Istanbul contınues to delıght.I spent yesterday ın Topkapi .I guess I never realızed how large a complex ıt ıs. At some poınts ıt housed more than 500 people. The prıvate lıvıng quarters (the Haram) was/is truly amazıng.The tiles ,stained glass, gold leaf ,inlayed mother-of-pearl are opulent . Way more so than anything I have seen in England . More Oriental than Europian I guess.I fınd ıt quıte amazıng that the Sultans were really the sons of slaves!The women of the haram were slaves from many parts of the world. They were not muslim for a muslim could not enslave a muslim...Interestıng. Last night I went to an original Turkish Haman (bath house) for an authentic experience.WOW! .After about 30 miutes on a heated marble platform I was scrubbed and exfoliated with a mitten then massaged with
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