Another beautiful day in Istanbul

The internet in our hotel is very unreliable. Even though we are in the nicest hotel in Istanbul, it only works about 20% of the time in our room and 80% of the time in the business center. Most hotels have free wifi here, but ours is unfortunately unreliable, which delays my blog postings!

Last night, we went to Reina again. There are other clubs in Istanbul, but apparently this is the hottest one and Lydia hadn't been yet. The cocktails are 30 YTL ($20) each! It's interesting that in many muslim countries, you can't drink. In Turkey you can, but they tax the alcohol so heavily that there's a strong incentive not to! Good way to keep drinking under control...

This morning we slept late, first night of getting more than 5 hours of sleep since I got here! We arose around noon and took the tram to Sultanahmet to meet up with Matt. We enjoyed coffee and Turkish cay (chai tea) on the terrace of his hotel, grabbed a doner kebap, then went to Topkapi. We wandered through courtyards and rooms, passing by colorful mosaics and gleaming mother of pearl inlay. The most interesting room was the Treasury where they keep all the jewels. We saw an 86 carat diamond, known as the spoonmaker's diamond because it had been found in a garbage dump and bought at the market for 3 spoons.

After Topkapi, Lydia went to see Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque because she hadn't seen them yet and I wandered over to the Spice Bazaar. As I was walking, I stumbled upon Gulhame Park, which is adjacent to the grounds of Topkapi. I saw lots of locals sitting around on the grass, enjoying the beautiful day and playing in the fountains. The weather here is gorgeous - it's like Palo Alto weather. Gorkem was telling me yesterday that it is unseasonably nice right now, usually it's hotter this time of year. After the park, I wandered along the street, stopping in at shops. I bought some earrings and some prints. It's interesting how the prices change going from the area of Sultanahmet near the Grand Bazaar to the area near the Spice Bazaar. Near the Grand Bazaar, the earrings are 1.5 YTL ($1) and the doner kebaps are 6 YTL ($4), near the Spice Bazaar the earrings are 2 YTL ($1.33) and the doner kebaps are 3 YTL ($2). I see an arbitrage opportunity here.

If I buy a doner kebap for 3 YTL at the Grand Bazaar, I could take it to the Spice Bazaar and sell it for 6 YTL. I could then take that 6 YTL and buy 4 pair of earrings, which I would then take to the Grand Bazaar and sell for 8 YTL, thereby making a profit of 5 YTL on my initial investment of 3 YTL. Forget subprime, I'm going to create an economy of doner kebaps and earrings!

Once near the Spice Bazaar, I realized I was out of lira and would have to exchange some dollars. Unfortunately, it was Saturday and all the banks were closed. I eventually found a money-changing place and was able to exchange some dollars for lira. And I didn't even need my passport to do it...everything is so easy here! I was supposed to meet Lydia and Matt at the Spice Bazaar, but I couldn't find them. In most countries, this would have been worrisome, but Istanbul is so easy to navigate that I knew I could make it back to the hotel on my own with no problem.

I loved the Spice Bazaar! I liked it a lot better than the Grand Bazaar...it's smaller and smells really good. When you walk in, you are treated to mounds upon of colorful Turkish spices and enticing Turkish delights, arranged like rainbow-colored. I had been looking for a spice rack for my new apartment and instead found a set of spices with a little spice grinder. Every shop owner asked me where I was from - they always guessed US or Netherlands. The best thing about the Spice Bazaar: free samples of Turkish delights! Score! And nobody seemed to mind if you took a sample and didn't buy anything. I finally found some of the items on my shopping list and was able to bargain them down, so I was pleased. I've gotten so used to bargaining now. In the shop where I bought the earrings and prints, I saw the sign that said "fixed price, no bargaining." When I saw this sign in Egypt, I was relieved because I figured I was getting a good price. This time, I was actually kinda disappointed and decided not to buy a plate I had been eyeing! In the market, even though prices were posted, I still bargained. Studies have shown that people are much less likely to bargain if a price is posted, even though you usually can still bargain.

The last ferry was at 6:40 so I rushed out of the Spice Bazaar and caught the boat. I was treated to the same beautiful view as yesterday, though an hour earlier so there was more light. No dolphins this time (they're probably fasting for Ramadan). Off the boat, it's a 10 minute walk back to the hotel, where I found Lydia and Matt relaxing in the hot tub. I wrote most of the blog posting perched by the pool again, watching the rainbow colored sunset over the Bosphorus.

After some hot tub and pool time, we showered and got ready for dinner. We met up with Kagan again and he took us to Bebek, one of the nicest neighborhoods in Istanbul. It's not in the Lonely Planet and it's a nice place for the moneyed locals with no tourists. I almost got taken out by a Lamborghini while trying to cross the street! We walked around for a bit and looked at the various eateries before settling on one. Kagan claimed "when you live in Istanbul, you become a snob for a view and don't bother going to places that don't have a view." I like the idea of being in cities where you can be a view snob! We had a lovely meal, followed by some wonderful Turkish ice cream (which rivaled the gelato I'd had in Italy).

Tomorrow is our last day in Istanbul. The plan is to relax at the pool and chill out before my 4am flight. I'd post pictures, but my camera is upstairs in my room and I'm downstairs in the business center where I can actually get internet.