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REPORT FROM STATION T and BEYOND
From Istanbul-Vienna-Prague-Karlovy Vary-Munich-Cortina to Venice
Hosted by Richard and Leslie Skillman
July 2013 NEW YORK JFK AIRPORT
ISTANBUL: The mission began with agents assembling in the new Delta SKYCLUB luxury SKYBAR, which is outside and provides a spectacular view of the city and airplanes departing while we sipped on our last martini before boarding. Our flights delivered us all safe and sound at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul and from there our check in at the Surmeli Hotel, our base of operations for the next few days.
IF YOU HAVE TO ASK THE PRICE OF MARTINIS…Our first stop on the tour was the PERA PALAS hotel, while incorrectly identified as the hotel James Bond stays at in the novel, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, it was the very hotel where Agatha Christie wrote MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. Our waiters, all huge Bond fans, treated us to a wonderful mushroom risotto along with their own 007 brand martini. We visited Ataturk’s office, housed here as a museum, with many of the Turkish leaders’ belongings and papers. We then taxied up the waterside to the beautiful Dolmabahce Palace, nestled on the Bosporus and one of Istanbul’s prized museums. Adjacent to the Palace are two world class resorts, the FOUR SEASONS and the CIRAGEN KEMPINSKI PALACE, the latter was used by the SKYFALL cast as its hotel and the site of the Press Announcement for SKYFALL. Incredibly very good martinis are served here, we recommend them, note the $30 per martini cost for your MI6 or CIA expense accounts.
Our drive down to the city through Taksim Square takes us by the gate seen as the RUSSIAN EMBASSY in FRWL and we have our group photo. A great tour followed of TOPKAPI Palace, easily a day in itself with its massive grounds and the location for the heist caper film of the same name.
Next stop is the Grand Bazaar, which is figured prominently in both SKYFALL and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. Entering the Nuru Osmaniye Mosque gate entrance, we recreate Connery’s 007 walk through the Bazaar to meet with Karim Bey. Look for the stone fountain on the main "highway" of the Bazaar. Other locations within the Bazaar are the HAN, the exterior upstairs patio where Red Grant spies on Tania as she goes to meet with Klebb and Gate 7, which is the gate Daniel Craig poses on the motorcycle in front of.
Also, you can find the gate area that was rigged with a false wall and window for SKYFALL’s Patrice to crash his motorcycle through. Other SKYFALL locations included the Bazaar path and stairs up to the roof. No 007 would leave the rooftop unchecked, and our group made our way to the rooftops for photos and marveling at the SKYFALL (and TAKEN2 and INTERNATIONAL) sequences filmed here. The view is amazing on the roof and one could imagine the logistics of filming the SKYFALL chase up here!
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