Turkey – Real on the Road

Lost My Hat On the Way Back To Balat

July 5, 2023 by David Hunter Bishop

*The colorfully decorated street that I am living on now, again in the Balat neighborhood of Fatih, Istanbul, my third visit to Turkey*

I’m back in Balat, my favorite neighborhood in Istanbul, biding time and getting some work done in advance of the Rolf Potts Travel Writing Workshop I’m attending July 30-Aug. 4 in Paris.

The Flixbus trip from Sofia, Bulgaria, to here was eventful.

Born to Border Run: Georgia to Turkey And Back In A Day For Low-Cost Meds

January 14, 2022January 14, 2022 by David Hunter Bishop

The futuristic border crossing from Sarpi, Georgia, to Hopa, Turkey, designed by George Jetson. The photo was taken through a window, accounting for the fluorescent light reflections and dirt smudge UFO, upper left in the sky. But it was the best view of the building that I had access to and I like the effects, complementing the surreal architectural style, more like an aquatic diving tower than a border crossing. Gotta love Georgia!

I was sailing right through the border checks until the Turkish guy asked about my visa.

I said I had been recently to Turkey and thought I still had one.

I didn’t.

After Being Mugged In The Park, My Credit Card Company Did It Again

October 27, 2021 by David Hunter Bishop

A colorful canopy of parasols over an alley way in Balat, Istanbul Turkey.

Most of you probably read my account of getting drugged and robbed in Istanbul.

However I haven’t reported the mugging I got from one of my credit card issuers in the aftermath.

Typical scene in the quiet backstreets of Balat, Istanbul, Turkey.

While the drugging and robbery were over in an afternoon on July 2, the mugging by the bank occurred during the ensuing nine weeks as I tried to show that I was truly the victim of a crime and should have the fraudulent charges on my stolen credit card removed.

Just hope something like this never happens to you.

(Note: I’ve inserted some random photos of my recent three-month stay in Turkey that I haven’t shared yet, just to lighten the mood and show Turkey in a different, better light than what might be inferred from what happened to me in a single incident. Otherwise the photos are not specifically relevant to the post.)

Gone From Istanbul, Been to Barcelona, Now I’m in Georgia

September 20, 2021September 20, 2021 by David Hunter Bishop

One of my favorite activities in Istanbul, Turkey, was riding the ferries across the Bosphorus and Golden Horn to visit the many different parts of this large and captivating city.

It’s been too long since I last posted. I was in Turkey at the time, which was two countries ago on my continuing journey.

For the past 11 days I’ve been in Georgia — the country, not the state — and before that I spent a week in Barcelona, Spain, where I visited a friend who I first met in 2017 in Medellin, Colombia.