anonther city that never sleeps

we arrived in istanbul at 2 a.m. the night before last. security at frankfurt was no more stringent than at other times, so i guess they figured they had all the bad guys collected up. istanbul is a large city, and it is very much alive. lights all over the place, airplanes arriving at all hours of the day. our hotel was chosen on the basis of location and value, so although it is in a very happening area of the city, it is small, and not a lot of amenities. but there is a very ample breakfast in a dining room that overlooks the sea of marmara, and can even be taken out on a balcony, and internet access in the lobby. we did not spot the air conditioner upon arrival, and spent the first night sweating a lot. things are fine now that we found it. when we were having breakfast yesterday morning the harbour was just full of traffic. many ferries, oil tankers, saiboats, yachts. overhead were always at least one helicopter. you could see for miles, and the clouds were pretty over the water. it was a wonderful start.

then oscar kati bob and i headed for the grand bazaar. on the way we took time to stop at a couple of carpet sellers. they always offer you tea when you go in, and tell you their family story. they all seem to be kurds and have relatives in new jersey. they are the last reamining members of their families to be in this trade. and one fellow told me in a quiet voice that the little purses i was looking at ( and had seen about 3 million of all around the city) were made by his daughter who was trying to get together enough money for school fees. and they all have not only a carpet store, but also a restuarant which they will take you to right now. they probably all speak 10 languages and can be equally convincing in all of them. but you never felt threatened. it was all kind of fun. lunch was at an outdoor stall on one of the main drags. it was like a toasted pita with meat and veges and fench fries inside. I asked for juice and a dear little boy who must have been only 10 squeezed oranges behind the counter for my drink. the others got bottled water or pop.

the grand bazaar is immense, and all the guide books tell you not to pay what they ask, to beat them down. oscar got pretty good at it, but i was not able to do more than get them to throw extra stuff in. oscar and kati looked at several rugs and got a nice one for their bedroom. i think they will get some more. and they got a lovely plate. ceramic plates and bowls etc are very nice here. not cheap, but lovely. we got a nice bedspread. kind of goldish and shiny with a turkish design. not that expensive i guess , but more money than i thought i'd ever spend on a bedspread.

on the way back we stopped at a little park place between the hagia sophia and the blue mosque. we just sat and wathced the people go by. about a third i guess were locals, and the others tourists like us. all manner of shape and size and dress and age. we bought pretzels from a local vendor. they also sold corn on the cob on the street and today i think we will try that.

our hotel is in the tourist area, and there are many many many restauratnts. the wait staff at one of them were smitten with kathy and me, and convinced us that we should go back there after roamiing the streets, so we did. lovely meal of lamb for me, mixed casserole for bob and oscar. kathy had a chickn dish with vegetables much like they have in hungary.

well there appear to be other patrons of the hotel waiting for the computer so i should close.

we are off on a city tour today maybe, or maybe we will walk over the gallata bridge to beyoglu. it is another lovely day, and tomorrow we are headed for cappadochia and konya.

who know, we may even do more shopping.