CAMBRIDGE - May 21

Part of the reason that we didn't really post from Istanbul is that we were bummed about not being able to upload photos, and the other part is that we wanted to spend the last few days of our trip just being together.

Monday, our last day, we made sure to spend the day exactly right. We visited the Topkapi Palace first thing in the morning. Too lazy to find an actual tour guide, we hired Ari to play the part. There were loads of English speaking tour guides around, and we caught snippets from them, too. And, like a true tour guide, Ari made up everything that he didn't know. The Ottoman's ruled their empire from and lived at Topkapi from 1453 to 1839.  The palace itself was much more akin to a campus than a solitary huge building. Disappointingly, there were no furnishings, but the tilework, plaster carvings, and ornate painting certainly filled the space with their grandeur. The collection of jewels and gifts from foreign royalty on display in the treasury building were UNBELIEVABLE. Ruby encrusted swords, six foot solid gold candle sticks, and the world's third largest diamond were on display. Emeralds that the Wizard of Oz would have envied, jewelry, crowns, and utter wealth were on display for all to ogle.

Having enjoyed our lunch at the docks so much the day before, we went for a repeat. The fish monger recommended sea bass and small red fish with a Turkish name and we were not disappointed. The sun was shining, Ari had rolled up his pants when we waded through the fish guts, and the tasty food made for the perfect meal.

As we were finishing a Turkish Popeye came over and offered to take us for a cruise on his small fishing boat. We headed out in the other direction towards the Golden Horn and with the boat all to ourselves we actually put the camera away for the first time all month and enjoyed a nice little cuddle. Popeye didn't speak any English, but he pointed out the sites on the shore and told us all about them in Turkish. We think.

The Galata Bridge that connects Sultanahmet (the area of town with all of the historic sites) to Beyoglu (the hot neighborhood with stylish eateries and trendy shopping) was always packed with men fishing. At every hour of the day and night, they would be lined up shoulder to shoulder hauling in lines full of little sardines. Some were sport fishers, catching dinner for their family, others salty old men filling buckets with the little silver fish. The bridge had a lower level that was a string of small eateries, and we parked on beanbag chairs and enjoyed a nargila (Turkish for sheesha water pipe) watching the boats and ferries glide across the strait and the sun go down over Istanbul.

All weekend, we had been searching for the perfect mezze, sampling the small plate offerings at different restaurants. With perfect timing, we found the most delicious mezze on our last evening. We had our last kebaps, glasses of raki, and divine little salads Monday evening, bringing the perfect close to the perfect trip.

Lots of love,
Jillian + Ari