Legend has it the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was in his garden one day. Unbeknownst to him, a deadly snake slithered into his presence. The serpent was poised to strike the prophet when it was pounced upon by a cat, thus saving the Prophet from a painful death. Muhammad stroked the cat’s head in gratitude, and it is said that the stripes that some cats have on their heads is the mark of the Prophet’s fingers. Now, I don’t know if this story is true, but I rather like it, even if I am more of a dog person. There are a number of hadith (collection of quotes purporting to be from Muhammad) that refer to cats, such as “A good deed done to an animal is as meritorious as a good ... read more

The Orient Express – the name conjures up images of luxury and louche characters. What I hadn’t realized is that Sirkeci Station in Istanbul was the terminus for the Orient Express. While the Orient Express no longer runs from Paris to Istanbul, Sirkeci Station still sees passenger trains stop at its platform, and the station itself still retains its architectural beauty. The station was built in 1890, and in 1892 the Pera Palas Hotel was built on the other side of the Galata Bridge with the express purpose of housing passengers on the Orient Express. It quickly became the favorite place for European visitors to lay their heads. It was the first hotel in Istanbul to have electricity, to have an electric elevator, and to provide hot running water for its guests. I wanted to follow ... read more

Before I came to Istanbul I practiced saying no. “No, thank you.” “No, I’m just looking.” “No, I’m not interested.”“No, it’s too expensive.” “No, stop it.” “NO!” I learned to say no in Turkish as well as English. So how come I ended up in a rug shop drinking tea? I’m an early riser, and I like to get out and about. My first full day in Istanbul I just wanted to walk around and get my bearings before it got too hot and there were too many people around. I was in Sultanahmet Square headed to the Information Center. The bad part of that is that as a single woman who was obviously a visitor, I was a target for every carpet salesman in town. And since there aren’t a lot of tourists around yet, ... read more

Taksim Square doesn’t have quite the name recognition that the other T Squares – Tahrir and Tiananmen – have, but it still holds an important place in Istanbul’s history, and I wanted to see it. I start by walking across the Galata Bridge. This runs across the Golden Horn from the Eminonu neighborhood to Karakoy. You can walk along the top side, which gives you a nice view of the city, or you can walk through the lower level, past the people fishing from the bridge, and the restaurants that will (presumably) serve their catch. Once on the Karakoy side I switch to the funicular. Now, I don’t know about you, but when I think of a funicular, I think of railways like the one seen in the movie “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” and I have ... read more

When people ask me why I travel, I often say it’s because of my Viking blood. Turns out I may have been closer to the truth than I realized. A couple of months ago I’m on a first date with a perfectly nice man; let’s call him John Doe. We are in a coffee shop (OK, it’s Starbucks, but I like their espresso) in Carlsbad, California. He is nice looking, smart, financially secure, and age-appropriate for me. And single. We had taken a few classes together, but didn’t know each other well. Since he didn’t look like an axe murderer or a serial killer (and did I mention he was single?) I readily agreed when he asked me for coffee. This particular coffee shop is right under the flight path of the Palomar-McClellan Airport in Carlsbad. ... read more