Trip to India=Turkey

SO..finally in Istanbul..I loved this place..it's on the crossroads
of Europe-Asia..Galata bridge..fresh fish roasted..the vendors..
the noises..crowds..Sirke?i railway station on the Europe side..
just a warning..beware of pickpockets and moneychangers..
lots of people got ripped off early seventies..first day did some
touristical sightseeing..Blue Mosque(Sultanahmet)reallly impressiv..
Kapali ?arsi(Big bazar)is a real hustle and bustle of little shops..
i took a ferry on the Bosphorus river..real nice..crossing to Uskudar
on the Asian side..what i always regret up till now is that I did not
visit Topkapi Sarayi(palace of sultan)well..i was not into museums
these days,I guess..later on again I did Istanbul on my second overland
trip to India..again no Topkapi..well..I've heard it's wonderfull??
Evening we went into Lale Pudding shop..lots of hippies came together..
we exchanged ideas there..some came back from India...
and all they said was...woooh..INDIA..groovy..Americans on the move..
there was a message board in Lale where one could leave some notice
for friends..or share a ride towards India in a hippie VW bus..
I decided for myself to travell by bus,train,boat..whatever came up..
Second day..gathered some information about bus travelling..
i decided to take a bus to Ankara..you get a koltuk(numbered seat)
free water,some sweets,Turkish music all along..and lots of curious Turks..
but really friendly..I managed to learn the basic sentences in Turkish..
and they really appreciate this..so day 3 I was getting ready to leave
Istanbul..i visited the bus station..reserved my seat..hitch hiking in Turkey
well..some have done it..but it was risky,I heard..and transport..
so dirt cheap..so I booked that bus towards Ankara..more later on