This is not a birding trip. Begining in Istanbul, not Constantinople

 How on earth did I end up on a trip that was not for birding? As a travel professional I occasionally get offers for "fam" trips. These are low cost trips designed to familiarize the agent with locations in order to encourage them to book them knowledgeably. Travel All Mongolia has been offering these trips for some time. Mongolia was a place I had dreamed of as a kid. Outer Mongolia, as it was referred to then, was about as remote as you could get. Genghis Khan was an infamous villain in the history books. I mentioned it to Martin, as he could go as my companion, but the structure of the tour was in no way designed for a hard-core birder. I decided to go alone. I checked with Turkish Airlines and found I could do a stay over in Istanbul, which made it even better!

Martin dropped me in Houston on May 29. The flight to Istanbul was fine, not quite as good as my flight to India last year, but better than average. I sat next to two delightful Muslim ladies who were going on pilgrimage to Iran. They were both originally from India and lived in Houston. One of the biggest perks of travel is being exposed to people who you think are very different, but are actually not. I arrived in Istanbul on the evening of May 30 and went through passport control, picked up my luggage and did customs. This involved an incredible amount of walking. I decided the airport was designed to weed out the weak! I was exhausted by the time I got through. If you do a stay over in Istanbul, Turkish Airlines will give you a free hotel in the Old City, but the reviews for the hotel were not good, so I decided to book a different hotel, the Radisson Sultanahmet. It is a small boutique hotel right on the sea front and was very reasonably priced. The drive from the airport is about an hour, so I saw quite a bit of the city driving there. 

I checked into my room, which was rather small, as European hotels usually are, but it was very comfortable and clean. The bathroom was beautiful and the bed very comfortable. Best of all it had a spectacular view of the Marmara Sea, where Yelkouan Shearwaters are seen. I opened the window and scanned. The first things I saw were dolphins!  The light was fading but in with all of the Yellow-legged Gulls I spotted a distant flock of birds that I was pretty sure were the shearwaters. I hoped for better light in the morning to confirm them. I went to the restaurant and had a wonderful lamb dinner. I fell into bed and slept like a rock.

 

Shearwaters

 

My breakfast companion.

The following morning I scanned again and did confirm the birds I was seeing were indeed the shearwaters. They were distant, but I was able to get some photos. But as I said, this wasn't a birding trip, so that was a bonus! I went down for breakfast, which was included in my hotel rate. It was a really nice buffet. I grabbed various items, including some beautiful smoked salmon and went out on the open terrace, enjoying the sea view. Right after I saw down I was joined by a companion, a very healthy looking gray tabby cat, who jumped into the chair across from me and looked at me expectantly. I cut a bit of the salmon and gave it to him. He looked to be making a very good living! 

I set off sightseeing for the morning. Gulhane Park was nearby and I thought I would start there, hoping to see a few birds before I hit the tourist spots. The park is really beautiful, but between the lawn crews on riding mowers, and the screaming contest between the Yellow-legged Gulls and Alexandrine Parakeets, it was impossible to hear song birds. I did add a couple of new birds to my life list, Alpine Swift, and Pygmy Cormorant. 

Pygmy Cormorants.

I just enjoyed walking around the old city gawking for a bit. Thinking about just how old this city is is mind blowing. I arrived at the Blue Mosque, put on a scarf and took off my shoes, and went it. It was so beautiful! I am not Muslim, but I can appreciate the beauty of this building. It was built in the 1600s. It has five main domes with hand painted tiles. It is still a functioning mosque and tourists are not allowed in during prayer. The Hagia Sophia is very close, so I walked over there. Unfortunately the entrance Google Maps took me to was closed. I circled around and saw that the line to get in was L O N G. I had to check out of my hotel at 11 AM and was afraid I would not get back in time. I headed back to the hotel, getting lost several times, even with Google Maps! The streets are winding and not marked, but I finally found my way. I checked out and they held my bags, as my ride to the airport wasn't until 1:00 PM. I took a long walk down the sea front, enjoying the dolphins and seeing more shearwaters.

The Blue Mosque.

The Radisson.

I returned to the hotel to pick up my bags and catch my ride to the airport. The manager came out and chatted with me as I waited. He was so nice! He explained how the old wall by the terrace was part of the city wall and was 1500 years old. I told him how much I loved the hotel and would try and come back. I had a nice drive back to the airport, trying to soak in as much as possible. I gave myself too much time, but did not want to risk missing my next flight. One note about the Istanbul Airport, gate information is not given until an hour before boarding. The airport is huge. There is limited seating near the boards where the flight information is given. I found a small cafe at one end of the airport with open seats and got a bit to eat. My gate ended up being at the very farthest end of the airport from where I was sitting! As I said, the Istanbul Airport is designed to weed out the weak!