Dates: 24 August – 3 September 2015.

With Cymru playing a key Euro 2016 qualifier in Nicosia we took an opportunity to visit Istanbul, somewhere I had always been fascinated by, prior to heading to Cyprus for the match. Liz and I wanted to see as much of Cyprus as possible, however, the only way to fly to Cyprus from Turkey is to enter via an airport in Northern Cyprus, and if we did that, we’d have to leave via an airport in Northern Cyprus too.

Instead, we opted to visit a third country, Bulgaria. The plan was to spend five days in Istanbul then take an overnight train along the Orient Express route to Sofia, via a short stop-off in Plovdiv. After a couple of days in Sofia we would then fly into Larnaca and explore both Nicosia and Northern Cyprus.

We arrived in Istanbul around mid-afternoon and headed straight out for some exploring around the network of streets and alleyways leading to Taksim Square. The general throng of people working, wandering, selling and entertaining along the pedestrianised main artery leading to the square was crazy. It was impossible to walk in a straight line!

Watch out for people and trams:

After eating and the sun had set, the amount of people had increased further. There was just no way through:

The next day we headed for the Blue Mosque, which seemed to be ever-present no matter where you walked.

Inside the cavernous mosque:

But I think it was more impressive when viewed from the outside:

The mosques was surrounded my lush gardens and nearby was the Obelisk of Theodosius:

But in all honesty, these guys were more photogenic:

After food we took a stroll along the Bosporus River, that divides European Turkey from Asian Turkey, and got a boat trip:

The Blue Mosque was never far away:

Passing under the Galata Bridge:

The Haliç Metro Bridge at sunset:

That mosque again:

The third day we visited the Topkapi Palace Museum, the Basilica Cistern and Hagia Sophia.

The fairy tale Topkapi Palace:

A beautiful day for it:

The Basilica Cistern is a network of subterranean waterways that features prominently in the Bond film From Russia With Love, so it was a must-see. Sadly, the camera didn’t do it justice

The entrance was impressive though:

Subterranean fun:

It was a lot more impressive than the camera shows!

The Hagia Sophia:

A view from the top:

Another glorious evening as the dusk turned into sunset:

The Turks love a big flag:. It looks small here, but it’s actually huge:

The fourth day involved some general meanderings:

And another boat trip:

Make the most of the unfinished bridge:

Everything was just so blue:

Our last evening in what is an incredible city:

Not sure how I captured that shaft of light but it made for a dramatic picture:

Vodka Martini, shaken, not stirred:

Before leaving for Bulgaria on the overnight train, we had one more day in Istanbul, so we headed over to the Asian side of the city via a short ferry across the Bosporus.

Thankfully, the ferry managed to avoid the submarines that were parked-up:

On arrival in Istanbul, Liz had been concerned about how to dress. Despite being a secular country, the natives are predominantly Muslim. However, there had been nothing to worry about. The curious site of young Turkish women in next to nothing walking alongside women covered from head-to-toe in the traditional clothing was frequent on the European side of the city. The Asian side was no different.

Back on the European side we headed for the cable car to take in the view from above the city:

A panoramic:

Beware intelligent cats using the crossings provided at the Military Museum:

A jellyfish in the Bosporus:

The local rowing team, probably:

The ever-present Blue Mosque:

Closely followed by the Hagia Sophia:

Each evening seemed to be more beautiful than the one before:

Just utterly stunning:

Istanbul was excellent. Stunning architecture, blue waters, lush greenery, great coffee, and magnificent sunsets. However, our journey to the train station where we had to catch our overnight train showed another side to the city: the traffic!

After collecting our luggage from left luggage at Sirkeci station, we boarded a bus bound for Halkali station some 25km outside of Istanbul. We spent an alarming amount of time just leaving the city. The roads were rammed.

It was a bit weird on arrival at Halkali . The place was large and deserted, save for the bus passengers. We sat in a holding room for about half and hour and then had to put our bags through an airport style metal detector.

Once on the train, we settled into a compartment style carriage only to be told by the ticket inspector to move after we showed our tickets. I managed to ascertain that the train would be splitting and we needed to be in another carriage for Plovdiv / Sofia.

Our initial accommodation before we had to move, cosy:

As the journey progressed the temperature dropped and we soon realised that the Danish students sharing the carriage had had the right idea by getting into their sleeping bags!

When we arrived in Ploviv we were surprised to see the previously multi-carriage train was now down to one carriage…

Welcome to Plovdiv:

After a breakfast on the run, we headed up to see the Roman amphitheatre (which hosts open air operas) on a hill above the city:

Plovdiv had been awarded the 2019 European Capital of Culture, but unfortunately we only had a couple of hours to investigate as we had another (time consuming) train to catch to get us to Sofia.

On arrival, it was a little disconcerting to find Sofia’s main train station very much in the early stages of (re-)building. It was bare to say the least!

The next day, fully refreshed, we headed out to investigate the compact city by joining the free walking tour.

