From the frying pan into the deep freeze

Hello again! Sorry for the lapse, as I know you are all dying to hear about a new country on a new continent. It was quite a change for us to come from nearly two monts of very hot, sunny weather to Istanbul, where it still feels a bit wintery. We've had two days of wet stuff falling from the sky, too. Apa ini? What is it?

 Actually, on the subject of weather, my friend Dolores alerted me to the fact that a ferry sank in Myanmar a couple of days ago. That prompted me to read more and I discovered that Asia has experienced some very severe rain and wind since we left. In Malaysia there is more flooding due to the worst monsoons in many years. I feel grateful that we did not experience that kind of weather, but also very sympathetic for the victims.

Once we arrived here, we pulled out all of our warm layers from the bottom of the suitcase, grateful that we carried them all this time. I have gotten rid of a lot of clothing along the way, however, so I kind of understand how it felt for those who came on the Oregon trail. At some point along the way you just have to cast off things that are too heavy or no longer useful. It felt good to leave that heavy SEAsia guidebook behind! 

I did have a bit of nostalgia as I rotated my warm weather clothing to the bottom of my suitcase, though. Where and when will I ever wear those comfy elephant pants again? We hope to find some in between weather soon, but I'm not sure where that will be. 

Since I did a post on Asian breakfast, I have heard that many of you also like your eggs cooked hard! 

Well, no runny eggs here in Turkey( so far).

But breakfast could hardly be more different here than in Asia.

Clockwise from the top, pickled cabbage, green olives, cheese ,wieners in tomato sauce, pickled red peppers, French fries, black olives.

Feta cheese, flat omelette, hard cooked eggs, plus breads, cucumber and tomatoes. 5 kinds of jams, juices, halvah and cereal. It was hard not to get carried away that first morning! 

It was really a feast for the eyes.

Two sweet women lay out this spread every morning, then hang around till 11 pm when breakfast is over. After that, they start cleaning all the rooms.

We were really fortunate to land in a good spot for us. It is always the luck of the draw when using booking sites online, but we have gotten a little better at reading between the lines when looking for hotels. 

The best thing about our hotel is the desk clerk, Emir, who speaks perfect English, and studied American history at university. He has been extremely helpful in leading Jim around the city as he goes through the process of arranging for a Russian VISA. They occasionally drink tea together, and talk politics, basketball and history. I wish we could take him back to the US with us.

The first night we arrived , we discovered a simple neighborhood restaurant only steps away from our hotel. We have gradually become regulars there, and although they don't smile much, we think they are glad that we come back. We're working our way through the menu, and have eventually learned to not over order. 

The beads are always baked to order( this comes gratis) in the small wood fired oven. This is the size of a large dinner plate.

These guys roll out the dough and bake all the breads, pida, etc. and they keep pretty busy. 

I don't know the name or exact ingredients of the dark mixture, but it comes with the bread and tastes like tomatoes, onions and peppers ground together. It is a bit spicy and delicious. 

We have had this dish twice now, and honestly, my mouth waters still just looking at the photo. 

It is thin strips of grilled beef atop cubes of bread soaked in yogurt sauce. Delicious! I think it might be time for lunch. 

Next up, shopping at the a Grand Bazaar.