48th Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey

It's impossible for us to miss the Presidential Tour of Turkey, unless we go away for the day, as it passes our building no less than eight times in the closing laps of this gruelling race. We can also watch the progress of the race on television at the same time, so we know just when to go out on to the balcony to cheer them on, or in my case to take photos.

Our road is closed for the race, so here is an unusual view of

our usually traffic congested road, Bağdat Caddesi.

We had a great view of the race from our balcony

There are eight stages of the tour in various parts of western Turkey, and the final 120 kilometre lap is in Istanbul. This last leg began in Sultanahmet, by the Aya Sofya, crossed both the Galata and Bosphorus Bridges, and ended in the Bostanci Coastal Highway, close to where we live.

I rushed down to the finishing line, just in time to see the

beginning of the last lap. The ultimate winner, Ivailo Grabovski,

can be seen in the green strip here

This is the sprint to the finish from the 300 metre mark

Both the first and last stages were won by the Dutch rider, Theo Bos, riding in the Rabobank team. But the overall winner was Ivailo Grabovski from Bulgaria, riding for the Turkish team Konya Torku Seker Spor, so you can imagine the excitement of the crowds when that was announced.

The Dutch cyclist, Theo Bos, being congratulated by Abdullah Gül, the President of Turkey. On the lright is Andrew Fenn (GBR) second,

and on the left Stefan van Dijk (Ned) third.

The leader jerseys were awarded as follows: Turquoise Jersey (Overall Winner) was presented to Ivailo Gabrovski (Bulgaria); Red Jersey (King of the Mountains, or best climber) was presented to Marco Bandiera (Italy); Green Jersey (Points) was presented to Matthew Goss (Australia); and White Jersey (Sprints) was presented to Maxim Belkov (Russia); and the best team effort was won by Astana from Kazakhstan.

The winners!

There's never a dull moment here in Istanbul!

Photographing Istanbul (Day 2)

 Cruise ships visiting Istanbul

Our first full day of photography was spent capturing some of the iconic sights of Istanbul, beginning with the Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia). Although we made an early start, we still had to wait in line, due to the influx of huge numbers of cruise-ship passengers into the city. Finally inside, we were able to take innumerable photographs of this magnificent building. The sheer size of this Byzantine masterpiece is breathtaking, especially when one considers that it was built nearly 1,500 years ago, without the aid of any type of machinery.

While we waited to go into the Aya Sofia, we took photos of the man 

selling sweet corn, a popular street snack in Istanbul

Now all the scaffolding is down, one can appreciate the sheer 

size and beauty of the Aya Sofya

We especially admired the beautiful mosaics

Our next stop was the Yerebatan Sarnici, also known as the Basilica Cistern, built by the Romans to store the fresh spring water brought to the city from the Belgrade Forest along enormous aqueducts. This underground cavern is eerily lit, and very difficult to photograph without a tripod, so we tried steadying our cameras on the rails to get our best shots.

The cavernous interior of the cistern is quite spectacular

It is easy to get around this part of Istanbul by using the tramway.

The Grand Bazaar, where we went to next, is always a colourful subject to photograph. It has been in existence since merchants travelled the old silk road, bringing their goods from distant exotic lands. The bazaar has been covered since 1461, following a decree by Sultan Mehmet II, the conqueror of Constantinople, giving it the distinctive style we see today. Jerry and I had great fun walking the streets of the bazaar and talking to the stallholders, who assailed us from all sides with their banter, "Please can I help you spend your money," being the most popular.

The Grand Bazaar was bedecked with flags for Children's Day

From the bazaar, we walked downhill, through the crowded, winding streets, full of little shops, all the way to the Egyptian Bazaar, by the Golden Horn.

On the way down, we saw these boys washing in a fountain.

Spices for sale in the Egyptian Bazaar

 Finally, with hundreds of photos captured on our cards, we headed for the Eminönü Iskelesi, where we boarded our ferry back to the Asian side for our journey home.

The 47th Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey 2011

Today, I am interrupting the sequence of my blogs for up-to-the-minute news.

The view of the 47th Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey from my apartment.

 

I decided there was a better view from the street.

This morning David remarked that there were no vehicles coming down Bağdat Caddesi. The road was closed. We soon discovered the reason. This was the start of 47th Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey, the first stage of one of the warm up races before the Tour de France - and it was coming down our street; not just once, but nine times, as we were part of an 11km loop that formed 99km of the race.

Crowds wait at the finish to cheer in the winners.

 Only 300 metres to go!

I went down to the street to catch the action, and then, when they were on their final loop, I carried on down to the sea front to watch the end of the race.

 

At the 200 metre mark, Tyler Farrar was leading

 

Andrea Guardini came through to win.

 

The last contestants race to the finish.

The President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül was there to hand out the various prizes. Andrea Guardini of Italy won this first stage, Tyler Farrar (USA) was second, and Kenny Robert Van Hummel (NI) was third. The end of the race was very exciting, as it looked as if Tyler Farrar was going to win, but Andrea Guardini came out of nowhere and beat him to the tape.

 

The President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, congratulates the winner

Andrea Guardini is elated

The first three past the post

The green, white and turquoise jerseys are presented

 

The Dignitaries

the President drove home down our street, and past our apartment.