Two Weeks Later

The last couple of days have been spent not only with the usual sightseeing excursions but also having dinner and the occasional evening cordial with relatives and friends. There are many sections of Istanbul where the streets (always closed to automobiles) are as narrow as alley ways and the restaurant owners drag all their table and chairs outside to create one giant outdoor cafe. While these are very popular hangouts, I was spared the wave of tourists one might see at the various ancient ruins or Topkapi, etc. The restaurant we visited has been known for over a generation to be a popular spot for disaffected intellectuals and lefty bohemian types. In other words, the type of place many of my relatives love and have frequented.

The popular drink is called Roki, which is one of those licorice type concoctions. I think it's simply awful. The recipe is 1/3 of a glass of Roki and 2/3 of a glass of water, which turns the drink a milky white. All Turks seem to love this drink. I don't get it.

By the way, the section of town where so many of these open air restaurants are located is near the neighborhood that Nobel Prize winning author Orhan Pamuk writes about at length in a number of his books.

Again, apologies for not contributing more to this blog, and not providing pictures. It took me 10 days to get this machine to behave (I'm still not sure how I did it) enough to post the occasional note, but soon I hope to regale you all with pix and mind numbing details about this excellent adventure.

Update Along With Travel Tips

Verizon may be the least depised phone service in the US but when it comes to service outside this great nation, you can forget it. With other US carriers (Cingular, T-mobile, for ex.), you are often an inexepensive sim card away from having mobile phone access. But with Verizon, you pretty much have to rent a phone, which means making a down payment, paying a daily fee that's just less than a rent-a-car, and get charged about $1.50 a minute! Talk about live and learn. Also, you might want to bring along your own laptop.

Anyway, it was a visit to the Spice Bazaar then back to the Grand Bazaar, then across the Galata Bridge for a few photo ops. Then a ferry ride back to the Asian Shore. Sometimes I'm not thrilled when others gush over the sights and sounds of their worldy travels, but really, Istanbul is simply amazing. Every few seconds and you're fumbling for the camera. Then you look at the shot and think that this doesn't capture the place at all. The one thing I seem to be able to do with this computer is download my pix, so I'll try to take a few short videos. Maybe that will give you all a better feel for the place. Tomorrow Topkapi Place. Also known as the Seraglio, The Sublime Porte, etc. Later y'all.

Better Late Than Never

It's now been a week since I arrived. I made the mistake of not bringing a laptop and it has made posting to this blog extremely problematic. I will try to make a couple of posts today though I'm using a laptop that has it's own plans, so we shall see.

That said, it's been an amazing trip. I experienced the traditional losing of the baggage as I arrived in Istanbul while my luggage decided to spend an extra day in London seeing the sites. Luggage hand delivered the next day so nothing too melodramatic. A few other passengers lost luggage and one of them looked familiar, like an athlete or actor on a cable dramatic series. Just couldn't place him. Still working on it.

I am staying on the Asian side of Istanbul, so a couple of days after arriving and seeing many relatives, it was down to the landings at the Asian shore to take a ferry to the European side to see the ancient sites. Details forthcoming.

Getting Ready !

Am almost packed along with appropriate seasonal clothing and meds. Scheduled to arrive on May 28. On May 29, 1453, the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople.