Things you were probably wondering.......

today we took a bus tour of the city, and saw just how big it was, and how very busy the port is. we also saw remains of buildings built many thousands of years ago. the big excitement was that the prime minisinter was eating at a restaurant nearby, so the police were out in force. here are some things you may have been wondering about

PEOPLE - the people here are a very friendly, gregarious lot, especially those in the stores. they wear all manner of dress from short shorts to full black dress-coats with just the eyes showing. about a quarter of the women wear some kind of head scarf, and mostly it is brightly coloured and matches their outfit impeccably. people walk arm in arm a lot. men with women, women with women, and men with men. you see very little boys who probably should be in school trying to sell things to the visitors, or working at little restaurants.

FOOD - everything we have eaten here is delicious. there is a lot of lamb, and no matter which way they cook it it is tender and tasty. salads are fresh, and nicely presented. there is always pita bread, and it is fresh. restaurants are less likely to serve alcohol here than in hungary. you are more likely to get coffee or tea. we had wine with our meal last night, turkish wine, and it was a lovely red wine. breakfast is sliced meats, cheese, eggs, yogurt, fruit, bread, regular coffee, tea, some cereal and pastries. the one i really like is cigar shaped phyllo dough with spiced feta inside. For dessert today we had something which startred as a disk of shredded wheat, was soaked in honey and butter and grilled. tasty.

TOILETS - well the toilets here are varied i must say. the one at todays restaurant was fancy. it had three dials near the toilet seat and I have no idea what they were for. the instructions were in japanese. the label said essence. the sink had little containers that had q tips and make up pads. then there was the toilet at the bazaar. it was sort of open air - you had privacy, but the top of the stall was open to the air outside. and it was just a hole in the floor - porcelain fixture, but the fixture was just three inches tall. you had to flush when you were done, but since we weree not used to that sort of toilet had to be very careful in its use.

SAFETY - you feel very safe here. there are the regular police, the tourist police, and the traffic police. they are young, men and women, and seem well trained, and are friendly, and are everywhere. today the prime minister of turkey was eating at a restaurant near the haghia sofia, and we saw about 20 of them run up the hill to guard the restaurant and the sidwealk outside. when we were in the grand bazaar yesterday they were at the entrances and on the floor. although people are prepared to charge you too much for something, i think they would not steal from you or short change you.

NOISE - Istanbul is wuite a noisy city. you regularly hear the call to prayer, which i find makes this place very exotic. loudspeakers are used, so you get to hear it no matter how far away you are from a mosque. It is often a back and forth chant - someone at one mosque sings something, and someone at another mosque either repeats it or sings something in response. There are cars on the go at all hours of the night, and there is a tram nearby that whirrs along on a regular basis. Then there are the helicopters, and sometimes horns beeping or police sirens wailing.

WEATHER - so far our weather has been wonderful. a little chilly in the morning, but sunny and warm through the day, no rain so far .

tomorrow we head for cappadochia and konya. cappacochia has wonderful geology, and konya is the home of the whirling dirvishes.