Shish! Telford globetrotters full of Turkish delight despite being stuck in Istanbul car park
Holed up in a car park in downtown Istanbul for weeks or even months may sound like a nightmare to most British travellers - but with each other, an Ironbridge couple couldn't be happier.
Travel vloggers Chris and Marianne Fisher embarked on a round the world trip in January and have so far visited 14 countries in their 15-year-old camper van Trudy.
But as they have enjoyed sipping wine and eating parmesan cheese at an Italian farm, taking in beautiful coastlines and making friends with locals, the Covid-19 pandemic has been spreading like wildfire across the globe.
Chris and Marianne, who have amassed a following of 11,000 subscribers on their YouTube channel since they started chronicling their travels in May 2018, decided the sensible thing to do would be to self isolate, and have been staying at the car park for several days now.
It may not be the most picturesque location they've visited, but it has everything they need and they are still all smiles.
Marianne said: "When it all started, people were messaging us saying stay where you are and there was stuff on the news saying travellers should come back home. But we're not on holiday, we live in our van.
"We're experienced travellers and we made sure we were prepared for challenging situations, whether it be breaking down in Mongolia and not seeing anyone for a week or anything. This is taking it to the extreme but we are survivors. Only worry about the things you can control.
"We can't take the van out of the car park now. We're allowed to walk around Istanbul but we're only going out if we absolutely must. The president has asked people to stay at home and we want to be respectful of their rules."
Chris added: "We did consider going somewhere else to self isolate, maybe a coastal location, but we have everything we need here.
"We've been through all the hot spots. We've been through northern Italy. It was a few weeks behind us though."
The pair, who used to work for the NHS, have plenty to keep them busy and avoid going stir crazy.
Chris said: "I'm still editing videos and we're still filming our life. We have access to the internet so we can chat to people back home and watch Netflix. It would be a lot harder if we didn't have it. But we remember when there were only three channels on TV so I think we'll be alright.
"The Turkish people are very friendly and have been really helpful. There's no conflict and we feel safe. It's just a bit of a ghost town."
Chris and Marianne have also been honing their cooking skills, making lentil curries, omelettes, flatbreads and more and have been documenting it all for their viewers. They make about 10 video calls a day and spend time replying to comments from viewers.
She said: "Our family and friends know our mindset. They know we're positive people and we're being sensible. We're able to motivate, support and share for each other."
Chris added: "We're trying to drive around the world and we will do, it just might take longer. We had planned the journey with the weather in mind so we might have to have a rethink, because we don't want to end up being stuck out in the middle of nowhere in Siberia when it's minus 30."
To follow their travel exploits, visit their YouTube channel here