Saint Nedelya Church:

The Statue of Saint Sofia, where a statue of Lenin once used to stand:

After Sofia Synagogue, and the baths and museum of Sofia, it was on to the former Communist Party HQ:

From there is was on to the president’s palace and then the Rotunda of Saint George, the oldest building in Sofia:

The Sofia city gardens with the Ivan Vazov National Theatre in the background:

The former royal palace on Battenberg Square, now the National Gallery:

The Russian Church and Military Club:

The tour ended with Saint Sophia’s Basilica and the Saint Alexander Nevski Cathedral. However, we were all childishly amused by this piece of street “art”:

A Canadian girl in the group was travelling alone and asked if she could just Liz and I for a beer, which was a great idea considering the temperature.

More street art:

The Monument to the Soviet Army:

A better view of the Saint Alexander Nevski Cathedral, aided by the setting sun, could be seen from the rooftop bar of the nearby Hotel Sofia:

A panoramic:

Sofia was a cool place to visit. It’s quite compact so the two days we had there were plenty. The glorious weather certainly helped too.

The following day we flew to Cyprus, landing at Larnaca airport and staying the night in Nicosia, near the border with the internationally unrecognised state of Northern Cyprus.

Nicosia itself wasn’t particularly interesting and we had organised to stay at a small hotel in Northern Cyprus where the owner had helpfully organised a rental car so we could explore.

We had breakfast next to the Nicosia border wall and then passed through border controls into Northern Cyprus with no problem. We found our hotel, collected a red, automatic red Nissan Micra and headed north to Girne (Kyrenia).

Girne is known for its historic Byzantine castle:

And its mountainous backdrop:

And its harbor:

From Girne we headed east along the coast to the Turtle conservation project Kuzey Kıbrıs Kaplumbağaları Koruma Cemiyeti. The project looks after the local nesting turtles, ensuring their health and protection.

It was a fascinating few hours, and the baby turtles were predictably very cute as they flapped away as if trying to fly:

The project marks, protects and monitors nests, periodically digging the turtles up to check on numbers and health:

Here a marked and protected nest can be seen:

In addition to the turtle project, the area in general was beautiful and peaceful:

Here is a short video of the baby turtles being dug up and one close-up of a baby turtle.

The next day we departed early from our hotel and this time headed east towards Famagusta. Famagusta is a strange city, having large sections of its suburbs fenced-off after Turkish invasion and occupation in the mid-70s, but still being an operational commercial hub.

There are a number of so-called ghost-towns around the city, where abandoned houses (some partially built) still stand as an eerie reminder of the invasion.

We started our exploration by walking atop the citadel walls (the Victory Monument in the distance on the roundabout):

Famagusta’s old cathedral, now the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque:

No idea what this was, but red is usually a sign to stay away:

Our ultimate destination was the far eastern tip of the island, Altınkum Plajı, but first we drove up the eastern coast to the Salamis Ancient City.

Salamis was an ancient Greek city-state and excavations in the 20th century uncovered a Roman amphitheatre:

Liz put on a performance for the encaptivated crowd:

Ancient statues are far more fun than fairground cardboard cut-outs:

The place was literally deserted, and it was so hot, so why not…:

I’ve often thought this would make a great canvas print:

Altınkum Plajı, or the Golden Beach, is situated almost as far north east as you can go, and that was our final destination for some food and relaxation before heading back.

The beach lived-up to its name:

It was possible to stay on the beach in small huts, but we only found out on arrival. However, wild donkeys soon made up for that disappointment:

The donkey is Liz’s favourite animal by a long way:

The drive back to our hotel was long but the day had been fantastic and completely worth it. The places were visually stunning and we had so much fun in the amphitheatre, on the beach and in the water.

The last day of the trip was match day. We had no place to stay at the end of the day as the flight home from Larnaca airport was around 04.00 the next morning.

Mosquée Selimiye:

Nicosia’s surrounding mountain range with the flag of Northern Cyprus:

After some last minutes pictures from internationally unrecognised Cyprus we crossed back over into internationally recognised Cyprus and met-up with Steve Austins, his sister-in-law, and Big Rob for brunch.

Steve and Rob were going to the match with me but Steve and his in-laws had kindly offered to keep Liz company at their home. First we had to collect our match tickets from the ground. Steve drove, Rob navigated, and I appeared on BBC Radio Wales via phone from the back seat for a short live interview on our chances of victory and qualification!

After a few drinks at Steve’s in-laws’ home (which included a pool!), Rob, Steve and I were taken for food by Steve’s brother-in-laws, who were also match-bound.

The atmosphere in the GSP Stadium was somewhat muted throughout, which we put down to the late kick-off, the heat, and the fact many fans seemed to be at the tail-end of half a day’s drinking.

Pre-match selfie:

The GSP Stadium:

Thankfully, Mr Bale delivered eight minutes from time, heading home a Jazz Richards cross to keep us on target for a top two finish.

Post-match, Liz and I were re-united in a bus depot where we got a bus to the airport. Liz slept whilst I drank beer and watched football highlights until we needed to board.

The whole trip was fantastic. Great weather, great food, great (and addictive) Turkish coffee, plenty of stunning scenery and gorgeous sunsets. Then there was the fun train travel, the beautiful wildlife, Steve’s family’s generosity, and of course the right football result.