Couple observations: Turks are gorgeous, gorgeous people. My heart keeps skipping beats. No way to actually categorize their look, they come in a whole lot of delicious skin tones, eye colors, face shapes, hair types. Just generally beautiful women and jaw-dropping handsome men (I do try to be discreet).
They're also crazy friendly and helpful, a bit like Portlanders, most ready with a smile and genuinely warm banter. Even met a woman who hates the U.S. but was entirely non-accusatory, and went way out of her way to help me find an address.
Met another woman who was beside herself to meet me. Imagine that, a Turkish fan who listened to public radio while living in Seattle! The two of us, along with her green-eyed older cousin who owns a fabulous mostly vege restaurant in the Taksim area, ended up at a concert tonight. The music was totally forgettable, but the venue? The Topkapi Palace!
Now to sleep...should the street cleaning machines ever stop. A small price to pay for one of the best views you can have out a hotel window: the six-minaret marvel known as the Blue Mosque.

I snapped the above yesterday from the little cafe at the top of my hotel. More pix to follow, plus three whole days on my own before hooking up with the folks I'm touring with come Monday's 11-day botanical tour.

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