- The eight remaining teams travel from Dubai, United Arab Emirates to Istanbul, Turkey. Some teams turn on workmates Paul & Steve while other teams turn on themselves. A market challenge that appears to be simple will put every team's patience to the test at the Detour.—Allister Coots
- Dating couple James & Sarah are the first team to depart at 5:47am. They open up their clue and find out that they must make their way to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel Marina where they have to wait for the docking of a traditional Arabian dhow known as the Dubai Pearl. Once it docked, teams had to find the skipper, who would hand them their next clue. The teams have A$143 for this leg of the race. The couple had surprised themselves by winning the previous leg. As they take a taxi to the marina, flatmates Sticky & Sam and brother and sister Joseph & Grace depart at 5:59am and 6:09am. Grace says that they way her team are playing the game is for her to shut her mouth and let Joseph do the talking, which Joseph confirms by saying that everything Grace has done has been wrong and everything he has done has been right. Sarah admits that she isn't very well travelled, and when she did, she had someone else do the work for her. She and Joseph arrive at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel where they ask locals for directions to the marina and find out where the Dubai Pearl will dock, and that it will arrive at 9:30am, so they decide to use the time to find out whatever extra information they can.
Cheerleading twins Michelle & Jo are the fourth team to depart at 6:10am. They feel as though other teams had been underestimating them but are now starting to wake up and realise that they are stronger than they look. The taxis bring Joseph & Grace and Sticky & Sam to the hotel, and the two teams get directions for the marina. At the marina, Sarah suggests that she and James should disappear so that they don't draw other teams' attention to them, but Sticky & Sam see them, effectively putting them back at square one. The flatmates ask the dating couple if they need to take a number, and James tells them that they have to wait until 9:30, a move that angers Sarah, who feels that the tiniest piece of information can sometimes give other teams an advantage. They leave the marina and retreat to another area where Sarah tells James to think about what he's saying before he opens his mouth, as the other teams are not his best friends, and they will step on both of their heads when it comes to it. When Sarah says that she will follow James like a sheep, he tells her that she's being so dramatic, to which she retorts that he's not being dramatic enough. As they continue walking around, Sarah keeps talking to James' annoyance, telling him at one point that he has to figure out if he's on their team or the other teams. James tells Sarah to stop attacking him, and she replies that if he doesn't want her to attack him, he should not do what he did before. They stop their argument briefly to say good morning to a passing person.
Police officers Shane & Andrew are the fifth team to depart at 7:04am. They are used to being the ones in control when they are at work, which is why they find taxi drivers so frustrating because other people have to put their trust in their hands. This leg proves to be no exception when their driver gets confused about whether he is taking them to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel or to the marina. Workmates Paul & Steve depart at 7:49am. They decide to prove to the other teams that they can take their collusion against them and throw it back in their faces, and that no matter how often they get U-Turned, they will still come for their opponents. On the taxi ride to the marina, Paul reveals that his sexy and normal self is also the evil self that he wants to bring out in this leg. Father and daughter Ross & Tarryn depart next at 8:14am. Tarryn reveals that for any girl whose dad is her hero, she will admire him, look up to him and respect him no matter what, and the way that Ross keeps pushing on and doesn't give up continues to inspire her. Ross isn't worried of letting Tarryn down, but he is a little concerned that her expectations of him are greater than what he is able to do. Shane & Andrew arrive at the Dubai Marina, but Shane finds out that it's not the place they need to be, but having taken the money for their fare, the driver leaves them. They find another taxi to take them to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, with Andrew suggesting that they go to the hotel and ask them where the marina is. Paul & Steve arrive at the marina, with Michelle & Jo observing that Shane & Andrew must have got lost. Grace knows that Paul is short-tempered, so she decides that he will be a source of their entertainment while they wait. When the workmates ask them if they are meant to do something before they sit down, Grace replies that they should read the clue. Eventually, Steve tells Paul to ignore them. Later, Paul compares the other teams ganging up on him to when he used to get teased at school about his weight, which became a strong motivation for him to prove that he could stand up to bullies.
