Exploring Istangoat...er...bul.

I have been remiss. This is supposed to be a log of my travel and I have not so logged. I apologize. I intend to make up for it by making this next Joof as captivating as humanly possible.

Enter Mom and Dad!

Barbara and Jim are pictured above relaxing at one of our favorite home-cooked restaurants called Little Wing. Every time you go to Little Wing the proprietor creates a new culinary masterpiece which is consequently "what's for dinner." That's it. Whatever she's made you eat. Luckily not a thing comes out of Esra's oven that does not send your senses into a orgiastic tailspin of flavor. If you look very carefully you can see her in the picture below.
Example: I wouldn't eat eggplant if it was dipped in chocolate, served on a platter filled with my favorite beers, and all presented to me by the incomparable Juliette Binoche.

I eat Esra's eggplant.

Mom arrived before dad so we had some quality time to hang out and enjoy the city. We explored all of the hot sites. To get there we first we hiked it from Rana's house up the street and boarded the most amazing piece of transportation technology since the unicycle, a Dolmuş.

For those of you who don't speak Turkish, which is bound to be 98% of the people reading this, the shay symbol "ş" is pronounced "sh." That makes the word "Dol- mush." I always thought it was called that because everyone mushes inside but dolmuş literally means "filled."
Here is one:

These puppies take you all over the city at fraction of the price of a taxi and only a few cents more than a bus. They are the perfect carpooling solution. Each little bus has a big door that opens on the right side (not shown) through which people board and disembark. It's like mom taking all the neighborhood kids to soccer practice except mom smokes Marlboroughs and smells like an Aegean fish merchant. Lets just say the Dolmuş isn't as kind to the senses as Esra's cooking.

Once we figured out the "little yellow mini bus," as I heard a Spaniard here call it, we ventured into the vast and beautiful city that is Istanbul. Ancient minarets adorn busy modern streets. You can literally walk out of building much older that the US and into a Banana Republic to buy the latest style of pants that are made for men with no asses. (Damn you BR.)Pictured below is one such anachronistic street call Istiklal. In the foreground are two enthralled looking Turks that I don't know. (Bet they never dreamed they'd be on the internet).


This street is quite famous for shopping...if you like the same shops you're used to in the States. It is so comforting to go half way around the world only to be inundated by American companies at every turn. Yeah for the 4 Starbucks on this street. Ok, let me just wipe off this oozing sarcasm so we can continue. Well maybe not. I think that is enough for today. I certianly hope think electronic fun finds you smiling.
Devon