Istanbul, Turkey, July 28: This morning our Road Scholar group toured the main monuments such as Hagia Sophia and the famed Blue Mosque, along with a few other lesser known sites in Istanbul. The market for me and Martha was the best site, and also the most exciting. We could really see the locals and the action of the city.
In the Egyptian Market, all sorts of hawkers were selling their goods and wares, and we were in heaven. It could have been a little unnerving, however, to find our way back to the Road Scholar group as there were more than 60 alley-like streets and just as many entrances, which all started to look the same. Because I am the leader, I had to be back before the group meeting time of 1 p.m. So, we walked from the motor coach to one of the entrances leaving a bread crumb-like trail behind us. We entered at the perfume and spice area, turned left at the marble fountain, past the man selling scarves for $8 each —the grumpy man we would need to come back to — and straight past the ceramics salesman to the shop with the handmade jewelry. I had been here about two years ago and was thankful that, in this time, they had not changed their location and, moreover, that my brain’s GPS system was working clearly this morning. Here, Martha bought an exquisite embroidered choker necklace that matched most of her coral-colored summer clothing.
via Postcard from Laura: Helping out the Turkish economy – Rockford, IL – Rockford Register Star.
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