Shane & Andrew and Ross & Tarryn arrive at the hotel, and soon join the other teams waiting at the marina. When Paul & Steve come back, Grace, who now feels bad for them, tells Paul to give her a high-five, but he refuses, telling her that he is sick of bullying smart-asses like her picking on him, which leads Grace to reply that she has the look. She then offers to give him a hug, but he tells her that he doesn't want her to touch him because he sickens her. Grace's next suggestion is to talk to him, but Paul tells her that he isn't interested in her, to which she answers that she is interested in him. Afterwards, Paul reveals later how he thinks that bullies are petty and insecure, and need to justify themselves by making other people feel bad. Steve weighs in by telling Grace to leave it, and she accepts, but tells them not to look at her like they're going to kill her, a situation other teams describe as awkward.
The Dubai Pearl arrives at the marina, and after it docks, the seven teams jostle for position. Paul is first to reach the narrow stairs to the deck above, where he finds the skipper and receives the next clue, which is a Detour. Here, the teams have to choose between two tasks that both go hand-in-hand with Dubai's bustling market trade, Count 'Em Up or Price 'Em Up. Teams choosing Count 'Em Up must find a spice market square and count a sack of dried limes. Once they have found the correct count of limes, they will receive their next clue. Teams choosing Price 'Em Up have to travel to Dubai's Gold Souk and choose a marked jewellery store, where they have to arrange seven pieces of jewellery in order of price from least expensive to most expensive. Once they get the order correct, they will receive their next clue. For this task, teams will need a keen eye if they don't want to spend more time than they have bargained for. The teams all choose Count 'Em Up, and as they take taxis to the spice markets, Paul and Grace are still bitter about the altercation they had at the marina.
Sisters Lucy & Emilia are the last team to depart at 9:42am, determined to stop shuffling and start moving up. When they ask their taxi driver what the Dubai Pearl is, he tells them that it's a building, but they find it hard to understand why they would then need to wait for it. Michelle & Jo are the first to arrive at the Al-Arsa Souq, the spice market, and start to count the dried limes in their sack, knowing that one wrong count would send them back to the beginning and counting the thousands of limes again. James & Sarah and Joseph & Grace arrive and join the twins in counting dried limes. Joseph & Grace decide to count their limes in blocks of five. Lucy & Emilia arrive at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel Marina and find that the Dubai Pearl is waiting for them. They find the skipper and receive the clue knowing that they are still dead last. They decide to join the other teams in counting limes. Paul & Steve and Ross & Tarryn are next to arrive at the spice market square. As Paul & Steve start counting, they are mindful of not rushing through and getting it wrong, as they felt that the time spent re-doing the count would negate whatever time they gained by doing it quickly. Shane & Andrew then arrive and start counting their own sack, while Ross feels that hearing the other teams counting is slightly off-putting to them, and Jo tries to counter the policemen's loud random counts by putting her hands on Michelle's ears. They complete the count first, but their count of 1,513 is wrong.
When Sticky & Sam's taxi driver can't find the Al-Arsa Souq, they decide that rather than waste another 20 minutes trying to find it, it would be quicker to switch tasks, so they direct their driver to take them to the Gold Souq. As they try to sort the pieces of jewellery, they reveal that their only experience is when their ex-girlfriends asked them to buy some. They show the store owner one combination, but it isn't right. At the spice market square, Joseph & Grace and Ross & Tarryn arrive at counts of 1,512 and 1.450, but neither of them are right. When another order of the jewellery is incorrect for Sticky & Sam, they decide to borrow a small magnifying glass, although Sam doesn't know either which way to look through, or what he is looking for. James & Sarah try a count of 1,254, but it also turns out to be wrong. Sarah suggests to James that his double-handling of the limes led to their mistake. After some more arguing about how they should handle the limes, James decides to let Sarah do what she wanted to do, although he didn't see it as giving up. Paul sees the task as playing to his accounting strengths, with an IQ that puts him in the top 2% of Australia. He arrives at a count of 1,493 limes, and is told that it is correct. He and Steve receive their next clue, and they now have to travel on foot to the Deira Old Souq Station. The clue comes with a caution that there is an Anonymous U-Turn ahead. When an Anonymous U-Turn appears at the end of a Detour, it allows one team to force another team to perform the side of the Detour that they did not previously complete, but that team will have no idea who has slowed them down. As the workmates return to their taxi, where they left their bags, determined to be first to make it to the U-Turn, Shane & Andrew finish counting their sack of dried limes, and their guess of 1,506 turns out to be correct. They set off straight for the Deira Old Souq Station, and arrive at the Anonymous U-Turn only a few seconds ahead of Paul & Steve. The policemen decide to U-Turn the workmates, which Shane considers is unfortunate for Steve as it is for what Paul did to Grace earlier, which Paul later describes as cowardice. When Paul & Steve arrive and see Shane & Andrew at the U-Turn, and their own picture on the board, it turns out not to be as anonymous as was intended, so the workmates have to make their way to the Old Gold Souq to price some pieces of jewellery. They find it frustrating that they have been U-Turned at every opportunity, yet have never finished higher than fifth.
