Istanbul and the area around it has a European side and an Asian side, separated by the Bosphorus, which connects the Black Sea and Sea of Marmara. There are various boats that go between the two sides, but they are confusing and we ended up on one that took us to the very top of the Asia side when we really wanted to be closer to the bottom. Going from the top to the bottom via bus seemed like the right thing to do. According to the guy at the bakery, we needed to take one bus to a place that starts with a B, and then a different bus to a place that starts with K, which is where we wanted to have dinner. The first leg went off without a hitch, and the second started out well. Some nice men made sure we got on the right bus. But then there was construction and a huge traffic jam and for the better part of about two hours the bus never moved more than a few feet without stopping. The man sitting next to my friend tried very hard to make friends with us, but the only words that he said that we could understand were Europe and Asia. So, by pointing, we covered the facts that we were in Asia and that Europe was across the water several times. The people on the bus were a lot more patient wıth its extreme slowness than I imagine people in the US would be. Men fingered their prayer beads, which maybe relieves stress, but no one was muttering to himself or banging his head against the wall. (Maybe I'm projecting a little here.) We eventually got past the construction and to the place that starts with K, and had a really good dinner; with beer, even. We were expecting the Asia side to be more conservative than it turned out to be.
I'm pretty sure I like Turkey, and I'm pretty sure I'll come back. I'll have more to say when I'm here for more than two days.
ps. Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
pps. Turkish keyboards blow.
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