1) It was nice to have a proper Thanksgiving meal with friends. Chris came over to help get things ready, and he was the one who ultimately took care of the turkey, which was probably for the best as I was still recovering from my mystery disease (which was capped off by a double-case of pinkeye). A week and a half later, there are still some leftovers in my fridge, which should probably be tossed by this point. Given how lazy I am about cooking, if I hadn't left the country, I surely would have consumed them all.
2) Istanbul has a really curious- but cool- relationship with street animals. There are cats EVERYWHERE, and unlike the street cats in other cities I've been to (like Jerusalem), they tend to be clean and healthy-looking and very friendly- not skittish at all. They appear to be tolerated visitors at most shops along the way from the end of Istikal Street down to the Bosphorus, and we were constantly seeing people petting them. Same goes for dogs, which are taken in by the city and spayed/neutered, given shots, and tagged. The dogs, in particular, seemed to have particular shops/cafes in which they would spend most of their time.
3) Seeing the Byzantine structures in Istanbul was *amazing*, particularly the Hagia Sophia. I think part of my fascination with the Hagia Sophia, in particular, is because it was a central focal point of my favorite historical fiction books- Guy Gavriel Kay's Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors, both of which were set in the Byzantine Empire under Justinian. But really, to think about the fact that it was built 1500 years ago is really astounding. ...I did find it a bit sad that many of the mosaics were taken down/covered up by the Ottomans, though. You could also see places where crossed had been taken down/chipped out throughout the building, too.
Must get back to work. More stories later.
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