Still trying to finish the pictures from Monday the 13th. This one is actually taken from the nearby Istanbul University campus.


It's interesting that every Greek we told we were going to Istanbul was very happy for us. They all love the city, even though some may have only visited once or twice during their lives.

People in Turkey were extremely nice to us. You
sort of expect people in hotels and shops to be
friendly, but random people were, too. As Kim was lining up to take a picture outside a mosque, a car pulled over and a woman told us (in English) that we could go around to the other side of the building and we would be able to see much more. An elderly man who spoke no English actually led us to another mosque. Kim was looking at the map and he came over and spoke (in Turkish). Kim pointed on the map, he saw, and waved for us to follow him.


I promised a picture of Kim with her head scarf - here it is.

Looking at this picture in Suleiman's mosque I could swear I was in a medieval Italian church with the striped archways and whitewashed walls.

After the mosque we walked onto the main portion of Istanbul University. I was really quite surprised. Having seen a number of European universities I know that many are decentralized, with buildings scattered all around town, and no real central location. IU really reminded me of an American university. It had glass enclosures for poster announcements, real classroom buildings (unlike buildings that have classrooms and some non-university business or offices), even had a manicured quad, and we saw what appeared to be a class being conducted on the lawn (I guess even Turkish professors can be old hippies).

The flag proclaims the university was founded in 1453, which would correspond to Ottoman rule in Istanbul. We saw an audio production truck parked outside one of the building, which I assume to house the communications program. Interestingly the truck had a German license plate, German website, but the words painted on the truck were in Turkish.


Forgive me for obsessing, but let me say just a few more words about the techniques carpet salesmen use to engage people. They will offer you directions, whether or not you look like you know where you're going (looking around or having a camera is a cue you're a tourist). They will ask you where's you're from. If you say "America" or "USA" they immediately start to guess states, and they almost always begin with California. One guy actually started with New Orleans - I still don't have any idea why. Some just directly ask "are you American?"

I was told on a couple of occasions that I looked Turkish because of my moustache. "Looking Turkish" is a reason someone would want to buy a carpet, I guess.

One guy told us he was practicing his English by talking with us. I started right off by telling him I wasn't interested in buying a carpet. He replied he wasn't trying to sell me one, but shortly after revealed that he did have a shop and would like to be able to show me, even if I wasn't interested in buying anything. He just wanted to practice his English.
Every mosque all over town has minarets with speakers on them. At prayer time they all have cantors (live or recorded) leading prayers. Even if they were synchronized, because of the distance between them you would never hear things simultaneously. During the day it's not bad, but some of the prayer times are extremely early in the morning (like 4 a.m.).
This very short video is to illustrate how deliveries get made in Istanbul. Yes, there are delivery trucks, but there are a LOT of these guys with carts, hauling hundreds of pounds of stuff up sidewalks and down streets.

This bank advertisement is not Obama, but a look-alike hired for the bank's ads. Obama is very popular in Turkey. When they found out we were Americans, a lot of Turks told us they liked Obama but didn't like Bush.

That finally concludes Monday's pictures. On to Tuesday, April 14.

Kim was struggling in Istanbul between the
train ride (both sitting and sleeping tough on her), cold weather and all the walking. After breakfast, she fell asleep in the room before we left for a full day.

First stop was St. Sophia, called Hagia Sophia in Turkey, Agia Sophia in Greece or Santa Sofia in Italy. Anyway you slice it, this was the line outside - about a half-hour to get in. Obama had been here 8 days before. Good thing he came on a day they're closed so he didn't have to stand in line ;)

More tomorrow.