At the station, Shane & Andrew open up their clue and discover that they must fly to the only city in the world spanning two continents, Istanbul, Turkey. Once there, they must travel by taxi to the Blue Mosque, a landmark known for the tens of thousands of colourful tiles covering its grand interior. Once at the mosque, they must find the sultan, who will give them their next clue. In their taxi, Lucy & Emilia see Paul & Steve on the footpath heading for the old Gold Souq, and the sisters realise that they are still in the game. Back at the Al-Arsa Souq, Michelle & Jo finish their second count of dried limes at exactly the same number as their first count. Michelle tosses up about whether to guess one more or one less, while Jo thought the count was 1,511, a thought that she channels all the way to the blackboard, resulting in the cheerleaders getting their next clue. At the Gold Souq, Paul & Steve arrive at a jewellery store and Steve, who had been to a few jewellery stores and acquired a couple of pieces of bling himself sets to work ordering the pieces from least expensive to most expensive. His first combination isn't right, but when he swaps a couple of the pieces, he is told it is correct. Had Paul known that Steve was good with jewellery, he would have done this task first instead of counting the limes, but as it only set them back 10 minutes, they think that Shane & Andrew's U-Turn was wasted. In another store, Sticky & Sam also try swapping some of their items around, and eventually find the right order of the pieces.
Michelle & Jo reach the Deira Old Souq station in second, while Paul & Steve turn up there for the second time having only lost one place as a result of the U-Turn. When the workmates see that there are still a lot of envelopes in the clue box despite them doing both Detour tasks, they figure out that they are still among the leaders of the race. Back at the spice market square, Ross & Tarryn arrive at a completely different count of 1,496 dried limes, which is correct. On the taxi to the airport, Michelle & Jo look up their timetable of Emirates flights to Istanbul, which they had through their jobs as airline staff, and find a direct flight that leaves at 2:50pm, so they borrow their taxi driver's mobile phone to make a booking on this flight. Sticky & Sam and Ross & Tarryn are the next teams to arrive at the Deira Old Souq station. Lucy & Emilia arrive at the Al-Arsa Souq and see Joseph & Grace and James & Sarah still there, giving them hope that they are still in it. When Sarah sees the sisters arrive, she starts counting louder to try to put them off. When Joseph & Grace's next guess of 1,517 is also wrong, they decide to cut their losses and switch tasks.
At the Dubai International Airport, Michelle & Jo are first to arrive, followed by Paul & Steve, whose presence there surprises Shane & Andrew when they arrive. Shane tells them not to be upset, hoping to explain why they chose to U-Turn the workmates, but Paul & Steve are not interested in even listening to them, considering it to be rather patronising. As the lead teams collect their tickets, Joseph & Grace arrive at the old Gold Souq, but they start to argue with each other about what order to put the jewellery pieces in. At the spice market square, Lucy & Emilia and James & Sarah write their lime counts of 1,498 and 1,489 on the blackboard, but both guesses turn out to be wrong. Lucy & Emilia start counting again, but James & Sarah decide to switch and price the jewellery. At the jewellery store, Joseph & Grace settle on an order for the jewellery pieces which turns out to be correct. They leave the Gold Souq as James & Sarah arrive. For a while, Sarah is distracted by the pieces, trying several on and asking for a sample of one. They get back to the task at hand, but their first guess at the price order of the pieces is wrong. Lucy & Emilia try both counting the limes on their second guess, and after they arrive at the same figure, they write 1,499 on the board, and are told it is correct. Joseph & Grace arrive at the Deira Old Souq station and see Paul & Steve's picture on the U-Turn board, which Grace thought was the best picture to see there because his earlier rudeness to her had now bit him in the butt. Lucy & Emilia are next to reach the station, while James & Sarah finally find the right order for their jewellery pieces. When they reach the station, they don't see any other envelopes in the clue box and realise that they have dropped all the way from first to last. Fortunately for the dating couple, when they reach the Dubai International Airport, they find that the Emirates flight to Istanbul has been delayed, allowing them to join the other seven teams on the same flight to Istanbul, scheduled to arrive at 6:55pm.
