Istanbul; 29th September - 2nd October - From Aqtau

Istanbul; 29th September - 2nd October

Istanbul

Unfortunately, the rim and spokes were held at customs in Istanbul. In order to get them through, we would have had to complete paperwork for a commercial import, and pay associated costs. We decided this was too much, so asked for DHL to return the items to the UK (no cost), to get a refund from SJS.

We decided to order the parts from bike-components.de , based in Germany, to get delivered to Sofia, Bulgaria, also in the EU -- so no issue with customs.

It meant that we would definitely not see more of Turkey by bike which was disappointing. If we'd managed to get the parts through to Istanbul, we could have potentially bussed back towards Cappadocia, and continued cycling west from there.

I enjoyed the rest of our time in Istanbul. We met up with Hakan, son of Haji, several times, and he showed us round.

We also wandered the streets, enjoying the food, the ferries, the views, an excellent hammam involving a thorough scrubbing.