some pretty solid rain meant we had to keep things simple. lazed around having breakfast for 3 hours, then a stroll along some shops to check out the carpets and other goodies, before hitting lunch at a local restaurant. we'd been holding off doner kebab for 3 days now, and finally sucumbed. not bad either.
the day started to improve, sun comes out, so we dive into another cistern for some cool walking around columns and a cup of uber-ordinary coffee. then, thus fortified, decide to do an evening cruise up the bosphorous. i think mary was underwhelmed (true)- for me it was good. it's a spectacular skyline with the domes and minarets of the mosques, tall thin houses and square box apartments crowding their way up the hillsides and the odd high-rise trying to make a statement. we saw places we'd been to from a different angle - the Suleiyman mosque (sp?), Galata tower, Topkapi and Dolmabache palaces were all impressive from the water. As were the soaring suspension bridges linking Europe with Asia. Good stuff!
Nek day we travel to Cappadocia, the spiritual heart of the trip this year. we're spending nearly 2 weeks here in various parts, doing a village to village walking tour for a bit and lots of extended day walks. Everyone's been surprised and pleased that we're taking our time, but we'll see. The idea is to just go slow and take it all in, have time to meet people and ask our 3 questions: 1. What are you most proud of about your country? 2. If you had to change one thing about [whatever place we are at], what would it be? 3. How is your life different to that of your [father/mother]. We plan to have this so we can trade our time for some interesting information. Hmmm...
Anyways, we arrive in Goreme early afternoon and seems like we've brought the rain with us. big plate of local fruit to welcome us while the room gets cleaned, then it's blog time for david and apartment-checking time for mary (another story). Having huge difficulty getting photos uploaded - shall keep trying!
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