Istanbul!

Istanbul! From the airplane, it's a huge city. I got different answers from different people for the number of inhabitants of the city, from 12 to 20 million. You can see waves of expansion in the developments of apartment complexes that stretch out from the city's historic core. I got to experience that on the ground, too. I took the Metro and Tram from Ataturk airport to my hotel, between Sirkeci and the Spice Bazaar, in the thick of the old district. On getting to the hotel, I was lucky enough to be greeted by the conference chair, Dr. Seliger, who introduced me to a bunch of the Berlin contingent. I joined them for dinner in the Sultanahmet neighborhood. We ended up at a sort of touristy restaurant, but it still had good food. I split all this stuff with Markus, another vegetarian. Mushroom casserole, cheese-stuffed bread, hummus, and stuffed eggplants. Yum.



After dinner we stopped by a bakery and had our first taste of real Turkish Delight.



We walked back past the hotel to the Galata Bridge. Instead of heading up and over, we stayed on the lower level to find a place to enjoy views and beers.



It was a slow night, so we were able to sit right on the water. This picture isn't great, but you can see the lines of the fisherman that cast from the upper level of the bridge. The bright streak up the middle of the photo is a line being hauled in, with a small catch. The fishermen swing their lines under the bridge when they cast them, over the heads of the restaurant patrons. It adds a level of excitement to your evening!



We drank Efes, a Turkish pilsner, which I enjoyed. It was a good start to the conference, and I spent more time out on the town with these folks over the course of the trip.