Today we say goodbye to Istanbul. It is time to see more of Turkey by rental car. We ordered a car service to pick us up and take us to the airport. We were hoping to get the rental car at 10:30 AM, so we ordered a car for 9:15 AM which should have given us plenty of time. Little did know that there was a marathon today that closed all the streets in the Old Town. The driver actually came on foot to pick us up and then we had to walk 1/2 mile to the car. We then spent the next hour pretty much standing still in traffic. It was frustrating, but at least we didn't have a flight to catch. We saw other people leaving their taxis presumably to try to take a train instead to get to the airport.
Through all of this, we made it to the rental car counter just 1 hour late, at 11:30 AM. About 45 minutes later, we were on the road.
Through all of this, we made it to the rental car counter just 1 hour late, at 11:30 AM. About 45 minutes later, we were on the road.
Today we are driving to Safranbolu. It is 273 miles, just under a 5 hours drive. We are not in too much of a hurry since we are staying there for 2 nights, so we have all day tomorrow to explore the town. We didn't know what to expect with the roads and driving in Turkey, and we were pleasantly surprised to find the roads to be in great condition and well marked.
We arrived to Safranbolu around 5:30 PM, checked into the hotel, and headed out to find dinner. We were pretty hungry, so we stopped at the first place we came to. We ordered a salad to start which was served with bread and some spreads. Tim ordered Köfte (some kind of meatball thing) and I ordered some kind of pasta stuffed with yougut...I don't remember what it was called.
We arrived to Safranbolu around 5:30 PM, checked into the hotel, and headed out to find dinner. We were pretty hungry, so we stopped at the first place we came to. We ordered a salad to start which was served with bread and some spreads. Tim ordered Köfte (some kind of meatball thing) and I ordered some kind of pasta stuffed with yougut...I don't remember what it was called.
After dinner we walked around the town a little bit. Safranbolu is a cute town with cobblestone streets. Tomorrow we will see more of it.
We returned to the hotel to blog and relax after the long drive. Check out the view out of the window in our room.
We are looking forward to walking around Safranbolu tomorrow. After being in the big city of Istanbul for 5 days, it will be nice to walk around a small, quaint town. Until then...
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