Day 43 from Nepal – Cappadocia - Istanbul - EUROPE!
After a magical morning in Cappadocia, we packed into Heffalump and were about to hit the road when we noticed something strange in the parking lot: the right front tire was almost two centimeters thicker than our other tires. It had worn away the front part of the plastic fender as we traveled through Iran and Turkey. Apparently, Indian 195/70 tires are a slightly different size than European 195/70 tires.
We decided to check the tire pressures since tires had become the morning's topic of conversation. During the inspection, we noticed that both front tires had significantly low pressure. We fixed the situation and hoped that the different tire sizes wouldn't cause problems.
During the day, we encountered another problem, this time with the car's stickers! The two new stickers we got from Dubai had proven problematic in a way that only Dubai car stickers can be: they couldn't withstand water. The Tilatuote and Foto Silmunen advertisements were running down the side of the car when we returned from our lunch break. We didn't see the car washer waiting for tips anywhere. 
The hot air balloons, magnificent breakfast, and tire adjustments together had delayed our departure until almost eleven. However, the road to Istanbul was easy and just as high-quality as all the other roads had been in Turkey up to that point, so our journey took a couple of hours less than we had expected. We arrived a hundred kilometers from Istanbul just as the sun was setting.
Scenery!
Throughout our drive across Turkey, we noticed the strong presence of the military. In the first kilometers from the border, we saw many armored vehicles, in Erzurum a military transport or bomber plane, and near Ankara fighters and helicopters in flight. However, the crowning moment was seeing a submarine in the middle of a bay in the Mediterranean twilight. Apparently, all the equipment was deployed because of the situation in Syria.
Photographing from a car going 100 km/h in practical darkness doesn't always work, but from this you can at least tell that it really is there!
Istanbul
As Europe's most populous city, Istanbul is quite a metropolis. The continuous settlement on the Asian side begins well over 50 kilometers before the Bosphorus strait, and although the country has some of the world's most expensive fuel, the city's traffic is extremely congested. The last hundred kilometers took us three hours, although small detours played their part.
The next day we spent a rest day in Istanbul at our Finnish friends' place. It was much needed, as we had driven 4000 kilometers in five days. Our rest day included sleeping in late, three loads of laundry, a nice little drive to the European side, and a sauna!
We also had time to take care of Heffalump. The Lady who lost her left ear in the collision felt quite naked near European highways, so we got her a new ear, although it seemed to be from an American organ donor. New stickers had been arranged for us at the Finnish company Clewer's office in Istanbul, so we just stuck them in place.
TO EUROPE!
In the morning, we left early again to avoid the rush on the bridges crossing the strait and headed to the oldest part of the city. On the bridges, you can easily end up waiting two or three hours to get to the other continent. In the dim light, we ended up with our car in the square between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.
Once again, it felt very surreal to see Heffalump in front of a monument that had previously been familiar only from postcards, games, and picture books. When flying, you become numb to distances, and seeing something magnificent with your own eyes becomes normal. But Heffalump among elephants, at the Hermitage, or on a tiny ferry continues to amaze. What is it doing here? How on earth did it end up here? It shouldn't be in a place like this!
But it seems to make it everywhere, and our journey continues towards the EU in the next blog post!