Istanbul

---

Having been set back by Sunday’s late bed time and our early flight to Istanbul, we were all still suffering sleep deprivation. We set four different alarms and were up before 5. Fortunately, everything went very smoothly (or at least we didn’t notice the things that went wrong) because none of us had the capacity to deal with much adversity. We arrived mid afternoon at our lovely hotel in the Old City of Istanbul. Everyone was delighted by the air conditioning and variety of soft surfaces available of lying and/or napping upon. We were anxious to get out and explore Istanbul, but everyone needed some down-time and we lazed about the hotel room for a few hours to recharge. We summoned our strength and got out on the street by mid-afternoon and headed towards the Grand Bazaar. What a phenomenon! We had read about it in the guide books, but were still astonished by the vastness, the variety and the incredible visual experience of all the shops and colorful merchandise. We wandered for a while and browsed, but didn’t buy. We chatted with a few shopkeepers many of whom are quite charming and persuasive: “You don’t buy a carpet like this because you NEED it, you buy it because it speaks to you!” As we left the Bazaar, our hunger and exhaustion, which had caught up to us in London, was now going in for the kill. After some consternation about how to find good local food that everyone would like, we settled on a touristy street café slightly off the main thoroughfare. The food was good enough, and the weather was absolutely perfect for outdoor dining. The restaurant staff was friendly and charming and enjoyed joking around with Andrew. The owner came by for a chat and hearing that we had only three days to see Istanbul assured us that we needed his professional assistance to really take in the city in such a short trip. The price was quite reasonable and we seriously considered it but decided to go it on our own. After Andrew charmed a free dessert (not his first for the day!) by looking longingly into the dessert case, we wandered back to the hotel in the beautiful evening weather. Istanbul has quite a number of quite adorable and seemingly healthy feral cats, and Andrew insisted we photograph them all. Cat-hunting is now a diversion that makes our long walks through the city more palatable to the kids. (Andrew also amuses himself on these walks by running around in circles to get his pedometer reading higher than Lauren’s). We returned to the hotel and unwound for the evening with a swim in the hotel’s chic modern indoor pool. All of us are anticipating some really enjoyable sleep!

---

Photos

Rough Night
Kids were difficult to rouse for our early flight to Istanbul

Bazaar!
The colorful lamps make for a really lovely display

More magnificent colors
Ceramics stall in the Bazaar decorated with hundreds of brightly colored pieces

Outdoor dining
John and Lauren relax at dinner after a rough day of travelling

Local delicacy
Sonia enjoys her first Turkish coffee of the trip

They dote on kids here
Andrew sips his apple tea

What are you up to?
One of many cats we encountered in Istanbul eyes Andrew suspiciously

Comments

[Ioanna]

Yay!
These are awesome! FYI the cat situation will continue in the Greek Islands - I must have taken about a thousand pictures of kitties when I was there. They sleep in these little piles in the sun and it's quite possibly the cutest thing EVER. :) I'm pleased to see the enemy is treating you well. Feh!