Istanbul--Day Two Morning Rain in Istanbul

Istanbul--Day Two - Morning Rain in Istanbul

I ventured from my hotel room in the Fatih area of
Istanbul not far from the Golden Horn, Hagia Sophia
and the Blue Mosque in search of a post office...3
times. On the fourth I found a second one. Still
have not found the first one.

Walked through the streets watching people going to
work by car, bus, foot as I was venturing to see the
Golden Horn again and watch Istanbul wake up this
morning.

From the floating bridge, I walked a different route
back towards my hotel through the wholesale section of
Istanbul that tourists rarely visit. Everything there
is usually sold in gross or larger quantities. Anyone
need or want an evil eye,? ha ha. No I am not going
to buy a gross of evil eyes and carry or ship them
home.

The streets of Istanbul are not exactly anally laid
out like in most American Cities. Even the streets of
Venice are more geometric. Generally I have very good
sense of direction from my architectural and drafting
background. The trouble is I was using a map that was
very small with almost no street names on it.

I ended up in the Grande Bazaar where I had not
planned on going this trip. The shop/stall owners
were just setting up before 9:00 am. After asking a
couple different police officers I found my way closer
to my destination. Then the rain came down. I hailed
a cab and got back to my hotel in plenty of time to
get out of my totally wet clothes, even with a
gigantic umbrella, dry off and get dressed again
before Esra arrived at 9:30 for our excursions around
Istanbul.

First through the city to areas I had never seen
before en route to a contemporary multi-story Mall
with shops from every classy design name you can think
of from Armani to Laura Ashley, Gucci, Escada....etc.

We toured it glancing in windows and shops.

Then we got up to the food court level: Burger King.
KFC, Dunkin Donuts and several Turkish Fast Food
(spelled their way) shops. We ordered some Pides
Kiymali Pide (ground beef pizza) and Kasarli Pide
(cheese) and Sucuklu (Kapali) Pide (chicken and
veggies) plus some chestnut sweets for our picnic
lunch on the Bosphorous.

The Bosphorous separates the two sections of Istanbul:
European and Asian (only city in two continents..that
I know of). The Asian side is lined with enormous
vacation homes (mansions) built right to the edge of
the straits. The European side has almost continuous
park and walking areas with the houses. fortress and
other buildings built back away from the straits so
that everyone can enjoy wonderfully fantastic walks
and views of the Bosphorous all day long.

We chose a restaurant along the European side at the
entrance to the ancient stone fortress to have our
picnic lunch watching boats, sailboats, and yachts
float by.

Finally we walked from their to a small shop area,
about 2 to 3 miles away where there is a very creative
cartoonist that Esra knows and wanted me to meet. We
spent about an hour in his shop sharing drawings,
ideas and experiences. Then off to find a cab to go
back to Esra's car and return to her home near the
Attaturk airport and the Marmara Sea.

A beautiful day with a beautiful and wonderful friend.

P.S.

3 times out my 8 trips to Istanbul I went to visit a cartoonist I met the very first visit in 1999.

This is the area where he had his booth each time in Octokoy area near the North Bridge.

Also Esra helped me get my book BROKEN CRAYONS published in Turkey in Turkish.  She did the translation.

Notice the price 7.5 million.....I became a Billionaire in Turkish lyre selling my book.

Wandering Alan