We spent a fair amount of our visit hanging out on stairways or in cafes or hookah bars or restaurants, talking politics among ourselves or with our friends and contacts in Istanbul. This great hangout place was one of the few where you can safely drink in public… but it wasn’t the Cartier-Bresson photo location [...]
I am in London now, in transit on my way back to San Francisco early tomorrow morning, but thought this would be a good chance to summarize some of the wonders I experienced in Istanbul. Turkey is a city of so many layers, historical and social, that no one week visit can possibly plumb them [...]
The view from the apartment where we’re staying. Istanbul continues to be one of the most compelling cities I’ve ever visited. Last night was another late night along the famous boulevard Iskindar, in Beyoglu neighborhood, a place like nowhere I’ve ever seen. The street is a pedestrian only area, stretching some 20 blocks through a [...]
We arrived in Istanbul on Monday morning after an overnight train ride from Sofia, Bulgaria. I loved the rickety train ride but couldn’t help but think that it was an experience whose days are numbered. The train was delapidated, the bed a joke (lumpy wood with itchy fabric stretched over it??), and the food and [...]
We had a great meal in a kitschy but apparently authentic Bulgarian restaurant last night. I had a veal dish, which I rarely order for obvious reasons, so it was a treat to have it in a clay pot prepared in the local style with peppers and onions, very rich, really delicious. Also sampled a [...]
