My driver drove like a maniac.

I decided not to worry about the driving and check out Istanbul from the back of the minivan.

I noticed how pretty the streets were with their flowers.

We went along the water for a bit and some buildings were lavish with views over the Port.

At one point we were stopped at the lights (in the wrong lane) and I saw some bread lying on the side of the road on the grass. I had a chuckle to myself noting that it was Turkish bread.

Not long after that we were driving through the Old Town.

The Old Town streets are very narrow with a poorly kept cobbled surface.

We zipped here and there through the arrow streets, just avoiding other cars and pedestrians and then came to a stop.

We were at my destination.

I only had 40 Euros on me and it cost 23 Euros but the driver had no change. So he converted it to Lira. Whilst we were discussing currency horns were blaring angrily. Where he had parked was blocking all other traffic so he got back in the van and moved it up onto the sidewalk.

He got back out and I paid him in Lira then was on my way to Hotel Agan.

It was a fairly short walk and I spotted the hotel fairly quickly. As I got closer I noticed many people eating breakfast outside the hotel at tables spread in an L shape around the building. I saw several cats, one being fed some toast.

I went past them to the entrance and entered the hotel.

The guy at reception spoke very good English. I had seen pictures of the place online and it looked the same. Simple but stylish Turkish furnishings. I liked it.

The young chap ran through everything with me, including the wifi password. He also said I could have breakfast.

I left my bag in the designated area and went into the bar/dining area.

I didn’t really feel hungry. There were no available seats inside so I made myself a cappuccino at the machine and took it outside to the quiet seating area.

As I walked down to the available table some young girls were shrieking about a cockroach.

I couldn’t pick up any wifi signal from where I sat so I had my coffee, which tasted fantastic, and then went inside to the seated area just in front of the reception and logged on to the wifi.

There was an email from my father in my inbox which I replied to. In the reply I mentioned seeing soldiers with machine guns guarding various important buildings.

After pressing send, I dialled up in my phone directions to the Grand Bazaar, put my earphone in and set off to explore Istanbul.