Making Friends and Taking Names

We’ve decided that the men of Istanbul must go to some sort of school to learn how to be smooth talkers. With lines like “I speak body language” and “How can I rip you off today” (to make us laugh) followed by “I wish I were a fish so that I could swim away in your eyes,” it’s no surprise that I spent way to much money . . . but also had some good times and made some fun friends. The area we were staying in is full of tourists and full of guys trying to convince you to eat at his restaurant or shop in his store. The touts of Istanbul are rarely rude, but certainly persistent and we were convinced by a few to actually stop. We also saw all the touristy attractions (Blue Mosque wins for beauty, Aya Sofia wins for awe inspiring impressiveness), took a boat trip on the Bosporus and the ferry over to Asia (where it seems like a lot of actual Turks live and the vying for our dollar basically stopped). We spent our last day at the Topaki Pallace- I’m in love with the tiles there- and the Grand Bazaar. The bazaar was more . . . polished than I was expecting- more like shopping mall than middle eastern souk, but I still bought a few scarves, some earrings and a ceramic bowl. While leaving Istanbul, I was sad to go. The food was fantastic- don’t tell the Albanians, but Turkish food is like what I think Albanian food should be like. Like Albanian food cooked better and with more flavor . . . I think that Istanbul (and the rest of Turkey) is someplace that I can see myself going to again . . . someday . . .