The plane lands at the Atatürk International Airport in Istanbul, and there is a mad scramble for taxis by all eight teams. Joseph & Grace again find themselves in close company with Paul & Steve on the drive to the Blue Mosque. When the taxis drop them off and they search on foot for the mosque, Paul speeds through the group in an effort to get to the front, even though the backpack he is carrying is spinning around in all directions, and when he passes Grace, his still flailing backpack knocks her over, which leads the brother and sister to call the workmates idiots and demand an apology. Grace asks Paul if he is that threatened. Paul makes a sincere effort to apologise, but Grace describes him as so low, and says afterwards that it showed the other teams that Paul was a little weak piece of dirt. To Michelle & Jo, it came across particularly bad when it was put together with what had happened at the marina that morning. Paul & Steve are the first to find the sultan, and when they open up the clue that he hands them, they find that they have reached a Road Block. Michelle & Jo, Joseph & Grace, James & Sarah and Lucy & Emilia find him soon after. The teams now have to make their way to the 1,500 year old Hagia Sophia, one of the world's most important historic buildings, which was originally built as a Christian church, then later converted into a mosque decorated with Arabic symbols. The person performing the Road Block has to memorise the eight Arabic symbols, and then travel by foot to the nearby Basilica Cistern and align the same eight Arabic symbols in order on a column. The teams are only permitted to return to the Hagia Sophia once to check their answers. The clue adds a caution to beware of blood-sucking leeches. Paul, Jo, Grace, Sarah and Lucy choose to perform the task for their teams Sticky & Sam, Ross & Tarryn and Shane & Andrew are the final three teams to find the sultan, and Sam, Ross and Andrew take on the memory-testing task.
As other teams ask for directions to Hagia Sophia, Paul is the first to arrive there, and while he wishes that he had more time to take in the majesty and elegance of the museum, he was very focussed on the task at hand. At first glance, the eight symbols looked to be the same, so Paul has to look deeper to identify the differences between them, and finds that the best way to do that is to focus on a part of the symbol near its edge. He finds one that looks like an egg, another like a 7 and a third like a 2. Jo is next to arrive and decides to use her photographic memory, starting with the most basic symbol and working her way towards the more intricate ones. Grace is next to study the symbols as Paul sets off for the Basilica Cistern. When he arrives, he thinks his memory has become a little fuzzy. Joseph & Grace need to ask the locals for directions in order to make it to the Basilica. When Lucy arrives at the Hagia Sophia, she has no idea where the symbols she is looking for are - in her head, the dome with the circular discs was nothing more than that. Sam also appears initially unsure about their location, but he eventually spots the symbols around the dome. Andrew finds that three or four of the symbols looked exactly the same apart from some minor differences, so he has to look really hard to distinguish them. Ross and Sarah are the last two teams to reach the Hagia Sophia and study the Arabic symbols, with Sarah making up a song in order to remember their order. After she changes into some gumboots in order to wade into the water underneath the Basilica Cistern, she describes it as her best outfit so far.
