Can I tell you a secret? I’m not loving it here.

Our days have a strange pattern here. To avoid the worst heat of the day, we get up very early, and are usually on the bus before 7. The temperature for the first hour or two of a site visit will be in the low 20s.

Sitting on the top deck, it’s 41 degrees in the shade. I’m waiting for a drink of kakadee, a drink made from hibiscus.

Please remind me to never never never poke anything in my ears again, as it seems I have perforated my eardrum.

Woke up to a painful left ear.

Currently lounging by the hotel pool, a well deserved rest after a big day.

Arrived in Cairo today. Not only is it my first time in Egypt, it’s my first time anywhere on the continent of Africa. Exciting.

We started our last full day in Istanbul with a guided tour of the hotel.

Not sure who I’m writing this travelogue for? It seems clear no one in my family is reading it.

We booked a private guided tour of the Topkapi Palace,