Today is very gloomy and overcast so it didn’t take long for me to decide that it was not a good day to ride the ferry up the Golden Horn! Instead I have been occupying myself with housekeeping tasks. In five days I leave for Egypt (hazaah!!!) so there are plenty of little details to keep me busy. For now I am sitting on the ferry to Eminonu with a package of gifts and other miscellaneous items to ship back to the United States. It is both amazing and frightening just how fast material goods accumulate! On one of my earliest excursions through Sultanahmet I stumbled across a UPS Store and now am on my way back. My friend, Gwenda, is returning from England this afternoon and I cannot wait to see her. It will be great to be able to spend my last weekend here in Istanbul together. I definitely see an Istanbul coffee crawl in our future!
The UPS Store in Istanbul: a welcome and familiar landmark.
Some language reflections…Although knowing a few words and phrases in “Survival Turkish” has certainly made the last two months easier, I have also learned that one should never underestimate the communicative power of “smile, point and grunt.”
A lazy afternoon…
After dropping my packages off at the UPS Store and seeing them on their merry way I wandered back to Sultanhamet. I didn’t have quite enough of an appetite for a full meal so I treated myself instead to an ear of roasted corn from a streetside vendor and parked myself on a bench in front of the fountain by Aya Sofya. Whether roasted or boiled, corn is a ubiquitous street-treat here in Istanbul and for 1TYL (less than $1) makes both a delicious and an affordable snack. It is called “sut misir” here. Sut means milk in Turkish and is a vital survival word for any dedicated coffee drinker while misir is the name for Egypt. Other than the fact that Egypt produces (and has produced) copious quantities of corn for this region, I’m not sure how the name applies. Perhaps one of my Turkish friends can enlighten me.
The courtyard in front of Aya Sofya and a great place to pick up a snack.
My favorite contemplation spot in Sultanahmet: the fountain in front of Aya Sofya.
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