Istanbul Redux - 11 November

I met up with the biology professor, Nancy, this morning to explore Istanbul again. She hadn’t had an opportunity to get into town before this since she was on the Gallipoli/Troy/etc. trip. She wanted to see the mosques and such in the city and I was eager to see them again too now that I had a bit more history on them.

We left the ship just as the rain started to come down in buckets. Not a good beginning to the day, to say the least. We made our way to the tram and made the short ride to the mosques in the middle of the city. We went to the Blue Mosque first and I was particularly interested in seeing the interior again since we had just returned from Iznik where the tiles were made. It was very special to see the tiles again and, since there didn't seem to be any obvious restriction on taking photos inside the mosque, I took a couple of photos. By the time we emerged from the building, the rain had stopped although the day was incredibly cold. We were dressed in many layers which helped somewhat but it was

We then went to the Hagia Sophia again although I wasn't willing to spend 10 lira to go inside so despite my offer to wait for Nancy outside, she declined the offer and we went on to the Topkapi Palace which I hadn't visited yet. Topkapi was built between 1459 and 1465 as a series of pavilions rather than just one building. It was a beautiful compound and many of the rooms were set up to showcase porcelains and jewels. The jewels were unbelievably beautiful and must have been worth a fortune yet there was very little obvious security in the area. Baffling. We walked around for about 1 1/2 hours until we started to get hungry.

Nancy proposed that we find a McDonalds and eat there since she was craving french fries. Who am I to question this need and I was totally supporting of such a craving. We made our way to the nearest place and dived into our burgers and fries. The euphoria! I haven't been inside a McDonald's since I left Charlottesville and it tasted so damn good! At this point of the voyage I am compiling a list of all my favorite dishes that I want to cook and favorite restaurants that I must go to when I return. I'm going to blow up like a blimp when I get back to Virginia but it will be worth it.

After McDonald's we decided that to visit some of the shops along the main road before returning to the ship. We got some small items as gifts for ourselves and for others and then returned to the ship around 3:00. We were both very happy with how we spent the day and really enjoyed each other's company again (she had been my roommate in China).

I spent the remainder of the day napping and getting my loot organized so that I could figure out if I still needed to buy presents for anyone. I discovered that all of my Christmas shopping has been taken care of and it's only the middle of November. A new record for me.

I spent the evening in the faculty lounge getting caught up on friends and blogs. We sailed out of Istanbul at 11:15 and I watched the mosques disappear in the distance. Turkey has been a great country and I am so glad that I've been able to experience so much of it.