This book is a photographic record of the two weeks Fred Oosting and Charles Roffey spent in Istanbul during the first half of July 2011, as well as the two days we had at the end of the month. It also includes photos of two trips made to Edirne to see the 650th Oil Wrestling Championships in Kirkpinar. During the time spent in Istanbul, we rented an apartment in Cihangir, an area we knew from previous visits, where we had stayed at the Villa Zurich Hotel, as well as from Orhan Pamuk's books, Istanbul and the Museum of Innocence, both of which were set in Cihangir. We also had the pleasure of the visit of our friend Henk Renema for four days at the end of our two weeks. He had been to Turkey once before, so this was an opportunity to introduce him to what is our most favourite city in the world. We had a great time together!





Although this is a book about our time in Istanbul, included here are 28 pages of photos from the 650th Oil Wrestling Championships in Kirkpinar. This is the oldest continuous running sports event in the world, apparently. Its attractions are obvious, but nothing could prepare one for the atmosphere which pervaded the contests. whereby the contestants showed such care and tenderness towards each other both before and after they took to the field.