Earlier, I lingered at the Four Seasons for a few hours. Every detail there is meticulous, including gardens and floral arrangements galore. Yes, those are real! Have you ever seen so many orchids?
Katy met me at there, and we went for a long walk through some nearby neighborhoods, ending up at a favorite place of hers where we played tavla (backgammon), smoked banana nargile, had dondurmalar and limonata... a lemonade with mint and apple. I had read that backgammon is the Turkish game, and I have seen it being played in sidewalk cafes and bars. How great to kick back and play a few games! Katy is adorable, and was such a fun guide. I want to set her up with Joey... I am pretty sure they'd hit it off... but the logistics seem difficult. She'd make such a great daughter-in-law, except for the living in Istanbul part!
After more walking and a bit of shopping, Katy asked if I wanted to try one of her favorites for dinner: Kuru Fasulye and pilaf, which means dry beans and rice. Hmmmm. I told her I would trust her, and it actually was very good. The closest taste I could describe is spaghetti-ohs. Ha. But better!
We had tea by the Bosphorus, and she accompanied me to the ferry. We embraced in the Turkish way, with kisses (air kisses) to both cheeks. We will keep in touch, and she has a standing invitation to visit Milwaukee! Her family is in the Dallas area. (She went to school at Princeton and did a study abroad program in Istanbul. Now she tutors English here to high school students preparing for college entrance exams)
My last ferry ride. Sigh. The sun was behind us, making seaside photos are extra vibrant. I love this one of the Maiden's Tower.
Once back to Kadiköy, I visited a shop that is popular with the young crowd here to get some t-shirts for my young crowd at home. Thanks for the suggestion and directions, Katy.
As I came out of the shop, I walked past the Metro and to the shore again, just after the sun had set. I said good bye to the now beloved skyline, and took my last Bosphorus photos, listening to the eerily beautiful sundown call to prayer.
It was a low key, perfect ending kind of day. It's been a truly fabulous eleven full days here, and I feel like I maximized my time. Magical is the word that keeps coming to mind. Istanbul, Turkey is a mesmerizing place, and I miss it already.
PS. I plan to blog on the plane tomorrow, and it will get published once I am on wifi at home. There are lots of additional post ideas in my head, but I know that once I get back to home and work it will not be reality, so I will hope to get them onto the Blogger app during travel time. -g
Güle güle for now, Grace. It's been wonderful getting to share your journey with you. The photos have been wonderful and the ones in this post as the sun was setting for the calling to prayer were breathtaking. Thank you for taking us with you to Turkey. I have a feeling if you ever decide to go back, you might have a lot of people who want to go along with you. Safe travels and Godspeed home.
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