Istanbul, March 2

This palace is the dolmabache, where Ataturk spent some time after Turkey became a republic. One of the Sultans built this place. It looks glorious from the outside. We are going to try to get there but our things to do list keeps getting longer, not shorter. We have decided one more visit to Istanbul is a must while we are in Armenia.

This is Ataturk's yacht.

Not all boats are that glamorous.

This is an old fortress. I think it started in the Roman times and after the turks took over, was rebuilt to defend Istanbul in one of the many wars that were happening in the 15th and 16th centuries. This is the narrowest part of the Bosphorus.

After the river trip, our guide took us to the spice bazaar. Again, pictures can't capture the size, bustle, energy of this place. A huge covered area filled with spice vendors and about everything else, all wanting your attention. We had a big advantage when our guide took us to her favorite place. The owners spoke English, were very friendly and patient, had us taste many of the their wares and fed us apple tea and sweets while we were buying like it was the last shopping trip of our lives.

What a place.

This guy was a real sweetie. "here, miss, look at this... taste this... etc."

After we filled out bags, we left them in the store to pick up later and wandered around the bazaar for a couple more hours, continuing to be amazed at the variety of products available, particularly after the paucity of even basic on Armenia.

We are continuing to eat well, and have kept our promise to have fish at every meal. We have broken that promise in favor of some kebabs. We do eat fish at least once a day.

The next day took us to Topkopi palace. We spent several hours gawking at the spendor in which the sultans lived. The jewels alone present an unimaginable opulence. The kitchen serving dishes were giant ming dynasty blue and white platters and exquisite celadon porcelain. Pots for cooking for 400 of your closest and dearest friends. And again, those beautiful, beautiful tiles.I'll include a couple of pictures of some of the tiles in the various rooms. I'll leave more on the dropshots website so dont forget to look there (www.dropshops.com/elizpou).

In the evening, we went to a big train station where we saw whirling dervishes. It is a religious service for them so we werent sure whether we should be clapping or not.

You'll have to look pics up on the internet. We didn't think cameras would be allowed so didnt bring them. They were mesmerizing, graceful and neither of could figure out why they didnt throw up or fall down when they stopped whirling. The exhibition lasted about an hour. The first half hour sufi (their sect) musicians played. Then 5 men came out wearing long black cloaks with full white robes underneath. Their hats are about 15 " tall boiled wool stovepipes. They look like the coneheads except they were flat instead of pointed on top. After what seemed like some prayers and other ritual movements (lots of bows and walking around with their hands crossed over their chests), they started turning --- and turning--- and turning, their arms unfolded and stretched out above shoulder height, their heads tilted to the right, circling the floor and spinning for as long as 10 minutes at a time. They would stop, fold their arms, do a few more bows and ritual movements, (all the while the music is continuing), then unfold and start again.

Yesterday, we walked across one of the bridges between old and new Europe and spent most of the day wandering around the main pedestrian street. Its a beautiful area, full of gorgeous 18th century 3 and 4 story buildings, interspersed with some pretty ordinary modern office and apartment buildings. The pedestrian street is loaded with every kind of shop you can imagine. The side streets lead you down narrow passages also chock full of retail opportunities. This is a picture of a second hand book store. Notice the "working" cat in the box outside the store. Cats in Istanbul seem to have a pretty decent life. Here's one we saw in an area of fish stores. The fish looked very fresh so we stopped in that block and gorged on fried mussels and anchovies. I've not had anchovies except in the can. These fresh ones were about 3 to 4 inches long, fried whole and eaten bones, head, tail and all. Yum.

Last night, we were tired from our day of walking and decided to eat close by the hotel. After looking at several places (Istanbul is full of choices), we settled on one that looked very Turkish. Lots of rugs and water pipes. The people in it were youngish and looked to me like 1969. Must have been children or grandchildren of hippies. Smoking tobacco (I think) from giant water pipes, drinking beer and talking. I forgot my combo dining/event motto (never order Chinese food in a restaurant that features punk bands, even if it is named Madame Wongs) so our dinner was not up to par of the other meals.

Its raining this morning. Cant decide between the grand bazaar and Hagia Sophia. Another post later.