Oct 10

Oh dear, I just scrubbed my teeth with tap water.... Hope I don't end up doing the turkey trot!

Am in bed after a delightful dinner and evening with 6 tour members. We walked down these twisty narrow roads, avoiding the cars as they squeezed by and the numerous cats. Wash dangled from many window openings and buildings often seem to be held together with duck tape and hope. From our room we look down on rooftops with missing tile and whole sections covered with a bright blue tarp held in place by pieced of wood.

The restaurant provided games of bacgammon and a tile game called "ok".
One fellow was smoking one of those water pipes when we left. The 8 of us had a whole dining room to ourselves. Our waiter took us to displays of various dished, so we could know what we were ordering. Jerry and I had chicken shiskabob - they may have cooked on a stick, but came on a plate with shredded lettuce, carrots, cabbage, and roasted tomatoes. The ovens must have been upstairs as 4 loaves of puffed up pita bread were lowered in a basket and served with butter and cheese. After dinner as we were ready to leave, our waiter brought plates of fresh fruit - delightful. He was so pleasant and shook each of our hands as we left. The conversation was lively as they all enjoyed Jon Stewart and Areana Huffington.

Rough day of walking this morning. Did see the underground cistern that had been used in Roman times fed by rain and aquaducts they had built. It was able to hold 28,000 gallons of water. It was built with beautiful columns confiscated from pagan sanctuaries they had torn down as they brought Christianity to the land.

Then we went to see the Hagia Sofia - a huge bascillica built by the Romans. The mosaic dome is beautiful. Men were allowed to worship on the main floor, but women had to climb up to the balcony.

When it became a mosque, the altar was destroyed and the cross cofiscated to be replaced with Arabic writings and minnerets Now it is a museum where hundreds throng. There were two cruise ships in today - crowds everywhere. We decided to head back early only we forgot to ask how to go. It only took 3 inquiries to get us to our destination. A most wecome nap and good evening have us looking forward to visiting the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market tomorrow . Then we go for a boatride on the Bosphorus and take an overnight train to Ankara. Don't know when I'll have WI FI again - would be fun to have a message or two from you when I do!