Not so bad after all

Wow. I guess I did sound very down in my last post, and all the encouragment was very sweet from everybody, but it´s really not that bad! We have our on days (when we stay inside and do laundry) and our off days (when we go outside and try to figure out the buses), but yes, we are having a blast and an adventure and it´s getting easier every day (although the hills and stairs are still brutal, but I´ve now seen locals huffing and puffing up them and so I don´t feel SO ridiculous).

We asked our friend Sean about the buses and he told us of a much easier way to cross the Golden Horn - a tramlike thing that leaves right from the bottom of our street. So we went to the Bazaar, and wondered around the touristy Sultanahmet area. It is very different over there: Bigger streets, newer buildings (although it is the ´old city´) (except the mosques of course, which are from 700Ad or something), bigger shops that are not just holes in the wall (booths if you will), and less cars!

The Bazaar is cool - people accosting you from both sides saying ´Can I help you spend your money?´ and ´Yes it is very beautıful-you want to buy?´and claiming things are hand made personally, when 50 other stalls are selling the exact same bowl /hookah /tea set/ rug/ bracelet/ pipe/ Turkish Delight (Emily - it is soft and not so chewy and covered in icing sugar, and flavoured pastachio, mint, rose water, lemon, almond mmmm... Oh! and they have Halva floss - like cotton candy, but with halva!). We wandered around and kept ending up outside or where we started, but realized once we got home that we´d been walking in circles and didn´t see half the Bazaar! Oh well, something to do with the 40 days we have left!

Am missing everyone (and hope you are ok Hezi - that sounds brutal!) and love all the comments and emails! Hope you are all having fun too!