Istanbul Revisited

 Because the Fulbright does not allow us to leave NORTH Macedonia for more than 14 days, we decided to go a few days early, dump our big luggage in Skopje NoMac and quickly fly to Istanbul for a few days before the official start of the Fulbright on January 15. 

 I had been here once before, also in January, when my brother and I were evacuated from Iran in 1979.  My parents had moved there in 1978 having no clue that a revolution was brewing. My brother and I had been stuck at the Tehran airport for days and no flights were coming into a "war zone". But a few Americans noticed a PanAm plane on the tarmac. We walked out on the runway and were told by a stewardess inside the plane to grab a staircase and get on board as fast as we could. About a dozen of us got on, leaving thousands of folks still stranded in the airport. No tickets, we were dressed for what we hoped was out next destination: Bangkok. We landed in Istanbul. My recollections of Istanbul are of a cold city, hotel with cold water and no luggage. We went to a mosque, left our shoes outside and returned to find our shoes were gone.....only to discover that someone had "polished" them and moved them to another location. I am pretty sure we were there for only a day before being sent to Delhi India for a day and finally arriving in Bangkok!

Istanbul 2024: Amazing city. Lovely Ottoman-era feel at Hotel Niles. Delightful breakfast and cocktails in the rooftop sunroom overlooking the ships in the Bosphorus. Humbled by my lackluster knowledge of world history.  Had never heard of Topkapi Palace --but it sure beats The Forbidden City or Buckingham Palace!! Enthralled by all the gorgeous tile. Two wonderful walking tours. My only complaint is we were not able to enjoy much local food, for reasons that might not be pleasant to share....I've had the Delhi belly and the Bali Belly....not sure what the Turkish version of that is, but I got it. Onward! And it was sunny every day, a bit cold but we were dressed for it and best yet: NO CROWDS. Travel in January!



























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