Why did Constantinople get the works?

  Istanbul, Turkey
Sunday, July 5, 2009

short answer: change in power.

Sunday was really a lost day, with a way-too-long nap to make up for the 1 hour of sleep during the 15 hours of flying. I highly rec'd not flying coach if you can find someone else to pay for the ticket. Dinner on the hotel rooftop celebrating G's bday with nice views of the gardens below Topkapi Palace. Living in the land of on-demand food, you forget how great just picked/caught seasonal food is.



MONDAY: started the real touring, first with a visit to the Blue Mosque, then Topkapi Palace. The tile is so beautiful; I wonder how it'd look in our ranch style house?






Lunch at Pandeli near the Spice Market, sitting in the stifling heat under a photo of Harvey Keitel. Mashed eggplant is extremely yummy, which I'm sure has nothing to do with the copious amounts of butter mixed in. Wandered through the Spice Market, which, yes, has piles of spice as well as tons of tourist junk. Can you buy real saffron for $4 for a large bag? Another stop at a church-mosque-museum (a frequent transition) which still maintained gorgeous mosaics from the 4th century. When the churches were transformed into mosques, mosaics and frescos were covered with cloth and then plastered over,so archeologists have been able to salvage many of them.



Dinner was across the Golden Horn at Sofyali 9 in the Tunel neighborhood, where the restaurant tables spilled into the streets.


The next day we visited Hagia Sofia. With our good luck the workers of Turkey were on strike so nobody could purchase a ticket. But it really was our good luck, b/c our guide already had them, so in we march, essentially having the place to ourselves. Whereas the Blue Mosque is compelling on the outside but less spectacular on the interior, this church looks homely but is awe-inspiring inside. Not only the engineering feat of constructing it, but the mosaics they have uncovered, the massive blocks of marble... and I think it was done within 6-7 years. Amazing.





Next we walked over to the underground cistern, where Mr B took lovely photos but the memory chip wont download :( From there, it was the Grand Bazaar, which is really just an overheated swap meet. Lunch at Hamdi, where we had an excellent meal with a breeze and view. the owner was extremely nice, allowing H into the kitchen to film and giving K&N one of the restaurant's monogrammed coffee cup/saucers. From there, we embarked on our grand cruise adventure.





I can't express enough how this does not measure up to my idea of being on a cruise. I picture: 1000+ of my closets friends fighting for space around a pool the size of a city block. sitting down to dinner with the same total strangers every night. sequins. bad cabaret. overpriced drinks. here's what I get: 83 of my closet friends with a staff of 100+. waiters who remember exactly how you take your coffee by the second morning. plenty of places to read alone, only being bothered by people constantly refilling my drink or cleaning my sunglasses. there is a piano bar, but I can ignore that. It is not a stretch to imagine that I am on a friend of a friend's yacht. i wonder how much training my kids will need to keep me in the manner to which I have become accustomed...