Leaving Istanbul and Back in Perth...

The day finally arrived for Kevin to leave Istanbul and head back to Perth to be reunited with Agnes and Jacynth... beginning with a shuttle ride to the Ataturk International Airport...

 Last chance for some photos...

 ... as the bus crossed over the Galata bridge...

Popeye burgers for lunch!

A four hour transit in Singapore's Changi airport after a 10 hour flight...

 Then it was another 5 hours before Kevin would land at the Perth airport, where he took a cab back home to be greeted by Agnes, Jacynth and Kevin's mum! As expected, Jacynth kept herself busy by helping to 'unpack'...

We're glad to be reunited again! :)

Conference in Istanbul

The main reason for Kevin's little trip to Istanbul is to attend the International Union of Radio Science (URSI) General Assembly and Scientific Symposium, and that's what he did throughout the week. Here's Kevin and his dorm-mates Luis and and Fikih posing in front of the Lutfi Kirdar Convention Centre in Istanbul where the conference was held...

The three of them again, this time together with some of the others at the Young Scientist Party...

One of the general lectures in the main auditorium...

Fikih's presentation on the attenuation of waves in rain...

The radio astronomers probably got the best venue for their talks. It appeared to be the only room with tables, so everyone could bring out their laptops to do some work and check e-mails while the talks were going on!

The room has got a nice view too!

In fact, the convention centre is situated on some sort of hill, providing a nice view of the surrounding areas and the Bosphorus. The only downside was the 2km walk uphill that had to be traversed every morning in the heat and humidity of summer. 

Luis' poster...

One of Kevin's research collaborators Dave Jauncey presenting the Grote Reber award to Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the discoverer of pulsars (and whose PhD supervisor controversially won the Nobel prize for her discovery while she was overlooked).

Jocelyn Bell then gave a very inspiring talk about how she serendipitously discovered the pulsars, with this slide showing the initial nickname given to them: LGM (for little green men)...

Kevin gave his own presentation on the last day of the conference...

Daily Life in Istanbul

Evenings in Istanbul usually included walks to nearby places for dinner, though once in awhile, Kevin and his friends would stumble across some noteworthy places... 

... the Dolmabahce Mosque for example...

The food in Istanbul is superb, with lots of spices and flavour!

Kevin found himself addicted to the 'islak', small, moist burgers that originated from Taksim square. In total, he had 7 of them throughout his stay. Kevin has concluded that Istanbul has the best burgers in the world, even better than Ramli burger! Their patties are always filled with an interesting blend of spices... yummy!

Shopping for some turkey delights to bring back to Perth... 

Each evening would also include 'family time' skype sessions... 

Out and About in Istanbul

There is no better way to spend a sunny Sunday morning in Istanbul than at the Sultanahmet district, undoubtably the most 'touristy' place in Istanbul. Kevin started off with a stroll around the Hippodrome...

The obelisk of Theodosius, erected in 390 AD

The outer courts of the Sultanahmet Mosque (or more popularly known as the Blue Mosque)

Hagia Sophia can be seen from across the gates of the mosque...

Kevin's first time inside a mosque!

Then it was time to visit the Hagia Sophia (Church of  the Holy Wisdom), once crown of the Byzantine Empire, then converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest, before being turned into a museum in the last century. Having read so much about it in books on the history of Christianity, Kevin had been looking forward to visiting this place. He got himself a self-guided audio tour kit, costing 10 Turkish Lira.

Once inside the Hagia Sophia, one can understand why it has such a reputation for inspiring awe in vistors past and present, from near and far. It's domes were designed to evoke a sense of Heaven on Earth in the hearts of worshippers. Apparently the statue of liberty can easily fit under the domes.

Both Christian and Islamic elements can be seen...

There is much debate about whether the ancient Islamic artwork on the dome should be removed to unveil the mosaic of Christ Pantokrator underneath (assuming it can be recovered)

The mosaics (or what remained of them) were absolutely beautiful...  much work has gone into restoring these mosaics which had been painted over when the church was converted into a mosque. It's just too bad that most of them have deteriorated...

Graffiti carved into the marble by Viking invaders...

Next stop, Topkapi palace, seat of the Ottoman Empire...

The entrance to the relic room, where various sacred relics are on display, including locks from the Kaaba, David's sword, Moses' staff, John the Baptist's skull and arm, Prophet Mohammad's sword, beard and footprint, swords of the first four caliphs, the first copy of the Quran etc. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed. The authenticity of some of these relics is doubtful, especially Moses' staff, but they definitely date back to at least the Middle ages, when they were highly sought after by the Christian and Muslim pious...

Lunch break at the Konyali restaurant within the palace grounds... nice view!

Hagia Irene (Church of Holy Peace), the only church that was not converted into a mosque under Ottoman rule. Unfortunately, it's only open for official functions like concerts...

some colourful shops and cafes...

All in all, it was a great day out. It would have been better if Kevin had not been scammed twice. Once by a peddler selling books and postcards, and then by the taxi driver on the way back to the dormitories. Yes, Istanbul is full of scammers trying to take advantage of the hordes of tourists! And Kevin managed to avoid most of them after reading about their sleazy ways online, with the exception of these two unfortunate incidents...