Rest Day in Istanbul

After already soaking in the atmosphere of Istanbul last night, we continued in the same way today. We first slept in and then set out to explore and discover the city. The three of us were traveling together, and Erkin shared a lot of knowledge about Turkish culture and his own experiences in Istanbul.

To solve the problem of my increasingly frequent punctures, I wanted to buy new, more puncture-resistant tires. Fortunately, in the tourist area where we were already moving around, there were several bike shops, and one of them had exactly what I was looking for—the “Schwalbe Marathon Plus Tour” tires, known as being “unflatable.” So I bought two and continued exploring the city with them hanging over my shoulder. I felt very relieved to have found a solution and hope that the tires live up to their promise.

After that, we fully dedicated ourselves to sightseeing. In addition to visiting mosques and palaces, we also went to see the Yerebatan Cistern.

In the afternoon, we took a ferry to Kadıköy, which is on the Asian side of the city. This is Erkin’s favorite part of Istanbul, as it is much less touristy and more locals can be found there. You could also notice this in the restaurant prices. We spent the rest of the day in this district and took a small bus (a shared taxi) back to Taksim Square and thus to our hotel in the evening.

The rest day flew by, but at the same time, I experienced and saw so much that it felt like I had been in Istanbul for ages. Jiabin will fly back to Switzerland tomorrow morning, and I will accompany her to the bus stop shortly before 5 a.m. Even though we only had one and a half days together, I truly appreciated it—it was a very valuable time for me.

By the way, a cyclist named Shaun from London contacted me and mentioned that he was also having a rest day in Istanbul and planned to continue riding tomorrow. We met at 10 p.m. to get to know each other briefly. Since we are both heading toward Georgia, we will ride together tomorrow. Maybe, if it works out, I’ve found a companion for the next part of the journey. We’ll see. For the next few days, Erkin will also still be riding with us.