I just got home yesterday, late in the afternoon. At the moment I feel wonderful: as my father said when I called yesterday to announce my arrival, "east or west, home is best." I have a feeling though that "wonderful" will end around 3:00 PM today, when I'll be longing for a nap - an eight-hour nap, that is. And when I get back into the grind of housework and worry and all the pressures that come from "real life." The obvious solution is to be rich, I had better head right to the self-help section of the bookstore that always has about a dozen books on that topic (or perhaps I should just write my own book about how to be rich and hope that it will make me so? Sounds like such a dubious claim to fame, I'd use a pseudonym...)
Istanbul was wonderful, to me it felt exotic, at the risk of using a loaded word. It surprised me in ways that had nothing to do with multi-colored tiles, though there were so many of those that at times when entering a mosque I felt as though I'd stepped into an inverted china teacup. Things I would never have guessed are that the subway tokens are light plastic disks, not dissimilar to what you'd use to play backgammon - and the men working in shops have nearby cafes bring them strong, bitter tea in delicate little glasses (hot!) standing on glass saucers, or drink coffee out of tiny little painted coffee cups (no paper 'to-go' cups visible here) - and most of those women who are practicing purdah wear a colorful long coat, belted like a trench coat, with their matching silk headscarves (as elegant as some of these outfits were, I couldn't help thinking about the heat!). And of course there's the whole modern part of the city, including several Soho-like areas, where fashionable and chic Istanbul residents can sip espresso and buy outfits by Celine or Chloe ... and there's a beautiful museum of contemporary art right on the Bosphorus. I wish we'd had a whole week there, but that just means that I'll have to go back some day!
A few more pictures:
Tiles at Topkapi palace...
More...
Spice Market...
Oups, Vienna!
More pictures, please! These are amazing! :)
Posted by: Amanda | May 31, 2011 at 04:38 PM