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Istanbul - nr.Ferrai
E.Route : Istanbul - nr. Ferrai : ETD ------- : ETA ------- : Dist ------
A.Route : Istanbul - nr. Ferrai : ATD 1948 : ATA 0010* : Dist 161m.
- Depart Istanbul 1948
- Fuel stop 2005-2014
- Crew change/bog stop 2055-2101
- Fuel stop 2355-0000
- Turkish/Greek frontier 0027-0100 (Turkish time ) 2327-0000 (Greek time)
- Arrive roadside camp (before Ferrai) 0010
E.A.Spd ----- : Gross Av. Speed. 29.85mph : Net, A. Spd. 35.78 mph
Stop time 0:53 hr : Speedo TD 15299 : Speedo TA 15460
Comment : another quiet night drive, with camp pitched in the first sheltered spot visible on the Greek side of the frontier. (*)-ATA is Greek time - times throughout log are in Turkish time. (**)- Departure time from European side - crossing made on morning of 29th Sept.
Jim Lindsay's diary:
29 September
The overall plan for the day was to spend the day in Istanbul and then make a
night journey into Greece or at least in that direction.
Some people still had money but those of us who were really short of cash were
tempted by the prospect of selling blood. We had been told that the going rate was
roughly £5 per pint. We had also been told all sorts of things about unscrupulous
clinics that emptied their hapless clients and dumped the bodies in the Bosphorus.
Issues like needle infection and hepatitis don't seem to have been so live at that
time.
Once we had found the British Embassy and managed to retrieve some mail left for us,
a bunch of the poorer of us went in search of blood money. Eventually we found a
clinic where they seemed quite pleased at five of us turning up together. Yes, it
would not be a problem, they said. Once we had been tested there would be no more
than a 36-hour wait before they could tell us whether we would be suitable. So that
was the end of that money-making dream. I must admit that I was rather glad.
I was completely without Turkish currency in hand or indeed anything to convert,
so we spent a few rather miserable hours without the means to do anything except
sit in the cold. Many thanks for AS who was generous enough to get me things to eat.
We found the parked coach but it was locked and unattended with our warm clothes and
spare money on board. I remember that we sat for some time at the rather grimy German
Fountain, which had apparently been presented by Kaiser Wilhelm to the city. For what
it is worth, this was apparently erected in 1900, not long after the Kaiser had
visited the city and been welcomed warmly. It was nothing to do with alliance in
1914-18.
Eventually the prosperous ones tottered up laden with Afghan coats and brassware
and pottery. Now that we were assembled we had the usual argument about what to do
next. Not surprisingly the ones who still had money wanted to overnight in the city
and spend some more the following day, but the wretched of the earth just wanted to
carry on. We did have right on our side, since the sightseeing day had been agreed
on the basis that we would move on immediately afterwards, and we prevailed.
The roads towards the border were quiet and a bit eerie in the moonlight. At one
point a police patrol stopped us to complain about the brightness of our dipped
headlights, but we suspected that they were just a little bored and curious about
this odd vehicle.
Once through customs, we carried on just far enough to be out of sight and found a
sheltered field to spend the night.
