- 3/23/2006
Our first experiences of Turkey were a teensy bit bleary, as we'd spent a long day and red-eyed night flying in from Baltimore via New York, and were
operating on little to no sleep. But after a glass of reviving cay (Turkish tea) we left the hotel at 1pm with our traveling companions Mike, Koji, Holli,
Jenn and Marilyn for a walk to Taksim Square and then down Istiklal Caddesi, a street that leads past shops and consulates, churches Catholic and
Orthodox, and ends up at the Galata Tower. The tower was built in 1348 by the Genoese (of all people); from the top we enjoyed panoramic but very breezy
views of the city of Istanbul, spread out before us; all the key mosques of Istanbul, the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. So, this was what Istanbul was
all about. Back at street level we paused to take pictures of the Tower, and I took a picture of the people taking pictures. This sight, of a line of
various camera geeks all taking arty pictures of the same thing, was one that was to be repeated many times over the following nine days. From there we
visited the fish market, and then took a ferry ride up the Golden Horn to Eyup Mosque, very holy and our first "inside experience" of Islam. That night we
ate dinner with Mike's Turkish cousin and his Spanish girlfriend at Naum Pasa Konagi, a traditional restaurant where we sat on cushions and ate lentil
soup, dolmas, and lamb and eggplant shishkebaps and got to know each other a little better. Lots of fun and laughter; we were already bonding as a group
even though the tour didn't officially even start till the following day.