Paul, Lucy, Jo, Ross and Grace descend into the Basilica Cistern, where they start working on arranging the Arabic symbols on their columns into the same order as inside the Hagia Sophia. Paul works methodically through his recalled symbol parts, but it is Grace who is first to show her combination of symbols to the judge. Four of her symbols are not in the right order, so she decides to use her one return trip to the Hagia Sophia. Feeling that he has to live up to his earlier bragging that he was good at this sort of task or else he would embarrass himself and look silly, Paul is next to show the judge his arrangement of symbols, and gets a nod - his order is correct on the first go. He realises that his team now has "major threat" written all over them. Paul has to dip his hand into a well of water infested with leeches to retrieve a stone that has the next clue, and when he pulls it out, he learns that he and Steve must now make their way to the Pit Stop at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum without delay. The Archaeological Museum houses more then one million objects from every major historical civilisation. Jo is next to offer her arrangement of symbols, and she doesn't let Michelle down when her order is correct. Paul & Steve head straight for the museum while Michelle & Jo stop and ask the locals for directions. Paul & Steve are first to find the mat, where host Grant Bowler tells them that they are the first team, and that as the winners of this leg of the race, they have each won an action-packed trip to the Australian Rally Championship, where they will ride alongside Honda's official rally driver, and then enjoy VIP access to the pit, a prize worth A$10,000 thanks to Honda. They feel good about coming back from sixth to first having been fired up by being U-Turned for two legs in a row, and want to stay at the top. Michelle & Jo check in second.
Back at the Basilica Cistern, Lucy is confident about the symbols at the top, but isn't so sure about the ones at the bottom. When her order is turned down, she decides to go back to the Hagia Sophia and look at the symbols again, so she realises how crucial it is to get it right this time, being the last chance she will have. Sam and Ross then present their combinations, but both are wrong, and they both decide to make their return trip to the Hagia Sophia, followed soon after by Andrew. Sarah spends more time than some other teams in finding an arrangement of the symbols, but the order that she presents is turned down. Grace is next to come up with the right combination, followed soon after by Sam on his second attempt. Sticky gets excited when Sam gives him the thumbs-up. Andrew returns from his second study of the symbols, knowing that if he can't find the right combination this time, he will have to rely on guesswork, but that scenario doesn't come to pass when he gets the symbols right. Their departure puts pressure on the remaining people, Ross, Lucy and Sarah, and each of them find their next attempts at the order of the symbols are incorrect. Sticky & Sam pass Joseph & Grace on the sprint to the Archaeological Museum, checking in third ahead of the brother and sister, while Shane & Andrew arrive in fifth. The order that Lucy is sure about turns out to be wrong, as does the next try that Ross makes. Tarryn gets frustrated when she sees how the challenge is getting to her father Ross, and feels helpless when he doesn't want to talk to her. For her, the hardest thing is knowing that Ross is a lot smarter than some of the other teams that have gone through ahead of him. Ross is totally confused, and seriously considers giving up the task and taking a four-hour penalty for the team.
After another try at the order of the symbols proves to be wrong for Sarah, she and James consider their team's options. The possibilities they saw for the other teams were that either one of them would take a penalty, or all three would stay in the basilica until the crack of dawn. In they end, they decide to take the four-hour penalty first to ensure that they would be ahead of at least one of the other teams. Lucy keeps working on the puzzle and finds the right combination of symbols, to the relief of both herself and Emilia. They are excited to know that they aren't last, but are devastated about who they have left behind. At the Archaeological Museum, James & Sarah are the sixth team to reach the mat, but Grant cannot check them in because they elected to take the four-hour penalty for failing to complete the Road Block. As they start to sit out their penalty, Sarah begins to have second thoughts and gets worried that she might have let James down. With Ross not even close to the right combination of symbols, he and Tarryn also decide to take the penalty. Lucy & Emilia check in at the museum in sixth. When Ross & Tarryn arrive at the mat, Grant calls James & Sarah back to join them. He then tells the father and daughter that they are the last team to arrive, and they had accepted a four-hour penalty, then he checks in James & Sarah as the seventh team before telling Ross & Tarryn that this is a pre-determined non-elimination leg, which means that they are still in the race, but they must check in first at the end of the next leg or else they will incur a 30 minute penalty. Ross says afterwards that it was a massive relief at the end of the day to find out that it was a non-elimination leg, and they now face a challenge having hit the lowest point of the race. Tarryn adds that they have a massive task ahead of them, but they will give it their all and see it through to the end no matter what.
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