EuroGP'2010 and Istanbul, 7-9 April 2010

Istanbul

Largest city in europe? Population said to be 17 million, having trebled in the last fiveteen years. City swollen by people leaving the turkish main land country side.

Tuesday

Shared taxi from Ataturk airport with Evelyne Lutton (Return Taxi with Anna Esparcia was much cheaper, but then it was on a Sunday rather than in rush hour and a shorter journey.)

Hotel Bilek

Stayed in the hotel Bilek (web site is overly complicated, map useless) on the euorpean side near the metro stop Levent 4 (way off the map). Two tube stops from Istanbul University (ITU Ayazaga, 1 subway token), which hosted EvoStar 2010.

EuroGP

Gave my paper on Thursday (slides)

Ottoman Park Hotel

Friday afternoon went by Metro (Taksim), Funicular and tram (Kabatas) (three subway tokens, one each) to tram stop Cemerlitas. Walked down the steep hill to the Ottoman park. (See black pencil mark on the map below.) The Ottoman Park Hotel is immediately above the yacht picture in the map. [Perhaps take a torch, as many of the corridors do not have windows or satisfactory electric lights.]

I am told (afterwards) this is the less fashionable side of the peninsula but from the roof top restaurant (see Anna's pictures) we could see bulk carriers in the sea of Marmara stretched all the way to the horizon waiting to go through the Bosphorus to the Black Sea.

The Ottoman Park's web site has rather better maps. Eg copy below.

The Ottoman Park is said to be within ten minutes walk of the blue mosque. Even though I was limping (I tripped earlier) it was walkable.

With J J Merelo visited the little Sofia mosque. This is called Kucuk Ayasofya Camii, on the map C. Next to the railway line. According to the map's scale this is 400 meters from the Ottoman Park in a straight line.

On Saturday, after lunch, we had tea on the pavement (Kadirga Limani C.) opposite the park.