I found an empty building that used to be an Azerbaijani consulate, met a lovely english-speakıng fellow called Igor who gave us tea and helped us with directions, and discovered that the Istanbul British Embassy is closed at weekends even for British citizens with consular problems - glad our massive passport fees are being put to good use.
With all this done, and having done the tourist thing for a day (huge Mosques and palaces ın the day, then a night of Sheesha, baklava, turkish coffee and being coached in backgammon by giggling Turkish ladies) we set off to begin our adventures in Asia.
Istanbul!
Of course, this meant our European breakdown cover was no longer valid and so Bertha took the opportunity to overheat and break down 2 hours later. On a bridge with a tiny hard shoulder. 25km from civilisatıon. On a Sunday. However, after an extortionate (for Turkey) towing fee and essentially bribing the Toyota Garage owner to open up at the weekend, we received a shiny new thermostat and were on our way.
On the road with Dudley and Rat
We are now in Ankara, having failed to get Amy a visa (’one week, two hundred dollars yes?’) and so are off to find a travel agents to fly her into Azerbaijan, wherein she can get an instant and cheap airport visa. Spirits are high despite these setbacks; everyone is happy to be in Turkey and we all intend to return someday - the weather is good, the hospitality is unbelievable and right now the sound of the prayer call is driftıng through the window from the beautiful Mosque across the road; incredible.
Today I went to a barbers, paid 3 pounds and mimed for shorter hair - 90 minutes later I emerged, having been trimmed, washed, facepacked (no, really), rewashed, shampood, styled, massaged, perfumed and then given tea - anyone can rough it! 
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