Istanbul was amazing, not least because I got to spend so much time with Mandy and Figo and Katie and Michelle and all of the rest of Mandy's wonderful Minnesotan friends. I do love the Minnesotans.
One of the things I liked the most about the Istanbul, is what drew me to India in March, the colour. In the streets things are just brighter and more beautiful than you'd imagine. Even decaying buildings have beauty and charm. And of course the mosaic work in the monuments and religious buildings, the golds, turquoise, and reds, are dazzling.
Apart from the colour, the food of Turkey is amazing. With Figo there to lead us, we experienced some lovely meals in Istanbul. My favourites, were the desserts. Figo needs to work on his Turkish Coffee fortune telling, however, as my fortune consisted of "you have a brother who is very talented at music, and I see travel in your future" . . . um . . . do you now. Perhaps it's because you've met my brother (who is of course wonderfully talented), and that I've travelled to Turkey to see you marry the lovely Mandy. Humph.
Walking around Istanbul you'll stumble across bazaars, mosques and monuments amongst the houses and restaurants. This obelisk (remniscent of DC's) was built by the Egyptians in the 6th century
The girls went together to a hamam (Turkish baths) and got scrubbed for a pre-Mandy and Figo wedding treat. It was amazing. Of course cameras are not allowed, so I only got this shot of the towels leaning out to dry outside. Inside it was very old stonework and beautiful. And I don't know exactly how they make that soap, but it was fabulous. And we got the full scrub by the impish Turkish women who seemed to know just how to target those most nervous about going to a hamam in the first place. Lots of laughs.
As a big group, we also had some lovely nights out . . .
One night we went to the Amadou & Mariam concert--not very Turkish, but definitely suited our international outlook.
After the concert we went out to a rooftop bar, looking out over the city and played "emotion" . . . a game introduced by Michelle where someone calls out an emotion or thing, and we have to emote the first thing we think of while someone takes incriminating photographs.We got some strange looks from the other patrons.
It was very nice to hang out with a group of people again, and I always loved when I got to hang out with Mandy, Figo, and Katie in Washington DC, so this was a treat. Thanks to everyone for a lovely time (Rick Steves says that one should always travel in a group when going to Istanbul)!
One of the things I liked the most about the Istanbul, is what drew me to India in March, the colour. In the streets things are just brighter and more beautiful than you'd imagine. Even decaying buildings have beauty and charm. And of course the mosaic work in the monuments and religious buildings, the golds, turquoise, and reds, are dazzling.
Apart from the colour, the food of Turkey is amazing. With Figo there to lead us, we experienced some lovely meals in Istanbul. My favourites, were the desserts. Figo needs to work on his Turkish Coffee fortune telling, however, as my fortune consisted of "you have a brother who is very talented at music, and I see travel in your future" . . . um . . . do you now. Perhaps it's because you've met my brother (who is of course wonderfully talented), and that I've travelled to Turkey to see you marry the lovely Mandy. Humph.
Walking around Istanbul you'll stumble across bazaars, mosques and monuments amongst the houses and restaurants. This obelisk (remniscent of DC's) was built by the Egyptians in the 6th century
The girls went together to a hamam (Turkish baths) and got scrubbed for a pre-Mandy and Figo wedding treat. It was amazing. Of course cameras are not allowed, so I only got this shot of the towels leaning out to dry outside. Inside it was very old stonework and beautiful. And I don't know exactly how they make that soap, but it was fabulous. And we got the full scrub by the impish Turkish women who seemed to know just how to target those most nervous about going to a hamam in the first place. Lots of laughs.
As a big group, we also had some lovely nights out . . .
One night we went to the Amadou & Mariam concert--not very Turkish, but definitely suited our international outlook.
After the concert we went out to a rooftop bar, looking out over the city and played "emotion" . . . a game introduced by Michelle where someone calls out an emotion or thing, and we have to emote the first thing we think of while someone takes incriminating photographs.We got some strange looks from the other patrons.
It was very nice to hang out with a group of people again, and I always loved when I got to hang out with Mandy, Figo, and Katie in Washington DC, so this was a treat. Thanks to everyone for a lovely time (Rick Steves says that one should always travel in a group when going to Istanbul)!
Amadou & Mariam? Jealous. I did have Turkish coffee this morning, so I'll temper that.
ReplyDeleteYay for Minnesotans! :) Thanks for the shout out. I am so glad that I got to travel with you, Mary. I had a great time. Hope you made it back to Toulouse okay!
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