first of all, i must say that i'm quite sad that i can't add images on these posts. i'm sorry. i am writing from a completely public computer and i do not want to download photographs here. maybe at the end of the trip i'll put them up on flickr. consider that your reward for being patient and waiting. hee hee...
so i'm in istanbul right now and i'm happy it's 10 degrees warmer. always a good start. i keep insisting on not wearing my coat but i'm not sure if that's the smartest decision i've made.
either way, i'm in istanbul and overwhelmed is an understatement. there is a lot going on among these 14 million people and i believe, out of all of them, 12 million love talking to women tourists. there hasn't been a single time when nora and i walked by someone and they haven't smiled and said "hello..." and then option 1: "where are you from?", option 2: "i have nice carpets if you want to look inside." ... i don't know. all sorts of statements. granted, we are in a touristy area (don't forget we are tourists!!) but we'll figure it out. either that, or we'll just get used to it. (i think i'd rather figure it out. as always.)
anyway, also noticing how strong religious beliefs have been a part of this trip and i'm getting the most mixed variety. i had a very good-hearted and good intense crying experience in the jewish synagogues in prague. and today, we went to the blue mosque (i got chills every now and then from how beautiful and how full of faithful people it was) and agia sophia church-converted into mosque-converted into museum. from this, next week, it'll be greek orthodox time. funny to notice all this because i notice that i do somewhat lack faith in my life. i wish i believed more.
oh well... last night, we walked around a very cool pop area of istanbul that everyone should see called istiklal. it looks like a movie set. i really love the decadent old buildings so that was a treasure for me. i'm sure we'll go back a few times even if just for a coffee. and we were there with 2 turkish guys that i met in prague, at miss sophie's hostel. how cool and small is the world? they were true gentlemen (and maybe that's what turkish men are...?) and took us all around explaining everything as we walked uphill and then, we ended up in this surreal bar with live music on a terrace overseeing the city... wow... breathless. loved it. i was very wow-ed.
today, got our religious fix and it just got me thinking about history and religion and past centuries and power and leaders... hm...
ok then, off to see some more of the city! (for whoever wants to visit istanbul - bring a man with you. it'll make your life so much easier... i swear...)
CURRENTLY READING:
~ the sunday philosophy club by alexander mccall smith
